In Venice, someone wearing priest's robes is found floating on the front steps of the Santa Maria della Salute, one of the city's most famous landmarks. The body turns out to be that of a woman shot in the head. By wearing sacred vestments, she has committed a grievous desecration in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Kat Tapo, a female Italian police captain, is tasked with solving the case. Meanwhile, Holly Boland, an American soldier from the military base in Venice, is given a Freedom of Information request dealing with a war lord in Bosnia, and what she finds may be a conspiracy decades old. The Abomination by Jonathan Holt is a tightly plotted, suspense-filled ride through the seedy underbelly of Venice.
The novel deals with themes of feminism, war crimes, loyalty, and internet privacy, so it is quite topical in terms of the recent NSA controversy. Holt shifts between a number of viewpoints during the course of the book, including Kat, Holly, and a hacker genius named Daniele Barbo, but the three viewpoints never become jumbled and are weaved together with skill. Holt also does a wonderful job of creating two strong female characters with dynamic personalities, which can be difficult for a male author. Fans of Stieg Larrson's Millennium series trilogy will be drawn in by this fast-paced, complex mystery, which is the first in a planned trilogy.
Shannon Wood, Adult Services Librarian
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