‘The Abomination’ by Jonathan Holt

Published by Head of Zeus,
21 November 2013.
ISBN: 978-1-78185-369-6

A woman is found dead, a double shot to her head, floating in the waters of Venice.  This would be shocking enough, but she is dressed in the religious robes only ordained priests should wear – male priests at that!

This is Captain Katerina (Kat)  Tapo’s first murder, throwing her into the world of human trafficking, organised crime and religious controversy.  As more bodies start to be uncovered, Kat

discovers that murder is not the only issue she is contending with.  Political manoeuvring and international relations start to interfere with the investigation and she finds herself working with a US Second Lieutenant, Holly Boland, who is exploring her own enquiries into a possible war crime.

Working with each other and the creator of a virtual Venice, Carnivia, they begin to unravel secrets that their respective superiors would prefer to remain hidden.  The two women find themselves getting deeper and deeper into a case which threatens the lives of both of them, and anyone else they connect it to.  It starts to become unclear who they can trust and what they are investigating, organised crime or a deeper governmental cover up.

Well paced with a really interesting set of characters and uses the stunning backdrop of its location to draw the reader further into the web-like plot which Johnathan Holt has created.  The Abomination is page turning in the extreme, but without some of the flaws inherent in some blockbuster thrillers.  The characters have some depth, there are other stories going on along with the main thrust of the narrative, and this creates a gripping read.

My only reservation is that both the story and the unusual fact that the two main protagonists are women means that this ideal for a Hollywood film. Unfortunately I am sure that it would not match up to the book.  A fine book, difficult to put down and recommended as a good holiday read, especially if you are visiting the watery streets of Venice.

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Reviewer: Amanda Brown

Jonathan Holt read English literature at Oxford and is now the creative director of an advertising company. He lives in London.