Alibi

Adam Miller arrives in 1946 Venice seeking both business opportunities and escape from his past as a U.S. war crimes investigator. During his stay, he becomes involved with Claudia Grassini, a Jewish woman who survived the war in hiding. The romance leads Adam into Venice's post-war social circles, where he encounters both Nazi collaborators and resistance members attempting to rebuild their lives. His investigation background pulls him into questions about wartime events that some prefer to keep buried. As Adam navigates Venice's maze-like canals and relationships, the lines between justice, revenge, and self-interest begin to blur. The city's carnival masks and shifting reflections mirror the characters' hidden truths and conflicting loyalties. The novel explores how individuals and societies confront their wartime choices once peace returns, and questions whether moral clarity can survive in a world of compromise and convenient forgetfulness.

Readers highlight the atmospheric portrayal of post-WWII Venice and the complex moral questions around Holocaust survivors seeking justice. Many found the noir elements and historical details compelling, with the city itself acting as a key character. Likes: - Rich descriptions of Venice's canals, architecture and post-war mood - Morally complex characters dealing with guilt and revenge - Period details about Jewish refugees and war criminals - Plot twists that challenge assumptions Dislikes: - Slow pacing in the middle sections - Too much focus on architectural descriptions - Some found the main character passive and hard to connect with - Romance subplot feels forced according to multiple reviews Ratings: Goodreads: 3.8/5 (2,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.1/5 (180+ ratings) LibraryThing: 3.7/5 (300+ ratings) "The Venice setting is magnificent but the story drags," notes one Amazon reviewer. A Goodreads review states: "Characters' moral choices keep you thinking long after finishing."

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🔹 The novel is set in post-WWII Venice, a city Joseph Kanon chose partly because its elaborate maze of canals and alleyways perfectly mirrors the complex moral ambiguity of the story's themes. 🔹 Author Joseph Kanon worked as CEO of E.P. Dutton and editor-in-chief of Houghton Mifflin before becoming a full-time novelist at age 51. 🔹 The book explores the real historical phenomenon of "ratlines" - secret escape routes used by Nazi war criminals to flee Europe after World War II, often with help from the Catholic Church. 🔹 Venice's Jewish Ghetto, which features prominently in the novel, was the world's first ghetto (established 1516) and gave us the modern English word "ghetto." 🔹 The book's protagonist, Adam Miller, is a U.S. war crimes investigator - a role based on real investigators who worked for the Army's Counter Intelligence Corps after WWII tracking down Nazi fugitives.