Dark Dreams

May 4, 2009
Genelin's darkly compelling second Jana Matinova mystery (after 2008's Siren of the Waters
) mixes equal parts lust, betrayal and murder. When Jana's childhood friend Sofia, who campaigns for an anticorruption organization called Transparency in Government, is elected to the Slovakian parliament, neither is prepared for the long-ranging and deadly consequences. Sofia's subsequent entanglement with a male colleague and acceptance of a huge diamond taint Jana's career as a commander in the Bratislavan police force, where she finds herself under investigation for corruption. As bodies begin to pile up in Slovakia and neighboring countries, Jana races to figure out the motive for the murders and their connection to a multicontinent smuggling ring before assassins do away with her suspects. Genelin ratchets up the suspense with smooth prose, evocative locales and distinctive characters who leap from the page.

November 1, 2008
A timely reminder why it 's not a good idea to have an affair with a married politician while you are up for reelection.

Slovakian anti-corruption campaigner Sofia wants desperately to reestablish her romance with Ivan Boryda, the deputy prime minister who 's gone back to his wife. Soon after Sofia talks things over with her old friend Jana Matinova, now a commander in the Criminal Police (Siren of the Waters, 2008), Jana finds a fabulous blue-white diamond dangling in her living room. She reports the find to her superior, Trokan, and on his advice hides the jewel. But her apartment 's tossed, she 's followed and even her new romantic interest, a procurator in the attorney general 's office, may be investigating her. Worse, the man who raped Sofia when she was barely out of childhood is now part of the police hierarchy with ties to an underworld smuggling ring that extends from Europe to South America and beyond. The more Jana tries to extricate herself and Sofia from trouble, the more bodies pile up, not only in Bratislava but in Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, even India. It will take the help of a killer well known to the police to bring justice to Slovakia, though not quite a happy ending to both romances.

Jana 's feelings for her granddaughter are poignant, her love life perfunctory and the body count reminiscent of the national debt. American politics are child 's play compared to this seething indictment of Middle European wrangling.

(COPYRIGHT (2008) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 1, 2009
Adult/High School-A man is killed in Nepal, and seemingly unrelated murders are committed in Bratislava, Ukraine, and Geneva. To Police Commander Jana Matinova, it begins to look as if they are all part of a multinational conspiracy. Various clues, including a diamond she finds hanging in her living room, lead to her childhood friend, now a Member of Parliament. Jana was a good friend when Sofia was traumatized at age 12, an event involving a prominent government official, the same official who now seems deeply involved with the current conspiracy. Jana becomes romantically involved with Peter, a handsome member of the attorney general's office whose loyalties she begins to question. Jana is logical and perceptive with superb deductive reasoning, putting her on a par with Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme and Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta. Genelin's characters are true to life, and the story is well crafted, with all the twists and turns of the best detective fiction. The sometimes-stilted writing style causes the story to read like a translation at times, which adds positively to the Eastern European ambience. Jana's forays into Ukraine and Austria from Bratislava, where most of the novel takes place, ring true culturally and geographically. Teens will especially relate to the friendship thread as well as to the romance, and of course to the element of danger."Ellen Bell, Amador Valley High School, Pleasanton, CA"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2009
One of Jana's oldest friends, now a member of Slovakia's Parliament, embroils her in a game of cat and mouse that endangers Jana's loved ones. Will her competence and bravery be enough to save her from destruction? VERDICT In this masterly sequel to the acclaimed "Siren of the Waters", Genelin vividly describes a Central European country that remains fearful and subject to political machinations despite the fall of the Soviet Union. Sure to appeal to fans of Olen Steinhauer's Emil Brod series.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2009
In this outstanding sequel to Siren of the Waters (2007), Commander Jana Matinova is once again caught up in a large and complex international investigation. Matinovas best friend from childhood ventures into the treacherous waters of post-Communist politics, becoming a member of parliament, but its not long before things go bad. Soon Sofia is in trouble and pushes it off on her reliable friend, making Jana a suspect in a corruption investigation, which hinders her own investigation of a series of murders in Slovakia and Hungary. This time out Genelin has constructed a slightly less elaborate and more tightly woven plot, and he doesnt rely on Janas history to drive the storyboth definite improvements. In addition, Jana is a more fully fleshed and likable character, and her coworkersfrom reliable boss Trokan to her useless, spying assistant Segesare more developed and add depth to the story. Genelin effectively brings a relatively unknown country like modern Slovakia to life for American readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)