Another bookish thriller...

Anomalies: that was what they always looked for. Tiny tears in the thread of normality. Little departures from the logical sequence of a straightforward criminal investigation. It was in those insignificant details that something else often lay concealed, something that pointed to a different, unimaginable truth.

 There are a lot of story lines to keep track of in Donato Carrisi's The Lost Girls of Rome; these seemingly unconnected threads do eventually weave together into one intense psychological thriller, but it was a bit of a challenge at first keeping them all straight. I'm glad I persisted, though.

First, there's Sandra Vega, a forensic analyst who photographs crime scenes. Her photojournalist husband, David, recently died. His last message to her? It's freezing cold here in Oslo. The problem with that? He died in Rome. So, what story was he researching and who killed him? His last 5 photographs hold the clues and Sandra is determined to follow them and find the truth.

There's also a serial killer, Jeremiah Smith, and his most recent victim, a young woman named Lara who is still missing.

And an Interpol agent who claims that he knew David and who is searching for David's photographs...and for something else.

Then there's Marcus, part of an old secret society, who's looking into these seemingly random crimes, but who's own past is an ever bigger mystery. He may be suffering from amnesia, but he's the master of anomalies.

To say this book is complicated is an understatement. What holds it together are the characters, especially Marcus and Sandra. I liked them both. And Carrisi's deft writing kept me reading through all the strange twists and turns to the very end. And what an ending! Carrisi draws from real life criminal cases which adds authenticity to his novel. (Be sure to read his Author's Note at the end.) Plus, it's set in Rome. What more could you want? This is a fast-paced and intense mystery that'll leave you gasping.

Happy Reading!