Tin Sky
Ben Pastor
Bitter Lemon, May 10 2015, $14.95
ISBN 9781908524515
In 1943 German Major Martin von Bora knows he is
fortunate to be alive and also have his mental faculties after the horrors he
witnessed at war. Having been
transferred from Italy, currently the Wehrmacht Officer Bora serves in Krasny
Yar, Northeastern Ukraine.
Using his counter-intelligence position as a cover, Bora
investigates what appears to be a series of brutal murders by a deranged most
likely villager. However, his superior
changes his mission to handle the defection of key Russian Tank Commander
General Ghenrikh Tibyetsky just prior to the start of the battle in Kursk. After Bora diligently worked the surrender,
the Gestapo swoops in and takes the General with them. Not long after the Gestapo starts their
interrogation of the defector, someone murders Tibyetsky and another critical POW. Though the Gestapo ignores the homicides and
Bora’s command obediently follow their lead, the Major restarts his aborted
inquiry as he feels the Tibyetsky’s poisoning ties to the Krasny Yar horrific
homicides.
The captivating fourth Martin Bora WWII drama
(see A Dark Song Of Blood, Liar Moon and Lumen) deploys the investigation as a tool to enable
the reader to understand the diverse mindsets of war-weary German and Russian
soldiers on the bloody Eastern Front.
Bora’s efforts engage the audience, but it is Ben Pastor’s profound look
at the emotional costs of war that makes her novel one of the best historical
of the year.
Harriet Klausner
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