The Love That Kills

Nate Rosen #1

by Ronald Levitsky

A Jewish civil rights lawyer, Nate Rosen, defends a fascist who is accused of the murder of a young Vietnamese woman in a small Virginia town, but someone does not want the truth revealed about the crime

Genres: Mystery

249 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Susan]

I had enjoyed a short story by Levitsky and concluded that this series with protagonist attorney Nate Rosen might be interesting. But I didn't really enjoy this first one as much as I had expected. For one thing, I found the particular setting, in a town where Blacks and Asians and other groups were routinely called by derogatory names, a very uncomfortable place to be. Also, I didn't feel very sympathetic towards the protagonist. There was something frustrating about his childhood and past. Clearly, he is troubled by it and it has shaped who he is and what he does, but the author gave only minimal clues about it. It is as though he didn't take the trouble to work out the entire backstory yet. The plot and the mystery were fine, but I'm not sure I'll be coming back for more.