Book Review: THE ROMA PLOT by Mario Bolduc

Title: The Roma Plot

Author: Mario Bolduc
Publisher: Dundurn
Read: September 2017

Expected publication: 21 November 2017

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

Book Description:

Max O’Brien may be a professional con man, but that doesn’t mean you can’t count on him in a bind. So when he hears that his old friend Kevin Dandurand is a wanted man over a seemingly racially motivated killing spree, he heads to Bucharest to try to make sense of what looks like an impossible situation.

The buried truths he uncovers reach back to the Second World War, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, and an entanglement between a Roma man and a German woman whose echoes pursue O’Brien and Dandurand into the present day. But if they can’t escape the long shadows of the past, the two will find their present cut all too short.

My musings:

I am a bit of a sucker when it comes to books about WWII, and was instantly intrigued by the premise of The Roma Plot. I admit I know very little about the fate of the Roma, except that, like other ethnic minorities, they had been ruthlessly persecuted during Hitler’s regimen in the name of clearing the country of everyone but the championed “Aryan” race. Bolduc’s knowledge of the issue is astonishing, and he has obviously done a lot of research into the subject matter, which he clearly feels passionate about. It was interesting to learn more about Roma culture and their ongoing struggles to be accepted as a people, and their fate during WWII – Emil’s life was simply heartbreaking! Needless to say that I found the chapters about Emil and his life the most interesting and captivating, and I admit that the modern day part of the book took a bit of a backward step for me.

In The Roma Plot, Bolduc delivers a multi-layered, very intricate plot with a true historical background and some famous historical characters interspersed with fictional ones. I must admit that whilst I found the history fascinating, the book was at times a bit too political for me, and I found it difficult to keep track of the multiple characters who come and go between the chapters. Some characters even changed their names and identities throughout the story, which presented an even tougher challenge. This was not a book you could easily put down and pick up again. I often found myself flicking back and forth in confusion: “And who is this again?”

The story plays our over several different time frames, with one thread set during WWII and the other starting in the present time. But as Max is reminiscing about the origins of his friendship with Kevin, his story also contains elements from the past few years, skipping back and forth over events that have brought him to his current predicament. Whilst Emil’s chapters are clearly labelled as being in the past, I found myself struggling a few times to work out the timings in the “present”.

I found Max to be an intriguing and interesting character, who makes for a refreshingly different protagonist. Being a con-man he certainly stands out from your average detective, and got himself into some unusual situations. I initially found it a bit hard to get into his head, which may have something to do with the book being the second in a series. Since Emil makes his first appearance here, I had no trouble identifying with his character and feeling his pain as his life unfolded in a series of tragedies and struggles.

Summary:

In summary, The Roma Plot was a bit of a mixed bag for me. On one hand I loved the historical content and appreciated the rich background information the author provided. On the other hand I felt that I may not be the right audience for this book, as I found it a bit too political and involved at times. I am sure it will appeal to readers who love spy fiction and books set against the backdrop of political events, and who can fully appreciate the intricate, multi-layered plot.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dundurn for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.