The Light in the Ruins – by Chris Bohjalian copyright 2013

This is a lovely mystery, well written and more than a story. The author describes the setting south of Florence so well that we get a travelogue with our mystery. Bohjalian gives us a story about World War II, about the Italian citizens, noble and not, about the Germans, loving and not, about people trying to survive and what they will do to survive when war comes to their homes. And then, years later, the awful punishment – murder – that is a result of their survival acts. Payback, if you will, but the reader does not know this until the very end.

The book moves back and forth between the war, 1943, and the Florence of 1955, with its first female detective. A delightful stylistic component is the killer\\\'s viewpoint. Why is he (or she) killing the people in the Rosati family who have survived the war? Haven\\\'t they gone through enough? There is a backstory with the female detective, Bettini. She has a history with this family that is being killed and she can not remember how she knows them (or is it that she knows OF them and really does not know then at all?). There are a couple of red herrings near the end but I did not mind them as I normally would because the book is so well written, so descriptive. I enjoyed it all the way to the awful end.

i absolutely urge people to avoid this book. It is full of misinformation. Throughout the book, there were statements that were not accurate - demonstrating that the author did not have the information to be writing about this situation, incident, etc. The final situation where I decided to condemn this book was at the end of the book. The author has Josh saying, "Julie was talking about taking a year and working for the Peace Corps." As a PCV, this statement is highly offensive. One does not "work for the Peace Corps;" we join the Peace Corps after a rigorous application and selection process. And one does not work for the PC for a year. It is a job to which we commit two years. Training alone can take up to half a year - language, customs, situations to avoid, etc. And selection takes much more than the casual attitude that Josh presents. One has to demonstrate a desire for peace in the world, a willingness to give to needy people in a culture that is unfamiliar, and a strong feeling of volunteerism. PCVs are often alone in a strange country and must be strong minded about volunteerism. All of us have previous volunteer experience and have demonstrated our ability to work, without payment, for the betterment of others. Plus, we have training and experience in a field that is needed. Josh shows none of this. A brief discussion with an PCV who has completed service and returned to the US would have provided the writer with some education about volunteer work and living alone in a foreign country. There were probably many other statements in this book that demonstrate a lack of knowledge. Writers should know about their subjects before they spout off. This final example led me to not believe much of this book.