The Memory Seeker
A Novel
by Ronald Niezen
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Pub Date Feb 16 2023 | Archive Date Mar 30 2023
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Description
When Dutch-Canadian Peter Dekker is hired as an investigator by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, he has no inkling of the war crimes that lie in his own family's history.
His work takes him to Timbuktu, where he collaborates with Malian colleagues to document war crimes from a recent and only partly-ended civil war. While he is on assignment, his live-in girlfriend, Nora, gets to know Peter's estranged aunt living in The Hague and uncovers a dark history of murder, revenge and collaboration with the Nazi occupiers.
As the stories of his family under Nazi rule unfold and the intrigues multiply, Peter is confronted with a war crime in which he finds himself next-of-kin rather than an investigator.
The Memory Seeker takes on the experiences of war violence and its aftermath, the vagaries of memory, and the incompleteness of courtroom justice pitted against the temptations of revenge.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
"The historical novel The Memory Seeker is graphic in detailing the lasting, damaging effects of wars and falsehoods." -Foreword Reviews
"Meticulously researched, Niezen's powerful novel shows how war crimes create generations of family guilt and poison whole societies. This novel is a splendid mystery with a moral center that speaks to our time." -Carl Vonderau, award-winning author of Murderabilia
"An astonishing debut novel that establishes Ronald Niezen as one of the most exciting new voices in historical fiction." -BestThrillers.com
"Well-researched and masterfully told, this powerful tale about war crimes pulls no punches." -Kirkus Reviews
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781685131401 |
| PRICE | $6.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 327 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Lynda S, Reviewer
The Memory Seeker of the title is Canadian Peter Dekker, a recent recruit of the International Criminal Court at The Hague. He is soon sent to investigate evidence of war crimes in the wake of the Mali War, in Timbuktu.
Those looking for graphic tales of atrocities will be disappointed: looking for evidence involves looking for corroboration, factual recording, accurate dating.
This is a double-pronged tale: when Peter returns to be with his Dutch wife, the latter's new relationship with an estranged relative brings investigations such of these closer to home. Could it be that there are members of his own family that corroborated with Nazi crimes, and covered murder within it's own ranks?
Péter is not the kind of man to let a question like this go. There is psychological intrigue too, as the story unveils the mind of a narcissist..
This part of the story is also imbibed with realism and experience, as the postscript reveals. There is a recognition of the importance of family bo da, and the need to heal from trauma inflicted by war, and what can be unleashed by it.
