Paradox Forged in Blood - Mary Francis Fisher

I found this book available for review on Netgalley. I'm always interested in a mystery book and one with a historical setting is even more appealing.

Paradox Forged in Blood

A murder on Millionaire’s Row. 

A killer's chilling words, "Shh. I know where you live.” 

A woman tormented by her guilt-ridden past. 

A historical murder mystery, Paradox Forged in Blood is set in Cleveland, Ohio, during the late 1930s. Four decades after the murder of socialite Louis Sheridan, the cold case is resurrected with receipt of new evidence that transports detectives back to Nazi Germany. The only living witness, Ellen O’Malley, must confront a haunting secret and her complicit actions.

My Review

This book has so much going on. The heart of it is an unsolved mystery. To begin with it seems that the start of the book is just laying the scene for this mystery. In actual fact it's doing more than that. This book doesn't just have one mystery, but a number of them, all interwoven and connected as the story unfolds.

There is so much potential in this book. Unfortunately, to some extent, that potential is also it's undoing. There is so much going on that it's easy to get lost in the multitude of characters and events. Although they all build to a final reveal, it would have possibly been better if some of it had been cut out and trimmed down slightly.

The writing style wasn't completely to my taste. It tended to tell what was going on, rather than allowing the reader to experience the events as they unfolded along side the characters. It meant that at times the book was slow moving and you didn't really feel the connection with the people that you get in other books.

On the whole I enjoyed the story. I do think that with a little careful editing, it could have been much better. Over all though, not at all a bad read.