Field of Death

I would like to thank Netgalley and Sapere Books for a review copy of Field of Death, the fourth novel to feature Lieutenant Josef Slonsky of the Prague police.

An obligatory medical for his promotion to captain advises Slonsky to lose weight or potentially lose his promotion so dieting is the order of the day. To distract himself he obeys Novák the pathologist’s summons to examine a bomb site where four metal detectorists have been blown up by an old bomb. Novák has doubts about this explanation and soon Slonsky is investigating on several fronts.

I thoroughly enjoyed Field of Death which had me laughing from start to finish. The absurdity of the plot and Slonsky’s attitude really appeal to my sense of humour. I’m unsure, however, if this is a generational thing as I am much the same age as Slonsky or if it will appeal to all pragmatic slackers looking for an easy life. His solutions to his problems are, at times, pure genius and obviously have a lot of thought behind them so he’s not as daft or indolent as he wishes to appear. He is one of my favourite fictional characters so I always bump him to the top of my reading list when his new cases are published.

The novel is not only the doings and sayings of Josef Slonsky it also has an interesting and well conceived, if slightly anarchic and absurd plot. It revolves around a rumoured and conceivably true story from the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. I’m not saying more than that about it to avoid spoilers but, needless to say, it’s a tale of fanaticism and ineptitude from that starting point.

For sheer entertainment Field of Death is one of the best novels I have read in 2019 and would urge anyone thinking about it to take the plunge and get ready to laugh.

Every so often you drop on a series which leaves you eagerly looking forward to the next instalment and the Josef Slonsky crime series by Graham Brack is one of those.

Field of Death is the 4th book in the series and like its predecessors it is an enjoyable and excellently paced crime novel that has some great bits of humour in it.

This time Slonsky is on a diet - that's 2 sausages instead of 4 and beer had no calories - but his problem solving is thankfully not diminished nor are the skills of his 2 protégés.

The book can be read as a standalone but you will definitely want to dig out the previous three books after you have read this one.

A definite highly recommended from me

Slonský is back … and on a diet…
Josef Slonský is preparing to take up his promotion as Captain when a spanner is thrown in the works.
He has to pass a medical, and a lifetime’s supply of beer and sausage is not helping his chances of passing. Faced with a strict diet and exercise regime, Slonský is even less amenable than usual.
But, his attention is caught when reports come in of a Second World War bomb detonating in a nearby field.
It seems four metal detectorists were killed in the blast upon discovering it. But the pathologist Slonský works with suspects foul play…
Could this be a murder investigation? Was the bomb planted?
Slonský must solve the mystery surrounding this Field of Death…
I thoroughly enjoyed Field of Death, book number four in the series - it had me laughing from start to finish and I really like Slonsky’s sense of humour and attitude to life. Although the book can be read as a stand alone, I would definitely urge the reader to invest time in the first three books which are just as good.

‘It ought not be thought that Slonský was a curmudgeon who disliked human interaction.’

No, Josef Slonský is a man on a mission. He must pass a medical in order to take up his promotion as Captain in the Prague police force, and a strict diet and exercise regime is making him just a little more grumpy than usual. But then an explosion in a field captures his attention.

It’s reported that four men with metal detectors managed to discover and then to detonate a World War II bomb. But Novák the pathologist has some doubts about this explanation, and Slonský starts investigating. Was it an accident, or is it murder?

‘Has either of you heard of the Ghost Battery?’

This is the fourth brilliant entry into the Josef Slonský series, and I think it is the best yet. It has a delightfully eccentric plot (no spoilers here) and includes his two offsiders Jan Navrátil and Kristýna Peiperová. Peiperová is about to undertake a one-year assignment for the Director of Criminal Police, and Slonský is plotting to make sure that she returns to his division afterwards. And Navrátil ends up with his own critical assignment as Slonský works to solve the case. There’s plenty of action towards the end, and more than a few twists.

As I’ve come to expect, Slonský finds some unusual albeit pragmatic solutions to problems and it’s an entertaining read. While this novel could be read as a standalone, I’d recommend reading the novels in order because the character development (and related backstory) is as important as the case being solved.

And now I will wait patiently for another instalment. Highly recommended.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith