Confession in Moscow
From the beginning, the reader is caught up in the tale of Mathias Finne as he confesses in a Moscow police station to a fifty-year-old murder, which he says took place when he was a boy of thirteen in Bornholm, Denmark, during the final stages of World War II. Young Mathias is ensnared into the underground resistance by his first love, Lise, which complicates his life since his father is a known Nazi collaborator. Trust, betrayal, and intensely maze-like manipulations gather forces to create an intriguing, well-blended, and focused ending.
The weakest character is the Moscow police investigator, who for reasons unknown, cleverly follows up the elderly Mathias’ tale while acting uninterested, bored and jaded. Still one tiny weakness doesn’t make a minute flaw in a gem worthless. Johansen has managed to define the conflict between war, young love, and the overall confusion that accompanies adolescents during wartime. Confession in Moscow is worth reading for the child’s perspective, Denmark’s small island contribution, and the marvelous story within.