THE SHADOW OF THE MOLE
by Bob Van Laerhoven
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Historical Mystery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
1916,
Bois de Bolante, France. The battles in the trenches are raging fiercer than
ever. In a deserted mineshaft, French sappers discover an unconscious man and
nickname him The Mole
Claiming
he has lost his memory, The Mole is convinced that he's dead and that an Other
has taken his place. The military brass considers him a deserter, but front
physician and psychiatrist-in-training Michel Denis suspects that his patient's
odd behavior is stemming from shellshock and tries to save him from the firing
squad.
The
mystery deepens when The Mole begins to write a story in écriture automatique
that takes place in Vienna, with Dr. Josef Breuer, Freud's teacher, in a
leading role. Traumatized by the recent loss of an arm, Denis becomes obsessed
with his patient and is prepared to do everything he can to unravel his secret.
Set
against the staggering backdrop of the First World War, The Shadow Of The Mole
is a thrilling tableau of loss, frustration, anger, madness, secrets, and
budding love. The most urgent question in this extraordinary story is: when,
how, and why does reality shift into delusion?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
That evening,
the German forces started their offensive with a round of shells hitting Bois
de Bolante. It was freezing. The sky was a dome of cobalt blue, pin-pricked
with blazing-white crystals. A night in which wolves would hunt, the men
muttered to each other.
As the
biggest mortar shells exploded, their vicious sparks pierced the night sky with
red and turquoise; trees were etched like charcoaled skeletons against metallic
dark. When mortars fell into the woods, they exploded with yellow-blue flames
which extinguished themselves slowly in the snow. Waves of green light were
broken by shards of exploding shrapnel, whistling through the air like tiny red
suns. Bullets whizzed like angry bees, softly thudding when they clashed into
the frozen ground. The salvoes of the new, quick-firing German artillery were
heart-stopping. They made a hellish sound: a lightning-fast roll on a giant
drum. And in all that dazzling, reflected light, now and then the shapes of the
soldiers in their trenches were sharply outlined, then torn apart in the play
of light and shadow through the succession of flashes, colour, reflections.
Enfin, it was
a motley funfair, the French told each other breezily, to puff up their
courage.
The cries of
the wounded were weak and pitiful in this cacophony.
After a few
hours it became clear that the lazaretto had to be abandoned. Denis did what he
could to help evacuate the wounded. The whole regiment had to retreat. The
worst injured were left behind. It was a death sentence and everybody knew it.
REVIEW
This story was definitely well written and researched. I will say there is so much going on in this story. With the war raging on there is devastation, destruction and so much more. At times you can really feel the intense times and the sadness that comes with war. This was one incredible story!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A full-time Belgian/Flemish author, Laerhoven has published 43
books in Holland and Belgium. His literary work is translated and republished
in French, English, German, Spanish, Slovenian, Swedish, Italian, Polish, Brazilian
Portuguese, Russian and Chinese.
• Four-time
finalist of the Hercule Poirot Prize for Best Mystery Novel of the Year with
the novels "Djinn," "The Finger of God," "Return to
Hiroshima," and "The Firehand Files."
• Winner of the
Hercule Poirot Prize for "Baudelaire's Revenge," which also won the
USA Best Book Award 2014 in the category "mystery/suspense."
• In 2018, Crime
Wave Press published "Return to Hiroshima," after "Baudelaire's
Revenge," his second novel in English Translation.
• His collection of
short stories "Dangerous Obsessions," first published by The Anaphora
Literary Press in the USA in 2015, was hailed as "best short story
collection of 2015" by the San Diego Book Review. The collection is
translated into Italian, (Brazilian) Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.
• In 2018, The
Anaphora Literary Press published "Heart Fever," the second
collection of short stories. With this collection, Laerhoven became the only
non-American author to be selected as a finalist in the Silver Falchion 2018
Award, in the category "short stories collections."
• In addition, the
quality English book site Murder, Mayhem & More chose "Return to
Hiroshima" as one of the ten best international crime books of 2018.
Readers' Favorite rated the novel Five Stars.
• In August 2021,
Next Chapter published the third novel in English: "Alejandro's Lie,"
set in a fictitious Latin-American dictatorship. Best Thriller Book Awards
winner in the category « Political Thriller 2021" on BestThrillers.com
• In February
2022, Next Chapter published "The Shadow Of The Mole," the fourth
novel in English.
Website: http://www.bobvanlaerhoven.be/en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobvanlaerhoven/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobvanlaerhoven/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bob.vanlaerhoven
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bobvanlaerhoven
Pinterest: http://nl.pinterest.com/laerken/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bobvanlaerhoven?lang=en
Available in e-book – paperback – hardcover -audio book
https://books2read.com/u/4DKzrD
Kindle-Apple-Nook-Rakuten-Kobo-Google Play-Sribd-Smashwords-
Angus&Robertson-Mondadori-Amazon-Barnes&Noble
Enter to win a $10 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
.jpg)
.png)
