[.ca] The Mazovia Legacy (ISBN 1552783510)

Amazon.ca:
"The snow in an overlong Montreal winter covers a multitude of sins." That evocative opening line to The Mazovia Legacy hints at the tale of cover-ups, intrigue, and evil that will gradually unfold, in gripping fashion. When an elderly Polish emigré, Stanislaw Janovski, dies in murky circumstances, his niece Natalia, a consulting psychologist, becomes obsessed with discovering what happened and why. She persuades local investigative journalist Francis Delaney that this is a story worth pursuing, though neither could possibly have predicted the can of worms they would uncover in the process. Unravelling the mystery necessitates a journey back to the early days of the Second World War, when concerned Poles smuggled some of the country's art treasures to apparent safety in Canada. These objects have now become of paramount importance to certain groups, and they will stop at nothing to retrieve them. The ingredients in the plot of The Mazovia Legacy--missing art treasures and possible corruption in the Vatican--are by no means novel, but author Michael E. Rose is able to breathe new life into these elements via some ingenious plotting and a crisp prose style. He also deserves credit for being unafraid to deliver a surprisingly tragic conclusion. Rose is a Canadian journalist now based in Europe, and that background clearly helps him add authenticity to the behaviour of his fellow journalist protagonist. He is a thriller writer of very real promise, and the strengths of The Mazovia Legacy make his future work keenly anticipated. --Kerry Doole

An absorbing thriller:
Francis Delaney is the Canadian investigative journalist who is drawn into a cover up of international proportions. Discovering what is at stake, who is involved and their motives makes for an absorbing story that I could not put down. This is a finely crafted thriller that flirts with real post world war two politics and events. Engaging to the last page, I'm looking forward to the next instalment.