I was compelled to check out What We Buried by Canadian author Robert Rotenberg after reading the blurb that mentioned how the author was inspired by the true story of the Forty Martyrs in Gubbio, Italy, during World War II.
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About The Book 📚
Title: What We Buried
Author: Robert Rotenberg
Publication Date: February 27, 2024
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Detective & Mystery, Historical Fiction, Suspense & Thriller
Pages: 320
Setting: Italy and Canada
Content Warnings: death, genocide, gun violence, alcoholism, xenophobia, war
“A Toronto homicide detective is attacked at his doorstep when his investigation into possible links between the Nazi occupation of Italy and the murder of his brother decades later gets too close to the truth—in the new crime thriller from bestselling author Robert Rotenberg. Perfect for fans of Scott Turow and David Baldacci.“
About The Author
“Robert Rotenberg is the author of several bestselling novels, including Old City Hall, The Guilty Plea, Stray Bullets, Stranglehold, Heart of the City, and Downfall. He is a criminal lawyer in Toronto with his firm Rotenberg, Shidlowski, Jesin. He is also a television screenwriter and a writing teacher.” Visit him at https://robertrotenberg.com/.
Watch Robert Rotenberg introduce his new book: https://youtu.be/mCac7vfi_b0?si=ejDATk4Lb60R_p4z
My Review
› At first glance I didn’t think the cover for What We Buried was special, but the more I looked the more I realized its significance. This story is about secrets, and we can see that by the letters of the title that are partially covered by leaves. The door makes me curious to know what’s on the other side. What happens if I knock? What happens if I open the door? Who is on the other side?
› This novel isn’t your typical crime story. Rotenberg’s What We Buried is a thrilling and suspenseful detective mystery with historical facts naturally woven throughout. I’ve never read anything by Rotenberg before. He is Jewish and in interviews, he says writing about the Holocaust is something that he’s always felt was important. He learned of The Forty Martyrs while visiting Gubbio twenty-four years ago and knew he had to share their story somehow. He said this was the hardest of the seven books to write because he wanted to get it right.
› Rotenberg dedicates What We Buried to those who shared their stories with him. Holocaust survivors, and their families, WWII veterans, morse code experts and spies, and citizens in the town of Gubbio.
› “The locals will tell you that the stones that built this Italian hill town come from the ruins of the Roman amphitheatre down in the valley below. But the stones, upon which so many unknowing tourists now tread, what can they tell us?”
› What We Buried takes place in Italy and Canada and is told from the perspective of Kennicott, Greene, Alison, Darvesh, Sheppard and Opal. Daniel Kennicott is entering his seventh year as a homicide detective in Toronto. His parents were killed in a car crash twelve years ago. His brother was murdered almost ten years ago. He’s been struggling with grief and now with the tenth anniversary approaching he’s determined to find who killed his brother. He’s convinced that the car crash was suspicious and is somehow linked to his brother’s death. Daniel meets with the detective in charge of the cold case, Ari Greene. Ari tells Daniel they may have a lead on Arthur Rake, the drunk driver who was charged. He’s out of jail and has disappeared. Alison Greene is Ari’s daughter. She’s become close with her grandfather Yitzhak who tells her things he’s never told anyone – not even his own son. While Ari teams up with Detective Sadie Sheppard, Detective Abdul Darvesh, and Detective Pamela Opal to search for Arthur and investigate the car crash, Daniel travels to Italy to investigate his brother’s murder, and Alison learns secrets that have been long buried.
› In Italy, Daniel learns about the Forty Martyrs. This is based on a true story. Hitler made a rule that if a German soldier was killed then twenty civilians would be executed. On June 22, 1944, a German officer was killed and a soldier was injured. The Nazis went door to door, taking people at random. Forty people from 17 to 61 years old were killed. The Forty Martyrs are named at the end of the book.
› I was surprised to learn about Canada’s participation with German prisoners of war after WWII. I’m Canadian. I have a BA with a minor in History – you’d think I would have learned about this! I had no idea that 34,000 German prisoners of war lived in Canada.
› I enjoyed the comedic relief from Detective Opal. She had me laughing out loud. However, I wanted more character development and description. The short chapters make this a page-turner. The plot moves at a good pace and there are some twists I didn’t see coming. Some scenes involving the car crash investigation were corny because Ari gave the other detectives credit for noticing obvious things. There were moments when I felt that I wasn’t being treated like an intelligent reader. I would have preferred to have the story told from fewer perspectives. I enjoyed the conflict and suspense, particularly the car chase seen in the woods. The story is complex but easy to follow.
› I laughed. I cried. The pages turned.
› In the past I have given a rating out of ten and converted that to a star rating, but I’m no longer giving a star rating here on my blog. I will continue to do that on Goodreads and The Story Graph.
› Final Thoughts
• What We Buried is a mysterious, dark, informative, and thrilling novel about secrets, revenge, family, friends, resilience, courage and truth. It’s about the impact of war and trauma that affects generations. It’s a tense story with an important message, however, it’s also surprisingly funny in parts. I highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more from Rotenberg.
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