I'm glad I didn't know much about this book before I began reading it. It turned out to be a fascinating story set in San Diego of the 1960s and New Zealand of the 1940s. Edin's main character is a painter with a haunting past. A past that we learn about as he takes a car trip from San Diego to Los Angeles. I didn't know anything about the US WWII involvement in New Zealand until I read the book. WARNING: If you are at all interested in reading the book, don't read the blurb on the back of it. It contains a spoiler that is totally unnecessary. I'm not sure what the folks at Penguin were thinking. They seem to want to market it as a murder mystery when that is certainly not its main focus. ( )

This inaugural novel from this writer began with promise.
Peter Sokol, ex U.S.Marines doctor, now teacher and part-time painter is confronted by his past when an ex orderly publishes a novel based largely on Peter's experiences in New Zealand in the Second World War. So far so good. The story jumps between past and the 1970's. Interesting that a New Zealand author should choose to write his first novel in an American voice and does not paint a very flattering picture of NZers at home during the war, nor the Americans abroad.
The story moves along nicely ,but the climax of the story I found far-fetched. ( )