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