Adam MIller is desperately tired. As a US Army War Crimes investigator he has been working in Germany to bring the Nazis to justice, but it has taken its toll and he struggles with the enormity of the evil he has seen. Learning that his mother is in Venice, he decides to visit her there; to get away and recuperate away from the aftermath of war.

When he arrives, Venice in 1946 seems unaffected by the war. The expat community still gathers at Harry’s, the canals and the homes seem unchanged, and except for the fact that sugar and coffee are in short supply, it is hard to even see that the war has impacted Venice at all.  His mother, still recovering from the death of his father seems to belong here in ways that she never seemed to belong at home and Adam soon finds that the cause of his mothers’ happiness is Dr. Gianni Maglione, a genial but enigmatic Venetian of some standing in the community.

However, when Adam falls in love with Claudia, a Jewish woman who survived the war, he suddenly sees another Venice, a Venice that is much more sinister and with many secrets. As he confronts the horrors that Claudia endured, Adam unexpectedly finds himself confronting his own moral dilemmas. How much proof do you need to know someone is guilty? When is murder acceptable? How much is a perfect alibi worth?

Well paced, historically accurate, and with wonderful descriptions of Venice, Kanon immerses us in this post war world of intrigue and shameful secrets. He raises interesting questions about collaborating with the enemy, the uses of fear, the difference between proving a crime and knowing a crime was committed and the primal desire for revenge. Venice, the city, stars as a wonderful backdrop to this intrigue and pain, and somehow you know that those buildings and and cobbled streets have endured many such moments in history and remain as mute and enduring witnesses to the constant battle between our best and worst selves.

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 out of 5 Stars)  

Recommend this book to: Ken, Keith, Sharon and Marian

Book Study Worthy: Yes!

Read in ebook format.