Fiction
February 2020
The Church
by Avgust Demšar
The Church is a typical whodunnit crime novel. The crimes once again take place in native Slovenian surroundings, mostly in the fictitious village of Vodnjaki, where it seems that a special type of evil resides. The tenth, jubilee novel by Demšar is more extensive, the story is more complex and the side stories are even more surprising. The author lures us into a whirlwind of events and holds the reader in suspense even when he delves into the relationships between his mainstay characters known from his previous novels and their characterisation. The rising action that triggers further events is the murder of a high-level church dignitary. Even before the criminal investigators can get down to work, new murders and crimes are reported. In addition to the main storyline, Demšar touches on many different current social issues. This intensely suspenseful read full of intellectual challenges leads the reader on a path to solving an exceptionally complex case.
