Snipers

by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Overview

The Carnival Sniper-as famous as Jack The Ripper. And like Jack The Ripper, never caught, his identity lost to history. In 1913, the Carnival Sniper terrorized Vienna, murdering the famous and not-so-famous alike. Police Detective Johann Runge never caught the Sniper and his failure defined the rest of his life. In 2005, bestselling crime writer Sofie Branstadter receives permission to use modern forensic investigative techniques on the Sniper's victims. She believes she can figure out the identity of the Sniper, but she needs the help of Runge's great-grandson, classical pianist Anton Runge. Together the two of them plunge into a world of scientific evidence and fantastic clues, all leading to one unbelievable conclusion. "The SF thriller is alive and well, and today's leading practitioner is Kristine Kathryn Rusch." -Analog "A little gem of a thriller. Startling and wonderfully effective." -The Daily Mail (London) on Hitler's Angel "Part police procedural, part political thriller, this clever tale features real life characters interacting with fictional ones." -New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Deaver on G-Men

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780615762050
Publisher:	Wmg Publishing
Publication date:	03/18/2013
Pages:	346
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

Bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch's award-winning fiction includes many historical stories, including "G-Men," and "The Gallery of His Dreams." The London Daily Mail called her novel, Hitler's Angel published by Max Crime, "a little gem of a thriller." She also writes highly acclaimed mysteries under the name Kris Nelscott. For more about her work, go to kristinekathrynrusch.com.

Editorial Reviews

The theme of this lackluster thriller from Rusch (G-Men) is time travel undertaken here to change history for the better. The book raises the familiar ethical and logical dilemmas involved in altering the past. In 2005, author Sofie Branstadter devotes herself to identifying the so-called Carnival Sniper, a murderer who struck in 1913 in Vienna. Since her parents were also killed by an unknown gunman, she has a personal reason for solving the cold case. When she gets the corpse of one of the victims disinterred, she finds an unusual bullet that she hopes will lead her to the truth. Alternate chapters describe the goings-on in 1913 as a series of men who shaped the course of 20th century history are gunned down one by one. Anton Runge, whose great-grandfather was in charge of the Carnival Sniper case, aids Sofie in her search. While Anton starts out hostile to the writer based on a book she wrote about the murders, few readers will be surprised by how their relationship changes. (July)

Publishers Weekly

In 1913 Vienna, the Carnival Sniper went on a killing spree. In 2005, historian and best-selling author Sophie Branstadter begins her investigation into the nearly 100-year-old crime with the exhumation of one of the Sniper’s victims. The unusual evidence retrieved from the corpse yields more questions than answers. Yet after gaining access to the original detective’s files, Sophie begins to piece together a theory she would have otherwise thought impossible.

Verdict Rusch’s (“Retrieval Artist” series; “Diving Universe” series) latest sf thriller involves a time-traveling premise with an interesting twist, but this is never fully explored as readers are given little insight into the assassin’s motivations or the implications of an alternate history that results from his actions. Serious sf readers may take issue with time-traveling paradoxes and find subsequent plotlines problematic. This story will appeal to readers looking for a light mystery peppered with a bit of romance, but hard-core alternate-history fans will want to pass.—Vicki Briner, City Coll. Lib., Fort Lauderdale, FL
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