Double Blank: An Inspector Llob Mystery (Toby Crime) [Paperback]

Yasmina Khadra (Author), Aubrey Botsford (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Former high-ranking Algerian army officer Khadra, who's now an exile in France and who first used a female pseudonym to avoid military censorship, presents a brutal and cynical look at his native country in his intriguing second Inspector Llob mystery (after 2003's Morituri). Llob's reunion with Ben Ouda, a leading intellectual and power broker who recently published a bestselling book criticizing the Algerian regime, is followed by a series of vicious murders, ostensibly by a gang of Islamic fundamentalists. The inspector's investigations lead him to a colorful cast of suspects, but the trail takes a major detour when members of the hit squad themselves begin to turn up dead. Llob and his team step on toes with abandon and follow the corpses through various strata of Algiers society. For the many not conversant with current Algerian politics, this will serve as an easy-to-digest guide to life under a military regime constantly threatened by religious extremists. Llob, whose Mike Hammer-like comfort level with violence is highly disturbing, is too unattractive a character to engage readers emotionally. The oppressive atmosphere and the unfamiliar location will make it a challenge for this deserving series to find a wide U.S. readership. (Mar. 15)
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From Booklist

The author of the intense, terrifying The Swallows of Kabul [BKL F 1 2004], about life under the Taliban, also writes detective stories. Double Blank carries over Algiers police superintendent Llob from Morituri (U.S. ed., 2003) and tips its hand tonally by mentioning B movies in the second sentence; by the time another character calls Llob "Columbo," readers can only gleefully relish the association. Besides Columbo, Llob resembles Chandler's Marlowe in his (Llob is the narrator as well as hero) penchant for juicy, spoiled-romantic descriptions of the sights, sounds, and flavors of Algiers; Sam Spade in his golden-hearted toughness (Llob is a genuine Algerian patriot); and mordant American TV detectives in being considerably better at cutting cloying colleagues and overweening hoods down verbally than physically (fortunately, Llob's massive lieutenant, Ewegh Seddig, does the latter quite nicely). The case at hand concerns the cascade of murder set off by the beheading, in his lavish apartment, of a famous political author and diplomat. A very smart, gory thriller, deepened by sad knowledge of contemporary Algerian "business." Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 129 pages
• Publisher: Toby Pr; 1st Us Edition edition (March 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592641199
• ISBN-13: 978-1592641192
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #805,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Stay out of the casbah, December 21, 2006

By 

Blue in Washington "Barry Ballow" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Double Blank: An Inspector Llob Mystery (Toby Crime) (Paperback)

I bought this book because of its Algerian setting and was predisposed to like it. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with the writing at all. It might have been a weak translation, but somehow the dark, depressive atmosphere established from the novel's get-go was too much to overcome for me. The storyline is not particularly strong and none of the characters were engaging. Perhaps Khadira's other books are better, but I wouldn't be inclined to find out.

4.0 out of 5 stars Grim, darkly humorous . . ., June 20, 2006

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Ronald Scheer "rockysquirrel" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Double Blank: An Inspector Llob Mystery (Toby Crime) (Paperback)

For its brevity, this is crime fiction on a grand scale. Inspector, rather, Superintendent Llob of the Algiers police finds himself on the trail of a diabolical scheme played out against the political turmoil of the country whose independence from France he once fought for. Told with all the grittiness of hard-boiled detective fiction, this tale takes readers from one end of the social spectrum to the other - the grinding poverty of the crime-infested slums to the grandiose life styles of the filthy rich.

The plot is engaging enough and its predictability is continually undercut by a fast-forward narrative style that propels the reader from scene to scene, often omitting the plot developments building up to them. More entertaining is Khadra's mastery of the genre itself - the feuding investigative agencies of the police, the ageing rogue cop as hero, the trading of insults among professional colleagues and their suspects, the gruesome crime scenes, the seductive temptress and ruthless villains, the caricatures of humanity ranging from dwarves to giants, the cynical narrator whose observing eye falls on everything that is beyond redemption. The pace is breathless, while finding room enough for social comment and digs at Islamist operatives. Grim but darkly humorous.

4.0 out of 5 stars Really dark, May 14, 2006

By 

David W. Nicholas (Van Nuys, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Double Blank: An Inspector Llob Mystery (Toby Crime) (Paperback)

This is a short detective story by the Algerian army officer who disguised his identity by writing under a woman's name, Yasmina Khadra. Khadra produced three of these Superintendant Llob stories in the late 90s: they take place in modern Algiers, and are noir fiction with a real bite, because the villains are often terrorists armed with assault rifles and grenade launchers.

In this entry in the series, Llob is confronted with the murders of several people. First, an old acquaintance who doesn't remember him is killed, then a financier, and soon after one of his informants. As the story progresses, Llob must confront political corruption, violence, and a confusing array of villains, each more annoying and disgusting than the last. Fortunately, the sidekick who was killed in Morituri has been replaced by a giant of an ex-soldier who seems to punch everyone and take on the world singlehandedly when needed.

I enjoyed this book, and would only repeat my one negative comment from before: they should have grouped all three of the Superintendant Llob books together. Together they'd be about 400 pages, less than a Dan Brown novel, and much more appealing together than separate.