Out Now – The Latest in the Martin Bora Series

Book blurb

October 1944, in the Republic of Salò, a German puppet state in the north of Italy and the last fascist stronghold in the country.

After months of ferocious fighting on the Gothic Line, Colonel Martin Bora of the Wehrmacht is handed a new, red-hot case.

Transferred to the town of Salò on the shore of Lake Garda, he must investigate the theft of a precious painting of Venus by Titian, stolen with uncanny ease from a local residence.

While Bora’s inquiry proceeds among many difficulties, discovering three dead bodies throws an even more sinister light on the scene.

The victims are female, very beautiful, apparently dead by their own hand but in fact, elegantly murdered.

Is it the work of a serial killer, or are the homicides somehow related to the stolen Venus?

Why were intriguing clues left behind for Bora to find? And why is there an official attempt to make the investigator himself appear as the culprit?

Caught in an unforeseeable web of events, hounded by the Gestapo (for years at his heels on the charge of anti-Nazi activities), hopelessly in love with an enigmatic, real-flesh “Venus,” Bora must resort to all his courage and ability – not only to solve the mystery and expose the perpetrator, but also, in a breathtaking crescendo, to try to save himself from the firing squad and secure an unlikely way out…

My thoughts

It is months since Italy’s King Victor Emmanuel III surrendered to the allies in 1943 and removed Mussolini from power, placing him under house arrest. The allies had hoped that this would be the end of any Italian campaign as they were fighting on so many fronts. However, Hitler ordered an invasion of northern Italy by German troops to keep access to oil reserves. Mussolini was freed from prison and reinstated by Hitler in the North. The area became known as the Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana) or, informally, the Republic of Salò (Repubblica di Salò) as Salò is where the headquarters of Mussolini’s Republican Fascist Party resided. Regardless of this it was, in fact, under German military control.

Lake Garda, Italy 1944 is the setting for The Venus of Salò by Ben Pastor. The main character Wehrmacht Colonel Martin Bora is summarily taken and dumped outside the Italian HQ in Salò by the Gestapo.

After an issue with the Gestapo in Russia, Bora had been very outspoken on what he thought of them, he was expecting a reprisal and thought that this was it. But no! He is in Salò to retrieve a stolen painting, The Venus of Salò, which has been stolen right from under the Italians noses! The painting was ‘on loan’ to them and now it’s gone!

As he familiarises himself with the set up in Salò, about the painting and investigates what happened on the night it was stolen Bora is drawn into an apparent suicide being investigated by the local police.

The suicide, Bora is sure that it’s murder, continues to be investigated. Then one of the people, a Jewish antiques expert, who has been on hand for Bora to call upon dies, another suicide!

When this apparent suicide happens Bora unofficially keeps up with the investigation, does some of his own and passes on what he believes is pertinent information to the Italian officer in charge.

Not much seems to be happening regarding the Venus. When the dealer died he left his copy of the Venus with a neighbour for Bora, who had become obsessed with it. Still, Bora has a network of contacts which he is using effectively to uncover who stole the original.

Throughout the book Bora is wary of the Gestapo and of what will happen to him.

Alongside this there are bands of resistance fighters in the hills surrounding Lake Garda and Bora gets involved with the search for one of the leaders.

I liked Martin Bora and found him a sympathetic character even though he was a German and someone who was ‘the enemy’ or at least a member of the armed forces of the Axis Powers that were the enemy of the Allies, including the U.K. , during WWII. I liked looking at a part of History from a different viewpoint and found the story fascinating. The setting felt familiar as I’d holidayed there, Lake Garda and Verona, a few years ago so increased my enjoyment of the story.

There are several threads running through this story which is well plotted and held my attention throughout. There is a great deal of tension as each thread is brought to a conclusion. Bora’s ability to solve the mystery of the Venus and help with the murders is both accomplished and brave. All seems to be going well for Bora as he leaves Salò to take up a new post when we are gripped by the final scene, he is taken by the Gestapo!

The Venus of Salò what a well constructed, fascinating, tense and engaging story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would recommend to all especially those who enjoy historical fiction.

Note: I am counting this to my EuropeanReadingChallenge24 and HistoricalFictionReadingChallenge2024 challenges. I’ll update my lists shortly.

Thanks

To Anne at RandomThingsTours for the invite to the BlogTour of The Venus of Salò by Ben Pastor and to Bitter Lemon Press for an eCopy of the book for the purpose of reading and sharing my thoughts. Thank you all.

BlogTour

Before you pop down to the buy links why not take a stroll through these marvellous blogs and find out more about The Venus of Salò by Ben Pastor?

Information

Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press

Published: 23/05/2024 | ISBN: 9781916725065 | 416 pp

Buy: Hive | Bookshop.org (affiliate link) | AmazonSmileUK | Your local bookshop | Your local library

Italy: The Salò Republic

University of Reading: Feature – Documents from the Republic of Salò | University of Reading: Salò Republic Collection | Britannia: The Republic of Salò | Museo storico della Liberazione – Roma | History Extra (subscription required) Hell in Italy by James Holland (March 2024. This article was first published in Nov 2022 issue of BBC History Magazine) | History Today: Italy declares war on Germany | History.com: Mussolini’s final hours

Author

Ben Pastor was born in Italy and lived for thirty years in the United States, working as a university professor in Illinois, Ohio and Vermont, before returning to her native country. The Venus of Salò is the eighth in the Martin Bora series published by Bitter Lemon Press and follows on from the success of The Night of Shooting Stars, The Horseman’s Song, The Road to Ithaca, Tin Sky, A Dark Song of Blood, Liar Moon and Lumen. She is the author of other novels including the highly acclaimed The Water Thief and The Fire Waker and is considered one of the most talented writers in the field of historical fiction. In 2008 she won the Premio Zaragoza for best historical fiction, and in 2018 she was awarded the prestigious Premio Internazionale di Letteratura Ennio Flaiano.

Bitter Lemon Press – Author profile and books

Books

Martin Bora series

Lumen | Liar Moon | A Dark Song of Blood | Tin Sky | The Road to Ithaca | The Horseman’s Song | The Night of Shooting Stars

Other titles

The Fire Waker (An Aelius Spartianus Mystery) | The Water Thief