Lie in the dark - Dan Fesperman

A quite astonishing first novel which injects the reader into the heart of the darkness which was Sarajevo at the height of the Yugoslav conflict. Reading this book is like being there. If Fesperman had taken me any closer to the action I would be demanding a flak jacket. At the book's core is a police detective, a man who must deal with conflict without never fully understanding it, who must investigate one meaningful murder while those around him are inured to daily slaughter. A humane and moving book, a great crime novel. A great novel period. Ian Rankin