BOOK REVIEW: The Dark Place

TITLE: The Dark Place
AUTHOR: Damian Vargas
PUBLISHED BY: Sierra Bermeja Fiction.

A small village in a secluded valley, known locally as La Mesita Blanca in Andalusia, Spain, provides the backdrop for this historical suspense thriller where a community of German war criminals live, protected by the Spanish state. Most people think that all the senior Nazis and German war criminals were caught and punished after the war but this novel aims to put the record straight.

There were over 800,000 members of the SS alive at the end of the war; the vast majority of whom blended back into German society and returned to their old lives. Many former senior figures in the 3rd Reich went on to be influential political and business leaders in the years that followed.

This story explores the capacity for evil and is told by moving to and fro between the memories of the main characters detailing the violent events that occurred on All Saints’ Day 1970 following the disappearance of a teenage boy, the son of one of the most prominent of the local Germans. Several chapters are devoted to retelling events that occurred in the village in the months leading up to the final day and to more distant events that shaped the characters involved and their actions prior to the story’s dark resolution. 

Protagonist, Jesus Garcia, a Captain from the Guardia Civil is a lonely widower, a man still troubled by his actions some three decades earlier during Spain’s bitter Civil War. He is looking forward to his imminent retirement, but before he can do so he is challenged to find a missing teenage boy, the son of one of the most prominent of the local Germans. He receives a telephone call in the middle of the night from the Commissioner of Police in Andalusia, telling him of the disappearance of 15-year-old Conrad Navarro and he is ordered to resolve the problem swiftly.

Garcia knows from the moment he places down the receiver, that all he has worked for, and more, is in jeopardy if he fails to find the boy. But above all, he must also protect his village’s dark secrets.

This is an intriguing, well researched thriller which I was drawn into from the first page; with engaging writing, it takes the reader to a period of Spanish history which most people will not be aware of. The author’s brilliant descriptions of people and places in the plot really enabled me to be in the moment and enjoy the intrigue.

I found the characters believable and switched from liking to disliking many of them but manged to retain my allegiance for the best of them.

This is a real page-turner and a great read; I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope to read more of Inspector Jesus Garcia and his exploits.

Vargas took inspiration for the book from his grandfather, a member of the RAF ground crew who served in Africa, France and Germany and recovered German technology from newly captured Luftwaffe bases. His imagination was further sparked by discovering that he was living not far from a village where many of the senior Nazis and German war criminals lived and thrived.

For those who like dark, twisting plotlines, a cast of interesting characters, and an ending that you don't see coming, this will delight.

Reviewer - Anne Pritchard