Where the Devil Can't Go by Anya Lipska

Author: Anya Lipska

Title: Where the Devil Can't Go 

Publisher: William The 4th

Published: 2011

Pages: 432 

Genre: Crime Fiction 

     A naked girl has washed up on the banks of the River Thames. The only clue to her identity is a heart-shaped tattoo encircling two foreign names. Who is she - and why did she die? Life's already complicated enough for Janusz Kiszka, unofficial 'fixer' for East London's Polish community: his priest has asked him to track down a young waitress who has gone missing; a builder on the Olympics site owes him a pile of money; and he's falling for married Kasia, Soho's most strait-laced stripper. But when Janusz finds himself accused of murder by an ambitious young detective, Natalie Kershaw, and pursued by drug dealing gang members, he is forced to take an unscheduled trip back to Poland to find the real killer. In the mist-wreathed streets of his hometown of Gdansk, Janusz must confront painful memories from the Soviet past if he is to uncover the conspiracy - and with it, a decades-old betrayal.

      This book has been in my to-be-read pile for quite some time now. I was drawn in after reading about the cross-cultural nature of the book. Where I work we have had Polish workers pretty much as soon as they joined the European Union. And I have made some good friends over the years. I feel at this point it is safe to safe that they have become just as much of the British landscape as the waves of immigrants that have come in the years before them. After all, I can't think of a town anywhere near me that does not have a small Polish supermarket. I only bring this up as a point that the themes Lipska has taken up in this one seem to be very much missing from contemporary British fiction. In fact as far as I could see hers is the only series that seems to tackle the notion of Polish ex-pats living in England. I was curious to see if this blend of cultures would bare any resemblance to what I had experienced with two different cultures very much come smashing into each other. 

     Lipska's book gives us two very distinctive heroes to get to grips with. Each one is here to represent the different cultures.  Kiszka is our entry into the world of Poles living in London. He has had a hard life and as it would seem he still does. A Fixer come private detective for those who now call England their home. He forever seems to be getting dragged into some scrap or another. For the most part against his better judgment. I've known guys who have had similar mentalities to  Kiszka over the years. They want to do the right thing but you can also tell they are here for the better opportunities. If things had been better at home they more than likely would never have come over here.  What I can tell you is much like Lipska's hero they are fiercely loyal and have a wicked sense of humor. And you learn fast not to cross them, for the most part, they aren't afraid to use their fists if the need arises. 

     To represent my home nation we have DC Kershaw someone else struggling to fit into the world she has come to call home. As the only woman in her department, she knows she will have to fight for everything she needs. All the more so as her colleagues seem to be very much the old school of British cops. But much like her Polish counterpart, she is fully prepared to do what she must to get to the bottom of this dark and twisted tale. I like Kershaw she seems to be a little more human than our standard British cop hero. Maybe she hasn't been doing the job long enough to become jaded by all the death and carnage that is yet to come. She really does care about these victims and the truth that is to be found in finding out their stories. Kershaw is also someone who still believes justice can and will be served within the system. She has the hope that I imagine most readers going into such a book have. We believe our leads will get to the truth and justice can be done.

     This was a book that starts off with a bang and doesn't really slow down as we race around two countries and a whole mess of bottled-up history. As a crime novel, I believe Lipska has done an amazing job on her first outing.  There was enough mystery here to keep me turning pages to find out just what happened to the poor girl. You get locked in with our heroes into trying to pull apart this most complex of cases. And I feel that she gave me enough bits of Polish history to fill in any blanks in more than likely the English reader's knowledge of what has come before. We also get a healthy amount of twists to keep the whole thing interesting. You can tell that she has planned out this whole thing very carefully, there is no reliance on having to just throw things out of nowhere just to keep the whole thing ticking over. 

     For all the brilliance to be found here as a crime novel the moment I think that shined for me where were we get to see our heroes for who they are beyond the cases. The moments where Kershaw shows her vulnerability or tries to balance her life and make it all work. Or for Kiszka when he shows his heart and just how much he cares. But it's also those really funny moments with his best friend. When things go wrong or they act like little children even in their advancing ages. It is all this that gives the tale its beating heart. Something for us as readers to get hooked in by. Where the Devil Can't Go is a book that sticks it to your heart. You are left caring about characters you at first felt unsure about and a world that is deep and rich enough to support what is to come next. 

 

     She has managed to tackle this blending of culture into one book with such amazing grace. Whilst I have never been involved in such a crime I can see those little miss communications between the two that echoed where I worked. These moments were two worlds just don't quite fit together. And you could see that in that split second it could go either way. It's a brilliant thing to see on the page.  I'm sure I will be picking the next volume up in no time soon.