The Second Son is an unusual blend of hard-boiled detective novel and love story . . . the narrative never flags. It proves that first-rate detectives are like good lovers and good novelists: keenly observant, intuitive and tough as nails.
Tara McKelvey, The New York Times Book Review Rabb ... Read moreworks wonders, juggling Nazi sympathizers and anarchists and guilty bystanders and innocent warriors with an alacrity few in his generation can maintain . . . Inspector Hoffner flies off into the oncoming darkness, having accomplished Rabb's mission, of carrying to completion this engrossing trilogy on his strong shoulders.
Alan Cheuse, The Dallas Morning News A powerful, shocking and moving novel . . . Rabb is an accomplished storyteller as well as a superb stylist, and the conclusion of his trilogy is at once affecting and effective in its portrayal of the run-up to a global nightmare.
Jay Strafford, The Richmond Times-Dispatch The chaos of the war provides an evocative backdrop for this unlikely, noir-tinged story of a cynical father chasing after his idealistic son . . . This is Alan Furst territory, but it will also resonate for readers of European antiwar fiction, from All Quiet on the Western Front to The Good Soldier Schweik.
Bill Ott, Booklist (starred review) Gripping . . . Fans of Alan Furst and Philip Kerr will be rewarded.
Publishers Weekly An exhilarating bittersweet thriller that brings to life Spain during the violent civil war.
Harriet Klausner, Genre Go Round Questions of political intrigue are all handled with expertise. The story's tempo builds and crescendos with a surprising denouement that will leave readers satisfied. Fans of Alan Furst, Philip Kerr, and Olen Steinhauer will feel very much at home with Rabb's The Second Son, and readers of the Spanish Civil War will nod their heads in approval of how well Rabb researched this very important time in history when the Show Less