A review by northstar
A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell

3.0

A young reporter in 1931 Berlin tries to investigate the murder of her transvestite brother while caring for a young child who may or may not be her brother's son.

I liked the story and there certainly are worse mystery novels. I thought the descriptions of a desperate Berlin with Nazism on the rise were chilling and a powerful reminder that good people get trapped on both sides of a war. The problem was that the plot felt too fantastical for the setting and the era, and I had trouble with suspension of disbelief, which is crucial in a suspense novel.

I may try another of Vogel's books.