The 6th Lamentation

The 6th Lamentation by William Brodrick.

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books;(July 27, 2004)
ISBN-10: 0142004626

 

 

From Booklist

*Starred Review* This first-time novelist was an Augustinian friar before becoming a barrister; his chief protagonist, Father Anselm, was a barrister before becoming a monk. The two vocations offer fitting keys--logic and compassion--to unlock the doors of this labyrinthine tale. A suspected Nazi war criminal, Eduard Schwermann, asks for sanctuary at Anselm's home, Larkwood Priory. When the Vatican asks Anselm to investigate on its behalf, Anselm finds reason to suspect the church itself may have been complicit in Schwermann's long-ago escape to England. In nearby London, dying Holocaust survivor Agnes Aubret shares a secret with her granddaughter, Lucy: Agnes was part of a French Resistance ring broken by Schwermann. Schwermann's trial begins with both Anselm and Lucy still hurrying to make sense of the past. Sticky strands of deceit, loss, and betrayal bind together a large cast of characters, and untangling them is both difficult and painful. Though Brodrick builds tension slowly (he's better at foreshadowing than planting clues), he's mapped his plot masterfully, and his approach to the thorny issues of justice and punishment is thoughtful and complex. Keir Graff

So... if you like historical fiction you may well enjoy this book.

It's a mystery with more then plenty of secrets to be learned about.    As you have read from the Amazon review it's a story concerning a Nazi criminal who has taken up sanctuary with the Monks.   Also of a lady named Agnes with many secrets as she is told she will soon die and now thinks she needs to tell the truth about her past... but more went on than even she was aware of. 

Surprises emerge as you read and never stop until the last page of the book. 

The author was so good that at times I felt the story was not fiction!  He did his homework well!   While many don't want to be reminder of the Holocaust and mass murders, which I can't say would be my first choice for reading, it was not overpowering and I found the book very well written and the characters made interesting enough that I wanted to know their whole story.

So the book gets a thumbs up from me.