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In Darkness Visible
In 2005, Marin Katich, living in Croatia under an alias, is being watched. Before the year is out, he has been assaulted, arrested, charged with serious war crimes and locked up in Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, waiting for his case to come before the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
In Sydney, Anna Rosen, a freelance journalist, is emailed photos of a man she knows to be dead - gunned down in a brutal ambush in Bosnia over a decade ago. A man she'd once loved but who had betrayed her. Is it possible that the photos really are of Marin Katich? And if so, what the hell had happened in 1992?
From Croatia to The Hague to Bosnia and Herzegovina to Sydney, Anna and Marin's intertwined history fuels her determination to tear apart, piece by piece, his secrets, while continuing to keep her own.
In a dangerous pursuit of justice and revenge, navigating the murky world of national and international secret agencies and those who would still be warlords, Anna fights for what she believes in and for those she loves.
In Sydney, Anna Rosen, a freelance journalist, is emailed photos of a man she knows to be dead - gunned down in a brutal ambush in Bosnia over a decade ago. A man she'd once loved but who had betrayed her. Is it possible that the photos really are of Marin Katich? And if so, what the hell had happened in 1992?
From Croatia to The Hague to Bosnia and Herzegovina to Sydney, Anna and Marin's intertwined history fuels her determination to tear apart, piece by piece, his secrets, while continuing to keep her own.
In a dangerous pursuit of justice and revenge, navigating the murky world of national and international secret agencies and those who would still be warlords, Anna fights for what she believes in and for those she loves.
468 pages, Paperback
First published November 5, 2019
22 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
Tony Jones
2 books18 followersTony^^^^^^Jones
Anthony William "Tony" Jones (born 13 November 1955) is an Australian television news and political journalist, and television presenter.
Jones joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a radio current affairs cadet working on the AM, PM and The World Today programs. In 1985, he joined the Four Corners program as a reporter. In 1986, he went to the Dateline program on SBS. He returned to the ABC in 1987, reporting for Four Corners.
In 1990, Jones went to London as the ABC's current affairs correspondent. He covered the collapse of the USSR in Eastern Europe, the Gulf War, the war in the former Yugoslavia, the fall of Kabul to the Mujahadin and the collapse of apartheid. Jones returned to Australia in 1993 as Executive Producer of the Foreign Correspondent program. From 1994 to 1996, he was the ABC's correspondent in Washington, D.C., before returning to Foreign Correspondent in 1997. He also covered the war crimes in Bosnia. In mid-1998 he returned to Four Corners.
Jones is one of Australia's most well known journalists, winning four awards including four of Australia's leading journalism awards, the Walkleys. Crikey awarded him "Outstanding Media Practitioner of the Year" in 2005 for "ferocious intelligence, polite calmness, [being a] dogged interrogator, deep political instincts, juggling the running agenda, [and having] a great sense of context." Crikey also put much of the success of Lateline to Jones, stating, "Lateline without Jones is a perfectly adequate late night news review; with Jones it is a world-class piece of television." - Wikipedia
Anthony William "Tony" Jones (born 13 November 1955) is an Australian television news and political journalist, and television presenter.
Jones joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a radio current affairs cadet working on the AM, PM and The World Today programs. In 1985, he joined the Four Corners program as a reporter. In 1986, he went to the Dateline program on SBS. He returned to the ABC in 1987, reporting for Four Corners.
In 1990, Jones went to London as the ABC's current affairs correspondent. He covered the collapse of the USSR in Eastern Europe, the Gulf War, the war in the former Yugoslavia, the fall of Kabul to the Mujahadin and the collapse of apartheid. Jones returned to Australia in 1993 as Executive Producer of the Foreign Correspondent program. From 1994 to 1996, he was the ABC's correspondent in Washington, D.C., before returning to Foreign Correspondent in 1997. He also covered the war crimes in Bosnia. In mid-1998 he returned to Four Corners.
Jones is one of Australia's most well known journalists, winning four awards including four of Australia's leading journalism awards, the Walkleys. Crikey awarded him "Outstanding Media Practitioner of the Year" in 2005 for "ferocious intelligence, polite calmness, [being a] dogged interrogator, deep political instincts, juggling the running agenda, [and having] a great sense of context." Crikey also put much of the success of Lateline to Jones, stating, "Lateline without Jones is a perfectly adequate late night news review; with Jones it is a world-class piece of television." - Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
June 9, 2020
This is a book I've had sitting on my shelf for a while, daunted by the size of it, yet telling myself I must get to it soon. I'm so glad I finally did!
Sydney journalist Anna Rosen gets an email from a friend and colleague in the Netherlands, containing photos of a man she had once loved and now believed to be dead. Marin Katich has been incarcerated for war crimes, and Anna finds her self on a plane to see him with her own eyes.
Look I could describe the plot to you, but we'd be here all day. Let's just say In Darkness Visible is an intriguing follow up to Tony Jones' previous book The Twentieth Man. We learn more of Anna and Marin's complex relationship, and what caused Marin's downward spiral to the killer he became. This book is not always an easy read, but I urge anyone who loves a good complex thriller to pick it up and give it a go. You'll be glad you did.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin for an uncorrected proof to read and review. The opinions are entirely my own.
Sydney journalist Anna Rosen gets an email from a friend and colleague in the Netherlands, containing photos of a man she had once loved and now believed to be dead. Marin Katich has been incarcerated for war crimes, and Anna finds her self on a plane to see him with her own eyes.
Look I could describe the plot to you, but we'd be here all day. Let's just say In Darkness Visible is an intriguing follow up to Tony Jones' previous book The Twentieth Man. We learn more of Anna and Marin's complex relationship, and what caused Marin's downward spiral to the killer he became. This book is not always an easy read, but I urge anyone who loves a good complex thriller to pick it up and give it a go. You'll be glad you did.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin for an uncorrected proof to read and review. The opinions are entirely my own.
January 21, 2020
4★
“Over her shoulder she had slung a tape recorder, and in her right hand was a microphone that she waved as if it had magical powers to protect her. When she saw that the police had removed their numbered badges she knew things would get rough.
At 5.15 pm the protesters linked arms and surrounded the prime minister’s waiting limousine.”
Sydney, Australia, 1970 student anti-war protests. Anna Rosen is a leader. Was. It’s now 2005. This follows Jones’s The Twentieth Man, who was Marin Katich, an Australian of Croatian background, who got caught up in his father’s radical politics.
Chapters in this sequel, 30-odd years later, move between different time periods and points in history, both political and personal. It also moves between Australia, The Hague, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and what was Yugoslavia.
Marin Katich was killed, assassinated, in 1992 while fighting in the Bosnian War, but when Anna receives a photograph that purportedly shows him today (2005) awaiting a war crimes trial in Sheveningen Prison in the Hague, she is seriously shaken.
Anna’s an experienced journalist who has covered conflicts and wrote a book about Ivo Katich, Marin’s father, who was a nasty piece of work. He collaborated with the Nazis, rounding up the Jews of Sarajevo and sending them to death camps.
For Anna, what started off as youthful student protesting developed into a news career, one that she’s good at and one through which she’s made friends around the world. So she sets off to find out what happened.
I admit that the politics of it all is beyond me. I had a hard time keeping track of who was on which side and what was happening in all the war stories. I found myself skimming some of the middle section of the book when it was about the battles and mixed loyalties. There is so much detail about the ins and outs of Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia and the religious conflicts against Jews and Muslims, all of which are in what was Yugoslavia.
The book is full of facts, many of which were inserted into conversations like this one between Anna and her old friend Pierre, outside the prison in The Hague.
“ ‘It’s a memorial to the Dutch resistance fighters jailed here during the occupation,’ Pierre explained. ‘The famous “Soldiers of Orange”. Older folk still call it “The Orange Hotel”. Most of the suspects had a short stay—they were tortured, then taken out into the sand dunes and shot.’
‘No Jewish memorial?’ asked Anna.
‘No. You’ll find the locals aren’t so keen to talk about that side of things. They want us to believe the Anne Frank mythology—that kindly Dutchmen hid all the Jews away in secret rooms. But I’m sure you know a bit about this.’
Anna nodded. Pierre was right: a higher percentage of Dutch Jews were killed in the Holocaust than any other country in Western Europe, seventy-five per cent.
‘It should be a national scandal,’ she muttered.
‘Eichmann loved Dutch efficiency,’ said Pierre. ‘Like I said, they don’t exactly embrace the dark side of their history.’”
Once I got back on track with the main characters, I enjoyed the rest of the book. That’s not to say the facts aren’t important, but there was too much for me to take in easily. For anyone interested in the ongoing tensions in this part of the world, this is a terrific backgrounder. (The failings are mine.)
Tony Jones is almost unbelievably qualified to write about this. His own background as a correspondent in many of the world’s trouble spots is impressive, and his experience shows. Thanks to Allen & Unwin for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted. I really enjoyed the story.
“Over her shoulder she had slung a tape recorder, and in her right hand was a microphone that she waved as if it had magical powers to protect her. When she saw that the police had removed their numbered badges she knew things would get rough.
At 5.15 pm the protesters linked arms and surrounded the prime minister’s waiting limousine.”
Sydney, Australia, 1970 student anti-war protests. Anna Rosen is a leader. Was. It’s now 2005. This follows Jones’s The Twentieth Man, who was Marin Katich, an Australian of Croatian background, who got caught up in his father’s radical politics.
Chapters in this sequel, 30-odd years later, move between different time periods and points in history, both political and personal. It also moves between Australia, The Hague, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and what was Yugoslavia.
Marin Katich was killed, assassinated, in 1992 while fighting in the Bosnian War, but when Anna receives a photograph that purportedly shows him today (2005) awaiting a war crimes trial in Sheveningen Prison in the Hague, she is seriously shaken.
Anna’s an experienced journalist who has covered conflicts and wrote a book about Ivo Katich, Marin’s father, who was a nasty piece of work. He collaborated with the Nazis, rounding up the Jews of Sarajevo and sending them to death camps.
For Anna, what started off as youthful student protesting developed into a news career, one that she’s good at and one through which she’s made friends around the world. So she sets off to find out what happened.
I admit that the politics of it all is beyond me. I had a hard time keeping track of who was on which side and what was happening in all the war stories. I found myself skimming some of the middle section of the book when it was about the battles and mixed loyalties. There is so much detail about the ins and outs of Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia and the religious conflicts against Jews and Muslims, all of which are in what was Yugoslavia.
The book is full of facts, many of which were inserted into conversations like this one between Anna and her old friend Pierre, outside the prison in The Hague.
“ ‘It’s a memorial to the Dutch resistance fighters jailed here during the occupation,’ Pierre explained. ‘The famous “Soldiers of Orange”. Older folk still call it “The Orange Hotel”. Most of the suspects had a short stay—they were tortured, then taken out into the sand dunes and shot.’
‘No Jewish memorial?’ asked Anna.
‘No. You’ll find the locals aren’t so keen to talk about that side of things. They want us to believe the Anne Frank mythology—that kindly Dutchmen hid all the Jews away in secret rooms. But I’m sure you know a bit about this.’
Anna nodded. Pierre was right: a higher percentage of Dutch Jews were killed in the Holocaust than any other country in Western Europe, seventy-five per cent.
‘It should be a national scandal,’ she muttered.
‘Eichmann loved Dutch efficiency,’ said Pierre. ‘Like I said, they don’t exactly embrace the dark side of their history.’”
Once I got back on track with the main characters, I enjoyed the rest of the book. That’s not to say the facts aren’t important, but there was too much for me to take in easily. For anyone interested in the ongoing tensions in this part of the world, this is a terrific backgrounder. (The failings are mine.)
Tony Jones is almost unbelievably qualified to write about this. His own background as a correspondent in many of the world’s trouble spots is impressive, and his experience shows. Thanks to Allen & Unwin for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted. I really enjoyed the story.
January 9, 2020
In Darkness Visible is an intricate political thriller.
It’s the year 2005 and Croatian-Australian Marin Katich is living under an assumed name in a town on the coast of Croatia where he operates a tourist business, taking passengers out to the local islands in his boat to snorkel, swim and watch the sunset.
Unknown to Marin he is under surveillance and he is soon arrested and finds himself in the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague awaiting trial for the heinous charge of serious war crimes. Here he becomes the alpha male Slobodan Milosevic’s preferred chess opponent, Milosevic is a Serbian ex-President.
Australian journalist Anna Rosen who has had a past with Marin is sent photos from her friend Pierre who has recently started working at the War Crimes Tribunal. Anna had believed Marin was killed in an ambush in 1992 but she realises from these recent photos, Marin the man she used to know is still very much alive.
Anna travels to The Hague to face Marin who has been living under the alias of Tomislav Maric. She needs to find out if he betrayed her and to decide as to whether to reveal a secret she has kept for many decades. Scheveningen Prison don’t allow journalists to enter their prison, it’s a prison where the war criminals are incarcerated in a prison within a prison so she will need to find a way to be granted a visit. Anna had written a book about Marin’s father Ivo, a notorious World War 2 war criminal.
This book is a sequel to a previous book, The Twentieth Man although it can be read alone. The author has used international political history (The Balkan conflict) to create this story, it’s quite a complex read and well written for lovers of political thrillers, he certainly has a lot of knowledge! The ending of the story was not what I expected, wow!
I wish to thank Allen & Unwin for generously providing me with a copy of the book for an honest review
It’s the year 2005 and Croatian-Australian Marin Katich is living under an assumed name in a town on the coast of Croatia where he operates a tourist business, taking passengers out to the local islands in his boat to snorkel, swim and watch the sunset.
Unknown to Marin he is under surveillance and he is soon arrested and finds himself in the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague awaiting trial for the heinous charge of serious war crimes. Here he becomes the alpha male Slobodan Milosevic’s preferred chess opponent, Milosevic is a Serbian ex-President.
Australian journalist Anna Rosen who has had a past with Marin is sent photos from her friend Pierre who has recently started working at the War Crimes Tribunal. Anna had believed Marin was killed in an ambush in 1992 but she realises from these recent photos, Marin the man she used to know is still very much alive.
Anna travels to The Hague to face Marin who has been living under the alias of Tomislav Maric. She needs to find out if he betrayed her and to decide as to whether to reveal a secret she has kept for many decades. Scheveningen Prison don’t allow journalists to enter their prison, it’s a prison where the war criminals are incarcerated in a prison within a prison so she will need to find a way to be granted a visit. Anna had written a book about Marin’s father Ivo, a notorious World War 2 war criminal.
This book is a sequel to a previous book, The Twentieth Man although it can be read alone. The author has used international political history (The Balkan conflict) to create this story, it’s quite a complex read and well written for lovers of political thrillers, he certainly has a lot of knowledge! The ending of the story was not what I expected, wow!
I wish to thank Allen & Unwin for generously providing me with a copy of the book for an honest review
November 26, 2021
In Darkness Visible has been sitting neglected on my TBR pile for over a year, continually relegated by library books and ARC titles with looming deadlines. I'm pleased to have finally read it and now wish I'd got to it sooner, as it was a really stimulating and fascinating read, which I thoroughly enjoyed in spite of some of the rather dark content.
Former ABC Foreign Correspondent Tony Jones puts his vast personal experience to great use in this story, which spans decades and continents. From 1970s Sydney to 2000s Europe, we follow the journey of Sydney-based investigative journalist Anna Rosen as she endeavours to uncover the fate of the Croatian-Australian man she once loved, and who is, or was, - unknowingly - the father of her young adult daughter, Rachel. Anna's own on-the-ground investigation during the height of the Bosnian conflict in 1992 revealed that Marin Katich had been killed in an ambush orchestrated by a rival, and she's accepted that fact ever since. That's until 2005, when she's sent a photograph by a colleague, depicting a man known as Tomislav Maric, who's currently imprisoned in the Netherlands, facing a trial for crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The man bears a striking resemblance to an aged Marin Katich and Anna knows she has no option but to head to Scheveningen Prison in the Hague and confront him. Through a series of flashback chapters, Anna's experiences as a young journalist, the horrors of the Balkans war and the lives of those waiting to face the slow process of international justice come to life, as Anna and those close to her face unexpected personal dangers in their quest for the truth.
Tony Jones successfully balances the provision of copious important political and historical context with a thrilling fictional plot and complex characters that capture the reader's imagination and empathy. This is intelligent and high-octane fiction, aimed at an audience who revel in political intrigue and immersive depictions of modern historical events.
I was rather flummoxed to discover, after finishing In Darkness Visible, that it is actually the sequel to an earlier title by Tony Jones, The Twentieth Man (2017), which also features both Anna Rosen and Marin Katich as central characters, and follows each of their involvement in a 1970s conspiracy alluded to in In Darkness Visible. I'll certainly be aiming to read the earlier book soon, but can report that I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience of In Darkness Visible in spite of the fact that I hadn't read (or been aware of!) its predecessor.
I'd recommend In Darkness Visible very highly to readers who have an interest in recent world history, enjoy high-quality writing and complex, multi-layered plots. The book depicts events from the 1991-2001 Balkans war, some describing real life events and some fictionalised, based on the author's experience as a foreign journalist. As such, there is confronting content that may be triggering for some readers.
Former ABC Foreign Correspondent Tony Jones puts his vast personal experience to great use in this story, which spans decades and continents. From 1970s Sydney to 2000s Europe, we follow the journey of Sydney-based investigative journalist Anna Rosen as she endeavours to uncover the fate of the Croatian-Australian man she once loved, and who is, or was, - unknowingly - the father of her young adult daughter, Rachel. Anna's own on-the-ground investigation during the height of the Bosnian conflict in 1992 revealed that Marin Katich had been killed in an ambush orchestrated by a rival, and she's accepted that fact ever since. That's until 2005, when she's sent a photograph by a colleague, depicting a man known as Tomislav Maric, who's currently imprisoned in the Netherlands, facing a trial for crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The man bears a striking resemblance to an aged Marin Katich and Anna knows she has no option but to head to Scheveningen Prison in the Hague and confront him. Through a series of flashback chapters, Anna's experiences as a young journalist, the horrors of the Balkans war and the lives of those waiting to face the slow process of international justice come to life, as Anna and those close to her face unexpected personal dangers in their quest for the truth.
Tony Jones successfully balances the provision of copious important political and historical context with a thrilling fictional plot and complex characters that capture the reader's imagination and empathy. This is intelligent and high-octane fiction, aimed at an audience who revel in political intrigue and immersive depictions of modern historical events.
I was rather flummoxed to discover, after finishing In Darkness Visible, that it is actually the sequel to an earlier title by Tony Jones, The Twentieth Man (2017), which also features both Anna Rosen and Marin Katich as central characters, and follows each of their involvement in a 1970s conspiracy alluded to in In Darkness Visible. I'll certainly be aiming to read the earlier book soon, but can report that I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience of In Darkness Visible in spite of the fact that I hadn't read (or been aware of!) its predecessor.
I'd recommend In Darkness Visible very highly to readers who have an interest in recent world history, enjoy high-quality writing and complex, multi-layered plots. The book depicts events from the 1991-2001 Balkans war, some describing real life events and some fictionalised, based on the author's experience as a foreign journalist. As such, there is confronting content that may be triggering for some readers.
October 19, 2021
A thrilling conclusion to the story that began in The Twentieth Man, this is one of my favourite reads for 2019.
It's the end of 2005 and Tomo Maric is incarcerated in Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, awaiting trial for war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia. It's a prison within a prison, where the Governor "seemed to have the crazy idea of recreating the old Yugoslavia within the little world that he controlled, of stitching the multi-ethnic community back together, forcing enemies to live cheek by jowl in their confinement and compelling them to find ways to get along." Here Tomo tries to keep a pretty low profile, but as Slobodan Milosevic's preferred chess opponent, he sometimes attracts unwanted attention and jealousies from the former Serb leader's loyal followers.
He also catches the attention of Pierre Villiers, who has recently started working at the War Crimes Tribunal, and who sends photos of Maric to his friend, the Australian journalist Anna Rosen. Now Anna Rosen doesn't know anyone named Tomislav Maric, but she does know Marin Katich, former insurgent and would-be assassin...and father of her adult daughter, Rachel. But Katich died 13 years ago, didn't he?
So that's the set-up to a well-written and intricate story of war, politics, relationships, love and betrayal. And what a ride! I'm so glad I just recently read The Twentieth Man, because while I think this book could be read as a standalone (there are necessarily plenty of references back to the people and events of that story) I imagine it would be harder to follow, and I personally don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I'd started here. Tony Jones is renowned for his journalistic rigour, and that combined with his firsthand knowledge of the Balkans from having been posted there for a time, give this story such a high level of authenticity that readers will be wondering how much of it is true!
Thanks to Allen & Unwin for giving me an uncorrected proof to read. Note that the above quote may not appear in the final published version.
It's the end of 2005 and Tomo Maric is incarcerated in Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, awaiting trial for war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia. It's a prison within a prison, where the Governor "seemed to have the crazy idea of recreating the old Yugoslavia within the little world that he controlled, of stitching the multi-ethnic community back together, forcing enemies to live cheek by jowl in their confinement and compelling them to find ways to get along." Here Tomo tries to keep a pretty low profile, but as Slobodan Milosevic's preferred chess opponent, he sometimes attracts unwanted attention and jealousies from the former Serb leader's loyal followers.
He also catches the attention of Pierre Villiers, who has recently started working at the War Crimes Tribunal, and who sends photos of Maric to his friend, the Australian journalist Anna Rosen. Now Anna Rosen doesn't know anyone named Tomislav Maric, but she does know Marin Katich, former insurgent and would-be assassin...and father of her adult daughter, Rachel. But Katich died 13 years ago, didn't he?
So that's the set-up to a well-written and intricate story of war, politics, relationships, love and betrayal. And what a ride! I'm so glad I just recently read The Twentieth Man, because while I think this book could be read as a standalone (there are necessarily plenty of references back to the people and events of that story) I imagine it would be harder to follow, and I personally don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I'd started here. Tony Jones is renowned for his journalistic rigour, and that combined with his firsthand knowledge of the Balkans from having been posted there for a time, give this story such a high level of authenticity that readers will be wondering how much of it is true!
Thanks to Allen & Unwin for giving me an uncorrected proof to read. Note that the above quote may not appear in the final published version.
November 10, 2019
In Darkness Visible is the sequel to The Twentieth Man, by Australian journalist and broadcaster, Tony Jones. Over ten years ago, journalist Anna Rosen was told he was dead, but now she learns that Marin Katich is in prison in The Hague, awaiting trial on numerous charges in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Having written a book about his father, Ivo, a notorious WW2 war criminal, she is, of course, interested, but her interest is much more personal than that connection might suggest: Marin is the father of her daughter, Rachel.
It’s a secret she has held for over thirty years, and she is not about to reveal it to either of them without first ascertaining if Marin is indeed guilty of the long list of horrific crimes for which he has been indicted. And how might she do that? Favours are called in and she’s soon on the way to the Netherlands to talk her way into a prison where no journalist has ever been allowed to set foot.
Marin Katich has lived quietly as Tomislav Maric ever since he (almost) died in 1992. But suddenly he is taken into custody, extradited to The Hague and charged with war crimes. He’s held in the prison at Scheveningen along with a number of others, including Slobodan Milosevic. As a favour to the prison commandant, he plays chess with the infamous Serbian ex-President, much to the infuriation of the man’s acolytes. Maric’s court-appointed lawyer is frustrated by his ongoing refusal to discuss his case. Will that change with Anna’s arrival?
Rachel Rosen is a little puzzled by her mother’s behaviour at her birthday dinner, and even more so by her sudden departure for Europe just weeks before Christmas. But then she hears a radio news item about a war criminal imprisoned at The Hague who turns out to be Australian, Marin Katich. Of course she knows the name: her mother’s book about Ivo Katich ensures that. But now, she sees his picture. And, when she breaks into Anna’s filing cabinet, a few more photos. What she concludes from this sends her in pursuit of her mother.
Jones introduced his main protagonists in The Twentieth Man and here, he explores their histories as hinted at therein, and events thereafter. The narrative is mainly carried by Marin, Anna and Rachel, and switches between the 1970s, the 1990s and 2005. Jones easily evokes his setting, be it ‘70s Sydney, ‘90s Yugoslavia or ’05 The Hague. It is skilfully plotted and builds to a very dramatic climax.
Jones’s descriptive prose is marvellous: “The familiar dial-up tone gave way to the eerie electronic whale song, and it squealed away before transitioning into an orgasm of white noise as the connection was made.” He manages to take a topic (certain aspects of the Balkan conflict) that many readers would find challenging to fathom, and present it in a form that is relatively easily digested, making it both exciting and fairly simply understood. Interesting and intriguing, this is a brilliant political thriller.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Allen & Unwin
It’s a secret she has held for over thirty years, and she is not about to reveal it to either of them without first ascertaining if Marin is indeed guilty of the long list of horrific crimes for which he has been indicted. And how might she do that? Favours are called in and she’s soon on the way to the Netherlands to talk her way into a prison where no journalist has ever been allowed to set foot.
Marin Katich has lived quietly as Tomislav Maric ever since he (almost) died in 1992. But suddenly he is taken into custody, extradited to The Hague and charged with war crimes. He’s held in the prison at Scheveningen along with a number of others, including Slobodan Milosevic. As a favour to the prison commandant, he plays chess with the infamous Serbian ex-President, much to the infuriation of the man’s acolytes. Maric’s court-appointed lawyer is frustrated by his ongoing refusal to discuss his case. Will that change with Anna’s arrival?
Rachel Rosen is a little puzzled by her mother’s behaviour at her birthday dinner, and even more so by her sudden departure for Europe just weeks before Christmas. But then she hears a radio news item about a war criminal imprisoned at The Hague who turns out to be Australian, Marin Katich. Of course she knows the name: her mother’s book about Ivo Katich ensures that. But now, she sees his picture. And, when she breaks into Anna’s filing cabinet, a few more photos. What she concludes from this sends her in pursuit of her mother.
Jones introduced his main protagonists in The Twentieth Man and here, he explores their histories as hinted at therein, and events thereafter. The narrative is mainly carried by Marin, Anna and Rachel, and switches between the 1970s, the 1990s and 2005. Jones easily evokes his setting, be it ‘70s Sydney, ‘90s Yugoslavia or ’05 The Hague. It is skilfully plotted and builds to a very dramatic climax.
Jones’s descriptive prose is marvellous: “The familiar dial-up tone gave way to the eerie electronic whale song, and it squealed away before transitioning into an orgasm of white noise as the connection was made.” He manages to take a topic (certain aspects of the Balkan conflict) that many readers would find challenging to fathom, and present it in a form that is relatively easily digested, making it both exciting and fairly simply understood. Interesting and intriguing, this is a brilliant political thriller.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Allen & Unwin
November 9, 2019
Firstly I would like to thank Allen&Unwin for my ARC of this book to read and review honestly. I appreciate it.
I have never read anything from this author but I do like his style.
I struggled a bit at the start with trying to keep up with what was going on. Once I got into the book it made more sense and started to flow.
The book went between 1970 and 2005. The characters were stong and all played an impotant part in this book.
Marin Katich was sent to prison for war crimes and his old lover Anna goes to great lengths and places herself in great danger to find the truth about him and his past. There are many secrets and many deaths that keep this book engaging throughout.
The ending was unexpected but finished the story well.
I enjoyed this book and have read good things about Tony jones previous book "The Twentieth Man" so may have to look at this one too.
I have never read anything from this author but I do like his style.
I struggled a bit at the start with trying to keep up with what was going on. Once I got into the book it made more sense and started to flow.
The book went between 1970 and 2005. The characters were stong and all played an impotant part in this book.
Marin Katich was sent to prison for war crimes and his old lover Anna goes to great lengths and places herself in great danger to find the truth about him and his past. There are many secrets and many deaths that keep this book engaging throughout.
The ending was unexpected but finished the story well.
I enjoyed this book and have read good things about Tony jones previous book "The Twentieth Man" so may have to look at this one too.
November 13, 2019
Just wasnt my type of thriller
June 24, 2020
This was a very good page turner of a political thriller, which kept me engaged to the very last page.
The background of the wars in the former Yugoslavia, and the repercussions that are still being played out, are brought to life with all their intrigue and horror.
This was a great read.
The background of the wars in the former Yugoslavia, and the repercussions that are still being played out, are brought to life with all their intrigue and horror.
This was a great read.
Read
February 4, 2020Tony Jones makes this so believable, the characters are well drawn, thought provoking.
March 27, 2021
This novel is a companion to the first Jones novel and helps to make some sense of that novel, especially in terms of the former relationship between Anna Rosen, journalist and Marin Katich, a man who has been imprisoned in an international prison in The Hague and charged with war crimes in the Balkan Wars of the 1990s. Jones says of the motivation for the novel: “Since 1986 I’ve been back and forth to what was once Yugoslavia many times. During and after the conflict in the 90s I travelled to many regions as a reporter. I lived for some time in 1996, with my wife Sarah and our two-year-old son, in a town called Rovinj, on the Croatian coast and it was there that I began to write and research this novel and its sequel. The war was not over then and that beautiful fishing port was a place of rehabilitation for Croatian soldiers, damaged both physically and psychologically. I went back there again recently, and while I’m not surprised by it, I felt that the redolence of violent conflict still clings to the place, despite its incessant summer partying. It seemed to me there was a kind of desperation to prove that the past is forgotten and all is well with the present.” (https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...)
He writes quite well of the fighting in Vukovar where Katich becomes part of the Croatian forces and then later commands a small army of his own before being betrayed. It was good to read something of the back story between Anna and Marin. It’s a better book than his first one but they belong together and make the best sense when read as a package.
The title comes from Paradise Lost. Not 100 % sure what Jones intended excepting that the narrative is a kind of uncovering of the impacts of systems that are corrupt, that are evil, that create the kinds of ecologies where people get caught up and do bad things (in Australia, in the Balkans, in prison, in Vietnam, in lots of places).
He writes quite well of the fighting in Vukovar where Katich becomes part of the Croatian forces and then later commands a small army of his own before being betrayed. It was good to read something of the back story between Anna and Marin. It’s a better book than his first one but they belong together and make the best sense when read as a package.
The title comes from Paradise Lost. Not 100 % sure what Jones intended excepting that the narrative is a kind of uncovering of the impacts of systems that are corrupt, that are evil, that create the kinds of ecologies where people get caught up and do bad things (in Australia, in the Balkans, in prison, in Vietnam, in lots of places).
September 19, 2019
After delivering the very readable "The Twentieth Man", Tony Jones confirms his quality as a storyteller with another cracking read.
The lines between fiction and political reality are blurred in this story involving a Croatian man with strong links to Australia being tried in The Hague for war crimes.
The narrative moves between 2005 (the time of the trial), the 1970's, and the war torn early 1990's Yugoslavia.
The lines between fiction and political reality are blurred in this story involving a Croatian man with strong links to Australia being tried in The Hague for war crimes.
The narrative moves between 2005 (the time of the trial), the 1970's, and the war torn early 1990's Yugoslavia.
June 1, 2020
I received an ARC from Allen & Unwin a few months ago but only just got around to reading it. I think the length put me off, along with the fact that political thrillers can have a tendency to be heavy on the politics and light on the thrills in my experience. I was pleasantly surprised by this one however. The storyline had me gripped from the beginning and moves along at pace, although I’ll admit that I had to put it down and consult Wikipedia regarding the politics a few times, as my memory of the Yugoslav Wars is a little hazy.
The book follows investigative journalist Anna Rosen through three specific periods in her career: in the 1970s working as editor of the university newspaper; in the mid 90s reporting on the war in the Balkans; and in 2005 as she heads to The Hague where the perpetrators of war crimes are being tried. The characters and events are thoroughly believable and I enjoyed the incorporation of real people, such as Slobodan Milosevic, into the plot. The story switches back and forth between these three time frames so that, along with the characters, the reader doesn’t get the full picture of what has transpired in all of these periods until the end of the novel. I’m usually pretty good at guessing plot twists or spotting when a significant event is about to happen, but thankfully this book has plenty of surprises. I haven’t read the first novel in this series, The Twentieth Man, (and you don’t need to in order to fully appreciate this one) but I will definitely check it out after reading In Darkness Visible. Highly recommended.
The book follows investigative journalist Anna Rosen through three specific periods in her career: in the 1970s working as editor of the university newspaper; in the mid 90s reporting on the war in the Balkans; and in 2005 as she heads to The Hague where the perpetrators of war crimes are being tried. The characters and events are thoroughly believable and I enjoyed the incorporation of real people, such as Slobodan Milosevic, into the plot. The story switches back and forth between these three time frames so that, along with the characters, the reader doesn’t get the full picture of what has transpired in all of these periods until the end of the novel. I’m usually pretty good at guessing plot twists or spotting when a significant event is about to happen, but thankfully this book has plenty of surprises. I haven’t read the first novel in this series, The Twentieth Man, (and you don’t need to in order to fully appreciate this one) but I will definitely check it out after reading In Darkness Visible. Highly recommended.
September 4, 2020
. A sequel to the Twentieth Man, and marginally better. Very fast paced and gripping, ingenious plot, whereas the previous one was strongly guided by history. Maran is arrested for terrorist related crimes. Anna now 40s with daughter Rachel who has Maran’s green eyes. Anna doesn’t want Rachel to know her father is a terrorist so she doesn’t tell her. Back to 70s demos, Anna is assaulted by police even an attempted rape, Maran sees this and severely beats up the two cops, and is facing years of imprisonment. An ASIO agent tells him to go to Europe to work or else. Unknown to Marin he is under surveillance and he is soon arrested and finds himself in the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague awaiting trial for serious war crimes. Anna had believed Marin was killed in an ambush in 1992 but she realises from these recent photos, Marin the man she used to know is still very much alive. Did he betray her? She fronts up to him, ad acts as a lawyer for him so she gains access. Rachel goes thru Anna’s computer while she is in Holland and works out Marin is her father. She races off but in a hugely complicate mix up she and Anna and her friend Philip are in huge danger. The end is a massive and convincing surprise. Characters are well drawn, chillingly so, and Jones shows deep knowledge of Serbo-Croatian politics and language.
June 17, 2024
Anna Rosen is a freelance journalist based in Australia who is not afraid to tackle the big stories. In Darkness Visible Rosen finds her past coming to play in her own future, when a man she loved and thought dead is currently in the Hague for suspected war crimes. Marin Katich is under an assumed name but that is not the real complication for Anna, he is the father of her daughter and no one knows that truth.
All the characters come with an inordinate amount of personal baggage, no one is unscathed from their past. Rosen is a woman who is driven to discover the truth behind the story no matter the cost and it has resulted in a strained relationship with her daughter. Marin is a man who no longer knows who or what he stands for. He has been manipulated all his life by family and political influences. His only happiness was when he was with Anna in their early 20's.
Jones has written a tight political thriller that jumps around the decades seamlessly. It builds on the previous novel Twentieth Man but you can read this as a stand alone.
All the characters come with an inordinate amount of personal baggage, no one is unscathed from their past. Rosen is a woman who is driven to discover the truth behind the story no matter the cost and it has resulted in a strained relationship with her daughter. Marin is a man who no longer knows who or what he stands for. He has been manipulated all his life by family and political influences. His only happiness was when he was with Anna in their early 20's.
Jones has written a tight political thriller that jumps around the decades seamlessly. It builds on the previous novel Twentieth Man but you can read this as a stand alone.
January 16, 2021
I read the prequel to this some years ago and was very impressed so when In Darkness Visible was published I was looking forward to it. I was not disappointed. It is incredibly well written, full of fascinating detail, geographic and political, and un put downable. It reminded me a little of John le Carre, particularly the ending.
It cuts back and forth in time, but is never confusing and manages, for those who have not read The Twelth Man, to give background. It is a fascinating insight into the Balkan wars and despite hiding nothing of the carnage, manages to stay balanced. Tony Jones' journalistic career makes this very believable.
It cuts back and forth in time, but is never confusing and manages, for those who have not read The Twelth Man, to give background. It is a fascinating insight into the Balkan wars and despite hiding nothing of the carnage, manages to stay balanced. Tony Jones' journalistic career makes this very believable.
November 3, 2020
I'm 100 pages in and struggling with this novel, despite it's many accolades.
So far it's been hard work - jumping around a bit too much, with little or no payoff for me as I'm not invested in the story or the characters at all.
I'm not really a thriller reader, but was lured to give it a try by the high praise of this novel, that I'd seen.
I have plenty of other novels to tempt me on the bedside book pile, so this one's going.
So far it's been hard work - jumping around a bit too much, with little or no payoff for me as I'm not invested in the story or the characters at all.
I'm not really a thriller reader, but was lured to give it a try by the high praise of this novel, that I'd seen.
I have plenty of other novels to tempt me on the bedside book pile, so this one's going.
January 19, 2021
This is the sequel to 'The Twentieth Man'. Read that book instead, this book is crap. It's a padded plotless piece of self=indulgence, a travelogue interspersed with historical info-dumps and culinary critiques where the characters sit around telling each other what is going on. I had to force myself to read this to the end. And I only did that because the first book is good. Read the first one, DO NOT READ THIS. You have been warned.
April 10, 2022
Thoroughly enjoyable read by our own Mr Q&A, Tony Jones.
Student activism, ASIO, Vietnam, Bosnian & Serbian wars, young love, families, lifelong friendships, even Slobodan Milošević gets a guernsey.
Very well researched and lovely use of language make this interesting story very easy to read. Big fan.
Student activism, ASIO, Vietnam, Bosnian & Serbian wars, young love, families, lifelong friendships, even Slobodan Milošević gets a guernsey.
Very well researched and lovely use of language make this interesting story very easy to read. Big fan.
February 22, 2023
A very readable book about a part of history that I remember as I grew up but never fully understood. Such a complex mess. No one a winner in wars. I wish I’d known that this was the follow up to The Twentieth Man which I will try to read at some stage.
August 20, 2023
An interesting story about which I had very little knowledge. I enjoyed the characters and the plot .Even though the story went backwards and forwards a bit it all worked together to create an engaging read.
November 26, 2019
Beautiful writing
Great to read about the lives of characters that cld be any of us. Life can unravel in tragic ways.
Great to read about the lives of characters that cld be any of us. Life can unravel in tragic ways.
August 24, 2020
4.5⭐️
March 19, 2021
I decided life was too short to waste time finishing this book.
April 6, 2021
Turgid. Decent plot ruined by a confusing structure and pedestrian story-telling. Surrendered halfway through. Don't waste your time and money
December 31, 2022
Ok but struggled to get into it. Didn’t finish - fast back
February 17, 2021
Very much enjoyed this read.
My interest has been piqued in his first novel now. Had no idea this was a sequel.
My interest has been piqued in his first novel now. Had no idea this was a sequel.
June 22, 2021
Surprised me, wasnt expecting to enjoy it. Good blend of fact & fictiion, eye-opener to the atrocities of Bosnia, Sarajevo. Would read a chapter then google maps, research to learn more about the conflict.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2020
For one reason or another - both wrong! - I didn’t get around to reading Tony Jones’ first novel, The Twentieth Man, but will correct that in the next few weeks. That this new work, In Darkness Visible, is a continuation of the same storyline does nothing to spoil the enjoyment or understanding of it; nor, it must be hoped, will it have any bearing on appreciating the original.
We’ve known Tony Jones as front for the brilliant ABC news commentary program, Q&A. It was a perfect vehicle for a person of his journalistic capacity, in concert with his wit and humour, but how does he make out as an author? Very well indeed, it must be said.
Unusually, for an historical/political thriller, the heroine is a middle-aged journalist. Anna Rosen is the product of a Jewish communist father, a DP who emigrated to Sydney post-WWII, and her days producing a left-wing journal at uni.
In those early years, Anna had an affair with Australian born Croat, Marin Katich, with whom she had a daughter, now 30. Coming forward to 2005, an undercover commando group in Rovinj, Croatia, captures a man known as Tomislav Maric, otherwise Marin Katich. They have evidence that he is the Croatian general known as Cicada, wanted for war crimes including genocide in the Balkan conflict.
He is imprisoned in The Hague, awaiting trial, and held in the same facility as Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic whose inclusion is important to the overall story. Anna, in Sydney, is tipped the wink that Tomislav Maric is Marin Katich. She flies to Holland, but can she be of assistance? Is Katich’s alter ego the criminal he is purported to be? Katich has not been forthcoming with his lawyer, Willem van Brug, but when Anna provides details in a letter from her lover, there may be an opening provided.
The story moves across two timelines and between Europe and Australia. There is detailed - sometimes bloody - coverage of dreadful internecine struggles during the destruction of Yugoslavia, but with a very different love story providing a foil.
In Darkness Visible is an engaging book written in above average prose by a journalist and author using his first-hand knowledge to provide an historical look at and behind the battles that brewed for centuries, culminating in the establishment of two separate countries and, hopefully, Balkan peace.
On a star basis, it’s a worthy 4 ½.
We’ve known Tony Jones as front for the brilliant ABC news commentary program, Q&A. It was a perfect vehicle for a person of his journalistic capacity, in concert with his wit and humour, but how does he make out as an author? Very well indeed, it must be said.
Unusually, for an historical/political thriller, the heroine is a middle-aged journalist. Anna Rosen is the product of a Jewish communist father, a DP who emigrated to Sydney post-WWII, and her days producing a left-wing journal at uni.
In those early years, Anna had an affair with Australian born Croat, Marin Katich, with whom she had a daughter, now 30. Coming forward to 2005, an undercover commando group in Rovinj, Croatia, captures a man known as Tomislav Maric, otherwise Marin Katich. They have evidence that he is the Croatian general known as Cicada, wanted for war crimes including genocide in the Balkan conflict.
He is imprisoned in The Hague, awaiting trial, and held in the same facility as Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic whose inclusion is important to the overall story. Anna, in Sydney, is tipped the wink that Tomislav Maric is Marin Katich. She flies to Holland, but can she be of assistance? Is Katich’s alter ego the criminal he is purported to be? Katich has not been forthcoming with his lawyer, Willem van Brug, but when Anna provides details in a letter from her lover, there may be an opening provided.
The story moves across two timelines and between Europe and Australia. There is detailed - sometimes bloody - coverage of dreadful internecine struggles during the destruction of Yugoslavia, but with a very different love story providing a foil.
In Darkness Visible is an engaging book written in above average prose by a journalist and author using his first-hand knowledge to provide an historical look at and behind the battles that brewed for centuries, culminating in the establishment of two separate countries and, hopefully, Balkan peace.
On a star basis, it’s a worthy 4 ½.
June 30, 2020
I found the sequel to the Twentieth Man even more compelling a read. It opened up the whole complex issue of war crimes and the line at which killing becomes murder. Was there any redemption for Marin Katich?
The story line of In Darkness Visible is complex but worth the effort. I found myself researching the whole Yugoslavia Serb/Croatia and Muslim conflict. My knowledge of this was confusing when it happened in the 1990’s so I needed to get a grip or my concentration on the story would slip and slide.
It was worth it- for me anyway- and I have great admiration for Tony Jones’ ability to write such an emotionally charged novel melding politics and historical people of the time with fictional characters.
The relationship between Anna, a respected journalist, her former lover Marin Katich and father of her daughter Rachel and Rachel herself, spans 30 years. Although set mainly in 2005, the plot moves back and forth throughout.
Briefly, and then I’m done. In 2005 in Sydney Australia, Anna finds out Marin did not die in 1992 in Bosnia, but is alive and in The Hague waiting for his trial for war crimes. Anna has never revealed to Rachel that Marin is her father and Marin doesn’t know he has a daughter.
Anna goes to The Hague to find out the truth. Is he guilty of the terrible crimes he is accused of.
Rachel alone in Sydney, searches her mothers files and realises the man her mother has travelled across the world to see is her father.
This thriller did get to me. I haven’t been so torn by a story in a long time. I’m thinking Thornbirds....but this one is a very cleverly written story. It stays with me now and I think, for a long time to come.
The story line of In Darkness Visible is complex but worth the effort. I found myself researching the whole Yugoslavia Serb/Croatia and Muslim conflict. My knowledge of this was confusing when it happened in the 1990’s so I needed to get a grip or my concentration on the story would slip and slide.
It was worth it- for me anyway- and I have great admiration for Tony Jones’ ability to write such an emotionally charged novel melding politics and historical people of the time with fictional characters.
The relationship between Anna, a respected journalist, her former lover Marin Katich and father of her daughter Rachel and Rachel herself, spans 30 years. Although set mainly in 2005, the plot moves back and forth throughout.
Briefly, and then I’m done. In 2005 in Sydney Australia, Anna finds out Marin did not die in 1992 in Bosnia, but is alive and in The Hague waiting for his trial for war crimes. Anna has never revealed to Rachel that Marin is her father and Marin doesn’t know he has a daughter.
Anna goes to The Hague to find out the truth. Is he guilty of the terrible crimes he is accused of.
Rachel alone in Sydney, searches her mothers files and realises the man her mother has travelled across the world to see is her father.
This thriller did get to me. I haven’t been so torn by a story in a long time. I’m thinking Thornbirds....but this one is a very cleverly written story. It stays with me now and I think, for a long time to come.
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