The Confession Audiobook

" Steinhauer is always a good read, with more depth than many police procedurals. This is not quite his best -- the plot gets complicated, and the characters can be hard to identify with. But I guess the book reflects the bleakness of life in Eastern Europe in the decades after WWII. It's fun to see all the same characters in each of his books, with a different one tending to be the central figure each time around. Ferenc, though, is more dour and less engaging, somehow that Emil Brod in one book and Brano Sen in another. 3.5 stars. "

" A chilling story of life behind the Iron curtain in the 1950's. "

" Another excellent work by Steinhauer. He does for life behind the Iron Curtin what Furst does for pre-WWII Europe - the same depth of character, the twisting plot "

" Enjoyed the book. Interesting subject matter (combining detective/human interest/political stories and doing it so well) "

" Steinhauer keeps the story moving forward through the grey, the grit, the smoke and alcohol, through the brutality and glimpses of humanity. "

" An interesting variant of the police procedural, political thriller. "

" difficult at times, cruel and names are confussing, very russian. "

" Mmmmmmm........Not sure what to say about this book. "

" Disappointing in that I couldn't connect with the central character at all. "

" The author concentrates on one of the militia (homocide detective). "

" Dark time in eastern Europe, the 50s. No one was happy and they had to do things that they would never have done in another time. "

" It is fascinating to read about communism from the point of view of communists. Steinhauer's books are dark, but I can't put them down. (BTW, I am NOT reading the Kindle edition. It's just the only one they had in the list.) "

" This is artsy detective fiction, well-written, but could have been more suspenseful. "

" I don't always like the wierd East European state this author has constructed as the background for this detective series but I seem to have read most of the series anyway, hoping for something better. "

" The second book In a series of books about a fictional Eastern European country post WWII. Each book focuses on a different character and time frame. I have read the series and really enjoyed them all. Over time it creates a multilayered story of post war Eastern Europe and a rich set of characters. "

" This is Steinhauer's second book - much better! Compelling. Strong writing. What a time and place to live. "

" I usually love Steinhauer for what I learn about the cold war and the people and lives of Eastern Europe - but skip this one! The story wanders around in darkness of spirit and politics and takes forever to develop. "

" Lost interest -- or more correctly, no interest had been generated -- after reading 27 chapters. Makes me question the entire genre, or rather the reviewers of the genre, as it came highly recommended; meh. "

" The second book in this great series explores the degrading impact of totalitarian repression on art, relationships, and civil society through a Chandler style detective novel/police procedural. A dark but powerful book. "

" Hard to read at times because it was so dark, not that it was a bad book. It's so painful to read what life was like under the Soviet regime. Kolyeszar was such a complex character. "

" Mmmmmmm........Not sure what to say about this book. "

" Steinhauer keeps the story moving forward through the grey, the grit, the smoke and alcohol, through the brutality and glimpses of humanity. "

" The author concentrates on one of the militia (homocide detective). "

" This is artsy detective fiction, well-written, but could have been more suspenseful. "

" It is fascinating to read about communism from the point of view of communists. Steinhauer's books are dark, but I can't put them down. (BTW, I am NOT reading the Kindle edition. It's just the only one they had in the list.) "

" The second book in this great series explores the degrading impact of totalitarian repression on art, relationships, and civil society through a Chandler style detective novel/police procedural. A dark but powerful book. "