title: Rosa: A Novel
author:  Jonathan Rabb 
description: From <i>Harper's </i>Magazine <br />"It is Jonathan Rabbs wonderful idea in Rosa to investigate Luxemburgs murder from the point of view of a Berlin police detective, Nikolai Hoffner, on the trail of a killer who leaves dead women at symbolic sites with fetishistic slashings on their bodies. At first, Rosa seems to be one such victim. But an anonymous source (Rosas lover, Leo Jogiches), a helpful scientist (Albert Einstein), an avant-garde artist (Kthe Kollwitz), the thuggish behavior of the Political Police (Polpo), and his own skeptical intelligence will lead Hoffner in a different direction, where he finds radical politics, reactionary bloodlust, and Romantic poetry too. <br /><br />Rosa is a performance all the more astonishing in that there was already another novel on the same subject, Karl and Rosa (1950), the second volume in Alfred Dblins series November 1918. Dblin, a German-Jewish Expressionist writing machine best known for his Berlin Alexandeplatz (1929), fled from the Nazis to Paris and Los Angeles, where he seems to have read John Dos Passos and had no inhibitions about imagining Rosas fantasy life. The word for these pages of reverie is embarrassing. Rabb, on the other hand, gives us a dreadful Berlin, a sinister Polpo, the sound of boots, the smell of corpses, patterns of guilt as runic as lace gloves and city streets, and a ghostly noir that could have been conspired at by Raymond Chandler and Andr Malraux. Leo Jogiches even sounds like Malraux: "I cant choose when or how I die, Inspector, but I can choose why. -- <i>Harper's</i>, March 2005, reviewed by John Leonard <br /><br />"...a novel so richly drawn, so dark and so compelling it reaches into your gut and holds on tight..." -- <i>Detroit Free Press </i><br /><br />"...Berlin is the chief character here, and Rabb artfully delineates the city as it emerges from war, defeat, and revolution into the shadow of nascent state terror."-- <i>Boston Globe </i><br /><br />"Any fan of historical mystery should read this. It's beautifully written, full of perfectly set period detail. And at its heart, it is a brilliant, real-life mystery transformed into fiction." -- <i>Toronto Globe and Mail</i><br /><br /><br />Advance Praise for <i>Rosa</i><br /><br />In <i>Rosa</i>, Jonathan Rabb has created a fascinating tale of conspiracy and brutality in postWorld War I Berlin, an evocative historical mystery that unfolds one horror after another. Rabb perfectly captures the dark beauty and complexity of this battle-scarred city, bringing Berlin to life as an utterly compelling and memorable character. Philip Kerr, author of the <i>Berlin Noir</i> trilogy<br /><br />As the historical mystery thriller comes into its own, there can be no doubt that the genre has, with <i>Rosa</i>, gained a new and altogether exemplary voice: Jonathan Rabb. Robert Cowley, editor of the <i>What If?</i> series<br /><br />Praise for <i>The Overseer</i><br /><br />Intelligent and skillful . . . [Rabb] unleashes dazzling plot twists and edge-of-the-chair confrontations as his tale rushes toward its big-bang ending. . . . A highly sophisticated and diverting thriller, superior entertainment. <i>Washington Post Book World</i><br /><br />Ancient artifactsthe more spurious the betterare superb linchpins for any novel, and Rabb has chosen his well. <i>Los Angeles Times</i><br /><br /><i>The Overseer </i>is an exceptional debut thriller, refreshingly original, with a feel-your-pulse plot that warp-speeds its way through the centuries. Jonathan Rabb writes with studied knowledge of his material. The characters are well-defined, the dialogue crisp, and the history a shake-and-stir mix of fact and fiction. . . . A smooth blend of Ian Fleming and Umberto Eco. Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of <i>Sleepers</i> and <i>Apaches</i>
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Jane’s Journey to Love
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Rosalee Adams
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places,
  events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living
  or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
  
  
  **Copyright © 2021 by Rosalee Adams**
  
  
  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
  any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and
  retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the
  use of brief quotations in a book review.
  
  
  **Email:** [**rosaleeadamsbooks@
  gmail.com**](mailto:rosaleeadamsbooks@gmail.com)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## **Rosalee Adams Newsletter**
  
  
  If you love reading sweet, clean, Western Romance stories why not join
  Rosalee’s newsletter and receive advance notification of new releases and
  more!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **Simply sign up here:** [**http://
  eepurl.com/gidA8H**](http://eepur