The Heart of Hell
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4.6 • 74 Ratings
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
In the third installment in Alen Mattich’s highly addictive Marko della Torre series, Alen Mattich delivers a powerful political thriller that depicts the horrors and machinations of the Yugoslav civil war and the humanity of those who survive it.
Autumn 1991. Civil war has broken out in Yugoslavia with Croatia’s declaration of independence, and former secret policeman Marko della Torre is set adrift. Department VI, the internal investigations unit, is now in a state of paralysis as Belgrade struggles to maintain its hold as the region’s centre of power. When the body of a young woman, identified as American agent Rebecca Vees, washes up on the shores of Italy, della Torre is summoned by U.S. authorities. He is the last person to have seen Rebecca alive. Her two colleagues have also been found shot dead on an island in Croatia, and della Torre is coerced into locating the man they think is responsible: the corrupt and unscrupulous Zagreb cop, Julius Strumbic. Forced to navigate Yugoslavia’s bloody civil war in order to track Strumbic’s whereabouts, della Torre has to decide whether he will warn his old friend or give him up to the Americans to save himself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The third installment in Mattich's superb Marko della Torre series picks up where Killing Pilgrim ended, with the discovery of CIA agent Rebecca Vees's body in the Adriatic. It's autumn 1991. Croatia declares its independence from the remains of Yugoslavia, and civil war begins. In the turmoil, former secret policeman Marko finds himself in a tight spot. Having been the last person to see Vees alive, he is being squeezed by his Belgrade bosses and shadowy U.S. operatives into tracking down the prime suspect, crooked cop Julius Strumbic, who's also Marko's friend. What follows is a Balkan odyssey, with Marko trying to survive a blood-drenched war while never knowing exactly whom to trust. This is a classic piece of hard-boiled wartime fiction. The requisite gallows humor becomes more fatalistic as the horror of war becomes real, yet as in all of the della Torre books, there are moments of utter hilarity, such as a telephone conversation between Strumbic and his long-suffering wife. Each installment in Mattich's series is like a straight shot of slivovitz to the senses, and this one is especially fiery.
Customer Reviews
An amazing series
This third book in the series is even more riveting than the first two. One of those rare books that is very hard to put down. I hope there is another coming soon.
The heart of hell
This is the third Mattich book that I've read. All are well written and constantly enticing you to find out what happens next.
I look forward to future offerings.
The Heart of Hell
The best of the three . Truly enjoyed it, a must read . The author is truly worthy of the 5 star rating . Please keep writing because you are truly gifted .