The Abomination by Jonathan Holt

Published by Harper on June 18, 2013

In the grand tradition of thrillers that depend upon conspiracy theories, The Abomination serves up a Machiavellian plot involving NATO, the death of Aldo Moro, the Bosnian War, the Mafia, a private army, arms manufacturers, human traffickers, a corrupt Italian prosecutor, and two offshoots of the Catholic Church. Three storylines develop alongside each other, and for the first quarter of The Abomination, I was wondering how they could possibly tie together.

Kat Tapo has recently been promoted to the position of homicide detective for the Carabinieri (military police) in Venice. Her first murder investigation involves a female corpse wearing the robes of a Catholic priest. Tattoos on her body and similar marks at the crime scene -- an island that is shunned for fear of the evil spirits that purportedly haunt it -- might or might not be related to the occult. A second murder, apparently related, occurs in the hotel room that the two victims shared. Kat's attempt to investigate is obstructed at every turn.

Second Lieutenant Holly Boland has been posted to Italy, where she spent much of her childhood. In her role as an American military intelligence officer, she's asked to respond to a request for information about the relationship between the U.S. military and a Croatian commander who was responsible for atrocities committed during the Bosnian War. Her attempt to gather the requested information is obstructed at every turn.

Daniele Barbo is an antisocial computer whiz who maintains a website called Carnivia. It's sort of a social networking site combined with an Italian version of Second Life set in Venice. Because Carnivia safeguards the anonymity of its users, it is valued as a clandestine meeting place. The Italian government wants to put Barbo in prison because he won't allow the government to access Carnivia's encrypted data. Someone is attempting to break the encryption, and Barbo's efforts to discover the source of the attacks on Carnivia's coding are obstructed at every turn.

The interplay of the three storylines produces a plot that is shrewd, intricate, and mostly believable. The murder investigation leads to false trails, cover-ups, and more deaths. Tense relationships between Venetians and Americans, stemming from the American military's problematic presence in Italy, add credibility to the story. Kat and Holly, two women proving themselves in nontraditional occupations, are constructed with satisfying depth. Jonathan Holt seasons the story with convincing references to Venetian culture and attitudes.

This isn't the touristy Venice of gondola rides and museums (although both play a role in the story). Holt's Venice is seedy and crime-ridden. Although Holt pays tribute to the city's fantastic architecture, he gives close attention to the flooded basements and moldy walls that are hidden from visitors. Fetid waters become symbolic of the crime that seeps through the city.

The Abomination is an appealing novel, but it has its flaws. While the story is well-told, the pace is occasionally slowed by unnecessary detail. The theme (violence against women) is important but Holt indulges in a few too many preachy moments. Occasional scenes are over-the-top (no matter how well connected a conspirator might be, shooting a Hellfire missile into Italy will raise some eyebrows) but most of the story is believable. There's a bit of soap opera in one of Kat's relationships. It isn't overdone but it adds little value to a story that has plenty of human interest without the addition of a predictable affair. The novel's conclusion is underwhelming given the scope of the conspiracy that needs to be unraveled, although the ending contains enough ambiguity to whet my interest in the next installment of this trilogy. Imperfections aside, the novel's action scenes are both riveting and realistic, the story is consistently attention-grabbing, and the atmospheric setting is worth a return visit. I look forward to seeing the trio of key characters in action again.

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