Customer Reviews

Visibility

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1952 former M15 operative, Herbert Smith works as a homicide detective with the Metropolitan Police's Murder Squad. His current case seems like a no brainer accident caused by the thick fog; a man drowned in a Kensington Gardens pond.

However instead of closing the book, Smith tries to at least uncover the identity of the dead floater. He succeeds as the deceased is King's College graduate student Max Stensness. The sleuth also learns that Max was gay and an active member of the Communist Party. Smith finds a tie to his former M15 boss, odious Richard de Vere Green. Hating Green whose treachery cost him his MI5 position, Smith keeps digging hoping to destroy his sneaky deceitful supervisor. Smith begins to find a connection to the Russians and the Americans as Stensness was apparently selling top-secret DNA information to the highest bidder, but the detective wonders if Green was the silent partner.

Using real people like double Nobel Prize winner Pauling and incognito Nazi criminal Mengele to anchor the 1950s anti-Communist fervor that swept America (McCarthy era -sounds similar to today's official scares) and somewhat England, Boris Starling provides readers with an exciting deep espionage thriller. The story line looks at the salad days of DNA research combining it with the Red scare and the WWII aftermath still devastatingly visible in foggy London. Readers will appreciate this fast-paced period piece that grips the audience with a whodunit spy thriller.

Harriet Klausner

This is an entertaining enough thriller in its way but it is set in 1952 and the anachronisms that pepper the book spoil it - stumbling across them is like biting on tinfoil while enjoying a chocolate bar. For example: in 1952 no British policeman would have described a white person as Caucasian. In fact, they wouldn't even today. That is not part of British police terminology. The British term for an autopsy then was a post mortem. Before the influence of TV, no one would have used the term ID for identification. No one used the word "party" as a verb in those days. The hero of the book would not have been able to remember seeing a potential suicide at Embankment tube station because in 1952 there was no such place. Belmarsh Prison was not opened until 1991. The popular idioms "out of the lop", "up front", "economical with the truth" had not yet come into the language, neither had the practice of making quotation marks in the air with one's fingers when expressing skepticism.

It's a shame the author was not more careful abut getting things right, because these blips spoil what isn't really a bad little novel.

As a fearful fog moves through London, Herbert Smith of London's murder squad is on the hunt for a suspect who killed a young scientist in the murky waters of Long Water. London is gripped by this fog which is such a pea souper that it causes ambulances and police to lose their way and hinders people who become lost though they know the area as well as the back of their hand. The fog is also toxic and it makes many people sick and unable to breathe. The hospitals are full of people suffering from breathing difficulties and bronchial ailments. Herbert meets many people of interest in his quest to find the killer. During his investigation he makes friends with Hannah, a blind diver who searches the river for evidence in the case. Her help proves to be invaluable in the fog since she doesn't depend on sight to help her get around.

Shady characters come out of the woodwork and spies are around every corner. It seems that the young scientist had proof of something that could change the entire world.

After the war, there was spy activity from Russia, England, USA and elsewhere. The hunt was on for Nazi war criminals and there were hunts for communists. And everyone wanted intelligence. Who could be trusted? Who was a spy? Who was a Nazi, or a commie or a double agent? Who had secrets that could change the world? The unsettled atmosphere of post World War II is present in this spy caper set in enshrouding fog in the city by the Thames. The dense fog adds to the mysterious atmosphere as the story skips back and forth between Nazi occupation and the hunt for the mysterious killer where the suspect list grows with each piece of evidence that Herbert discovers.

I really enjoyed this story. It was the first book I've read by Boris Starling and I will look for more of his work. If you like a good post World War II yarn with all the paranoia and intrigue, this is a great story and it is filled with the atmosphere of London in 1952.

This book is a decent read. The author has a competent writing style with good detail. I admit the idea of a blind female police diver in 1950's England was unlikely - but after stumbling over that particular item the rest of the tale was enjoyable.

This is my first book by this author Boris Starling, picked up on a whim.

In a way, I'm happy to take a breather from "best sellers". What's in the market today? All the best sellers are same, like one reviewer said "Curse you, Dan Brown". At least 50% of the books are DaVinci types, even 3-4 years after the fact, then you got your serial killers, rapists, your comic book adventure (Cussler/Reilly/DuBrul) types, your Kontz's, Kings, Patterson's, etc. Yawn, yawn, and triple yawn.

Then you got this one, a 1952 England post-WW2 police mystery. Alright, I thought I'd give it a chance. Not much happens in 1952 England, right?

Right away, I realized that Boris is a very good writer. I have to separate my comments into two parts. First are the characters, second is the story. When I say Boris is a good writer, I mean that he has a great talent of writing believable characters. The characters come across as having realistic 3 dimensional personalities that really come alive from the pages. Not many authors can do that. To many authors, characters are just to move the story along, not much depth to them, but Boris's characters have a lot of depth. I enjoyed reading these characters.

Second is the story. Unfortunately, I'm somewhat right about 1952 England. After reading reams of pages on serial killers, the Vatican, long lost treasures, hunts across 3 continents, long dead acquaintances suddenly leaving e-mail for you, 1952 England is somewhat of a let down. I won't reveal much of the story, all I'll say is that the protagonist is a Scotland Yard Inspector who used to be in MI5 during the war. However, Boris does a very good job of describing 1952 England. In looking at his picture on the back I'm very surprised to find him so young. OK, he's a Londoner, but how does he write such a realistic background. For this and the characters I give him full marks. For the story, I give him an A for effort.

So, to summarize, this book isn't as exciting as many of the books on the best seller list, but Boris' character development somewhat makes up for it. And if you want to lose yourself from 2007 and put yourself in another place, say 1952 England then this book is just great. And to top it off, Boris is a very good writer. I'll definitely read his other books.

The best spy thrillers go beyond the formulaic to offer thought-provoking psychological, cultural, and political insights. Boris Starling's "Visibility" accomplishes this while it entertains us with a historical and scientific mystery that is as intricate as it is suspenseful. Set during the Great Fog of London in 1952, the novel's atmospheric setting is ominous and frightening. The choking miasma of toxic fumes and the inability of the populace to see more than one foot ahead of their faces are metaphors for the moral decay of society and the failure of good people to distinguish truth from lies.

Thirty-four-year old Herbert Smith was formerly a soldier in the British Army and later a "watcher" (surveillance operative) for MI5, the British Security Service responsible for protecting the UK against threats to national security. He is now a Detective Inspector in New Scotland Yard's Murder Squad. Smith is a reserved and lonely man, whose only relative is his mother, Mary, with whom he has a contentious relationship. Nor do his colleagues have much use for a former spy who made detective without having served his time as a copper.

When Smith catches the case of a floater, he embarks on an investigation that will pit him against devious men who are willing to torture and kill to achieve their goals. The victim is identified as a scientist who possessed vitally important information that would confer great power on whoever acquired it. Smith endangers his life to find the killer, but his understanding of the case is hampered by deceitful, greedy, and ambitious individuals who are anxious to keep Smith from learning the truth. Soon, Smith takes on an unofficial assistant, the beautiful Hannah Mortimer. Although she is blind, Hannah sees people and situations more clearly than most sighted people, and Herbert is immediately entranced by this exotic, intelligent, and compassionate woman.

Boris Starling's descriptive writing is beautifully evocative. His characters are well-rounded, the dialogue is sharp and often dryly humorous, and the narrative is fast-paced and deliciously complex. The author touches on controversial practices during the fifties that, in the light of twenty-first century sensibilities, are somewhat unsettling, such as the discrimination against practicing homosexuals (a policy that forced gay men to go deeply into the closet), and the fear and hatred of communism, which led democratic governments to shelter scientists who were former members of the Nazi party. The book sole flaw is its over-the-top ending that veers dangerously close to melodrama. Still, "Visibility" has many delights to offer: an incisive look at how history and science intersect, an off-beat and touching love story, and a deadly game of spy vs. spy that, much like the book's impenetrable fog, keeps the reader off-balance until the truth is finally revealed.

Another book off the beaten path for Starling. However, an excellent read. Loved the historical setting.

I consider Boris Starling's Messiah and Storm to be two of the best books in it genre. So, I was expecting nothing less from Visibility. However, while Visibility is not a bad book, it doesn't come close to measuring up to its predecessors. To Starling's credit, he is excellent at character development and in creating a setting of post-war London as the Great Fog rolls in that makes you feel that you are right there experiencing it. My problem with Visibility, a thriller, is that the plot has little suspense and excitement throughout about the first three-quarters of the book. It's not until the last 75-100 pages that the thrills begin to mount, and even these events are a bit far-fetched. Basically, for me, Visibility provided too little too late. My recommendation is that if you have been a fan of Starling's and are intent on reading his latest, to take this book from the library. It's an okay read but not worth spending your hard earned money on.

For something set in 1952, there was sure a lot of much later stuff dragged in or referred to that got in the way of the 1952 setting. I found it very annoying to have these things (including opinions of the Americans/American way of life at that time)intruding on the 1952 timeline. It would have been nice to have opinions formed in 1952, not colored by what happened 2-3 decades further on.

What I really can't figure out, though, is why this is being touted as a spy thriller? It was very, very light for either a spy storyline or suspense storyline. Mostly it was about people bumbling around and getting lucky. In love, not in spying!!! So this is a romance (ugly? guy finds blind girl and they complete each other). She can't see him so it is fine. Geesh. Sure sounded like they fit together because no one else wanted them...so I guess this isn't really a romance after all, but about enduring.

Along with the "finding yourself" theme and interminably long sentences that add nothing except length, I was horrified to find that it provided excruciating details about certain concentration camps and staff therein. And the sole purpose was to invoke empathy for one of the characters, which I found to be a complete turnoff. Life isn't fair. Yes, our experiences (past and present) generally make us what we are, but I don't think we needed to get so down and dirty with the personal anguish of the two main characters, Hannah and Herbert. The ending was anti-climatic and a real let down. Totally unbelievable.

But wait...the postscript would have one believe that this is a True Event. If that is the case, no wonder the writing is so stilted and unenjoyable. If true, then it is totally believable. And it goes to show you that everyone gets through life the best they can. The two main characters plodded along, both in the book and in real life. This does not make for an exciting or readable story. Glad it all worked out for them though.

VISIBILITY (Police Proc-Herbert Smith-England-1952) - VG
Starling, Boris - 4th book
An Onyx Book, 2008, US Paperback ISBN - 9780451412508

First Sentence: The fog was coming, without and within.

Det. Herbert Smith is dealing with a body found in the shallows of the Long Water and trying to investigate a case where England's Five, the espionage division of which Smith had been a member, the CIA and the KGB.

Making the investigation even more difficult is the worst fog London has ever seen, but Smith is aided by Hannah Mortimer, a police diver with a tragic past.

Starling created an excellent sense of place. The denseness of the fog becomes integral to the story. He also excels at character development allowing you to learn about the characters continually thorough the story, as one would get to know people in real life.

In fact, the core of the story really was about Herbert and Hannah and what made them who they are. The rest felt secondary around that.

The story also lacked a strong element of suspense until you were more than half way through the story. There was a lot of detail, some I found fascinating, some boring but I learned a lot. A firm editing hand would have helped this book tremendously.

Although nothing with ever touch Starling's first book "Messiah," I did enjoy this book.