A Mirror Above the Abyss

I love a good conspiracy tale. Overall, this was a pleasant book that kept me engaged. I like the weaving together of historical events and information on the narrative of fiction. I love the premise of Sergio, as a global mastermind behind some notorious unsolved crimes of the past century. Unsolved crimes are the perfect basis for a thriller, and Lurye picked ones rife with controversy. I also love the meta nature of a novel about writing a novel, as if Lurye's novel might be real and is being spun as fiction for culpability reasons, just as was initially suggested to Max when he first acquired the Marshall archive. Definitely worth the read, and will pass this book along to other readers.

Some critiques are that the alternation of chapters between Max and Sergio was somewhat repetitive down to the same details instead of sharing new information. Also, some details labored on were never explained: such as Sergio's mysterious youthfulness; the uniqueness of his eyes only used to reveal familial ties to Alex at the island; the backstory of Richard written off as “there was plenty they had not yet told each other” when it seems completely unlike Sergio to leave such a loose end; and then the revelation by Sergio at the end that Max's unlikely exposure to Sergio's face in photos from separate events, Max's running into Jia to gain access to the Chinese mafia, and Richard's knowledge of a Bosch collector are true coincidences. There was almost a parallel that Max was “lucky” like Sergio in the way that the universe seemed to tip in their favor at every turn, but that was not developed further. I think there was an early theme of the parallels between Max and Sergio, until we learn Sergio has a son, especially in their proclivities for love interest in women too young. There were also misused words, abrupt transitions between time gaps, etc. scattered throughout that didn't distract too much, but we're notable.

Again, I liked this book overall. Would recommend.