Inspector Anders and the Ship of Fools (Inspector Anders Mysteries Series) [Hardcover]

Seconded to Interpol after his Sicilian adventure, Inspector Anders and his sidekick, Matucci, find themselves behind the desk pushing paper-clips and files until a terrorist cell, the Judgement Day group, opposed to globalisation takes out a room full of executives in Frankfurt. Bloody and efficient, the whole thing leaves everyone flabbergasted -- how did the terrorists get through the topnotch security in order to plant the bomb? And why are they using verses from a fifteenth century work -- THE SHIP OF FOOLS -- to frame their manifesto? Are they trying to show off their intellectual prowess? Or do they verses hint at something more sinister? As the number of murderous assaults against the business community both in Germany and France mounts, and the German and French police chase after a terrorist they are sure is behind the whole thing, Inspector Anders senses that the actual perpetrator of this atrocity has been playing the authorities completely. Following his own instincts, he goes to Strasbourg, to the birth place of Sebastian Brant (the authour of THE SHIP OF FOOLS). Beginning their own investigation, Anders and Matucci follow the clues that pits them against a very methodical and committed intelligence and that pushes them almost to the brink of insanity...

Courteous, reserved, intelligent, and with his own fair share of inner demons, Inspector Anders (who describes himself as a 'rusty knight with a creaky leg) is the kind of charismatic detective that engages the imagination completely. Much of the enjoyment to be gleaned from this novel is from watching Anders grapple with inner workings of the intelligence he is up against. I enjoyed this novel completely. The mystery was a somewhat complex and intriguing one that had me glued to the pages. And I loved Marshall Browne's prose style, and the manner in which he juxtaposed the medieval histories of the European cities featured in this particular mystery with the workings of the modern world of high finance and big business. "Inspector Anders and the Ship of Fools" makes for a deeply absorbing read. And if you're a bit tired of the usual fare in police procedurals or who can do with a break from the 'cozies' should definitely give this series (and this particular installment) a go. You won't be disappointed.

Desperate to stop the Judgment Day organization before other homicides follow, the French police request help from Italian police officer and terrorist expert the one-legged Inspector Anders and Interpol's Detective Matucci. However, stopping the terrorists only proves slightly more difficult than obtaining cooperation from local police departments spread across Western Europe. As the Judgment Day seemingly commits impossible acts of atrocities, Inspector Anders and Detective Matucci do not seem to have made much progress on solving the case.

The insights into the political rivalries even at local police precincts add depth to the exciting tale, but also slow down the action. The case is fun to follow as Anders and Matucci as they did in The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders conduct a through investigation in which the lack of cooperation hinders their efforts more than the terrorists. Fans who enjoy a realistic insightful look at European police (and for that matter American law enforcement too) will relish Browne Marshall's latest tale, Inspector Anders and the Ship of Fools

Harriet Klausner