Living in Europe one is surrounded by history everyday. The divisions of nationalism, sectarianism, and tribalism are never far from the surface. We like to think that the diplomacy and free trade of the EU has largely kick-started the continent into a more evolved environment, yet with the recent Syrian refugee crisis, the ghosts of the past are not fully put to rest. Perhaps no where are the scars as deep as in the Balkans, and it is in Sarajevo during World War 2 that the author, Luke McCallin, continues his series about our protagonist, Gregor Reinhardt, the former Berlin police detective, now in the German Wehrmacht as an elevated military cop. 
 Reinhardt is sent back to Sarajevo following the events in the first novel, only now it is 1945, and the war is rapidly unwinding. The partisans are everywhere, and it is the duty of Reinhardt's company to maintain order and look for deserters as the Germans retreat. The story begins with him coming upon an apparent massacre outside of Sarajevo. The scene strikes him as odd, however, because there appear to be two, even three different shootings of small groups. As if one group just happened to be there by accident and had to be liquidated as well. To cover up the crimes of the first shooting. Reinhardt believes that the first group are deserters, but isn't sure. 
 As he continues his investigation, things begin to spiral out of control. He is intimidated and thwarted at every turn by the Ustasa - the Croatian fascists who control Sarajevo and are on a binge of terror as the Germans relinquish control to them during their final days in the area. Reinhardt struggles with his conscience, trying to survive - literally - but also trying to do the right thing and make sure that the lives of those who were killed are known, and that the perpetrators are found. Justice may not be perfect, but it must be served. 
 I enjoyed this story - learning with Reinhardt the truth behind who and why these men were killed was an interesting and entirely believable thread in the complicated history of the war, and one that I, too, had often wondered about. Not just "what would I do, being a moral person, in a completely chaotic and immoral situation" (a la Reinhardt), but also, "what happened to these Ustasa fascists as the war wound down?" It is both of these questions that beg the reader to continue in Reinhardt's investigation, and it is quite the page tuner. 
 Congratulations to Mr. McCallin to an excellent sequel to his original work. I look forward to the third in his series.