Customer Reviews

Small Death in Lisbon Hb

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Two different settings and time frames--the waning days of the Third Reich in Germany and Portugal, and contemporary Portugal, with some of the same characters--allow the author to overlap both a complex historical thriller with a traditional murder mystery in unique and fascinating ways. Klaus Felsen, forced to work for the Nazi SS near the end of World War II, is sent to Portugal to buy as much wolfram (tungsten) as he can get, to be used in the manufacture of armor-piercing weapons. He is also responsible for privately smuggling out a great deal of German gold and some stolen art when it appears that Germany will lose the war, a job made more palatable when he realizes that he and his partners can profit greatly in the years after the war if they are careful to avoid discovery.

All these details come into play when a young Portuguese girl, seemingly unconnected with any of this, is found murdered fifty years later in contemporary Lisbon. Inspector Ze Coelho is assigned to solve the mystery of her death, a death which eventually reverberates throughout Lisbon society, the émigré population, the police department, the federal Justice department, political parties past and present, and even the foundations of the present government.

If all this seems like a lot to take on, it is. Although the book is beautifully written with fully developed, imperfect, and quirky characters one grows to like and understand, fine and vivid description, and a fast-paced plot with something happening all the time, ultimately it is difficult to make all the connections required by the fifty year chronology of the plot. Although I worked hard at this, and thought I had succeeded as I approached the conclusion, the last twenty pages had me reviewing and revising everything I had previously observed about the possible motivations of the main characters. Surprising twists are expected in mysteries. This one takes complexity to new levels. Mary Whipple

This book is difficult to put down. Extremely well written with intriguing and taught characters, it weaves together two stories, one taking place in present day in which the murder of a young girl is being investigated and the other about a young businessman who's forced into the SS during WWII. The book follows this man to present day and you begin to see how the two stories, though seemingly not related, are connected. I highly recommend this book. The story is great, the characters are great, the writing is fine -- I could not put it down.

As an American who speaks Portuguese and who had recently visited Lisbon, I was eager to read this book to see how history, culture, and geography would be referenced in an English language book about murder and intrigue in late 1990s Portugal set against an extensive back story involving expatriate Nazis.

It's always a bit hard for me to suspend disbelief in books and especially movies when German and Portuguese characters speak and think in English. That said, author Robert Wilson does a clever and entertaining job of dropping in some Portuguese words and phrases (and of course place names) -- and sometimes English translations of some obviously idiomatic Portuguese phrases -- that a non-Portuguese speaker won't find inaccessible but that a Portuguese-as-a-second-language reader will enjoy. The main character's occasional reflections on the Portuguese culture and mannerisms -- often in the context of memories or discussions about his deceased English wife -- seemed to ring true although were obviously a bit simplified.

I enjoyed the historical and contemporary plot lines and the anticipation of the revelation of their convergence. However, the first revealed murder solution and the surprise twist second solution did not satisfy me; the former was too obvious and the latter too much out of deep left field.

Finally, the sexual violence described in the book was too graphic for my tastes. It wasn't necessary to advance the otherwise intriguing plot.

This book was absolutely epic. It is a riveting mystery/ thriller. It starts off with a murder in Lisbon, Portugal. Then it goes back to WWII and it is fascinating to see these two story lines come together.

The plot is genius - the Nazis need more tungsten for their bombs, which they get from Russia, but since they want to attack Russia they need an alternate supply, which happens to be in Portugal. Meanwhile a detective in present day Lisbon is trying to solve the murder of a teenage girl. These two events turn out to be related in a most unusual but plausible way. The plot goes back and forth between the two storylines. Wilson puts all the pieces together perfectly.

This is a brutally violent, dark, vividly intense novel - in other words my kind of book. If you are looking for a cozy mystery, look elsewhere. The present day Lisbon detective is a great character, as is Felsen, the Nazi. Wilson works in a lot of Portugal's history and culture which ads depth without bogging things down in the slightest.

This is an absolute powerhouse of a book, the momentum never stops and you just do not want to stop reading because it is so compelling. If you like international thrillers a la The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, try this one.

A Small Death in Lisbon (1999)
Robert Wilson
Awards: Crime Writers' Association 1999 Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel
Genre: mystery - modern detective/historical WWII
Date Read: January 6, 2003- January 11, 2003
Comments: wow! excellent! two stories for the price of one, very well written, masterful storytelling, captivating, good balance of character development and descriptive setting, could have gone lighter on the graphic sex and violence
Advice: absolutely recommended - when you read it drink in every word!