Josef Alton

I received a copy of this book from LibraryThing in exchange for a review.

The Throw Away Faces by Josef Alton is a dark and gritty book. A doctor in Dublin receives a manuscript detailing murders committed in Seattle during the late 1800s. The killer’s purpose seems to be to stop any growth of Seattle. The doctor is put in a position to decide if the writer of the manuscript is friend or foe, killer of someone trying to stop him.
I tried to get into this book, but I simply couldn’t. Maybe it was too dark for me, or maybe it isn’t my kind of story. Either way, it just didn’t hold my attention.… (mere)

This is a murder mystery novel. It begins with a series of murders in 1889 in Seattle Washington, which are followed by another series in 1916 in Dublin Ireland. The main character is a young Scottish lawyer who is sent by his father to Seattle Washington to work for a relative. A couple of personal tragedies have left the son very depressed, and the intention is to get a fresh start in a new country. Immediately upon arriving in Seattle, he becomes linked with a series of taking place murders there.

The plot is very original and creative. Also, the author seems to be playing with a few themes along side of the plot. One is income disparity. He shows that the new town of Seattle in the late 18th century had a wealthy class and poor class that is similar to what exist today in America. Another very interesting theme is a comparison between the Native Americans living in Seattle to the Scottish Highlanders about a century earlier. Both groups are treated as second class citizens, and their culture is ridiculed. However, like me, most readers will probably be unfamiliar with this part of Scottish history, and I believe that this analogy would have benefitted from a more extended explanation within the book.

I enjoyed the book. The plot and themes have a nice structure, but, in my opinion, both could benefit from more details. I have the impression that he was deliberately including some themes not directly pertaining to the murder-mystery plot, but yet intertwined with it. Assuming that was the author's intention, I would have liked them to be explored more clearly and completely within the book.… (mere)

Throw-Away Faces by Josef Alton turned out to be an extraordinary book in a unique genre of historical fiction crime thrillers. Alton weaves the history with the crime masterfully, leaving one with an eminently readable book.

The history is very well researched with many endnotes for those interested in learning more of the Seattle history leading up to the fire in the late 1800s. Personally, I did not go to the endnotes during my read, but took the history for granted and focused on the crime/mystery.

The story centers around Enoch Campbell, who is sent by his father from Dublin to Seattle to represent his financial interests. A series of murders ensues, with the mysterious killer communicating with Enoch through a series of letters. The Seattle leadership think that these letters will lead them to the killer, this being one strand of the story line. There is also the history of the growth of Seattle taking place, including the diversion of the railroad and the eventual fire.

Enoch eventually leaves Seattle and returns to Dublin. I won't say anymore about the storyline as you have to read it for yourself - I was enjoyably surprised by the masterful ending. I was kept guessing through the book who was the killer or who wrote the letters to Enoch or even how the events in Dublin were connected to those in Seattle. Alton ties it all together in the end.

All in all, an enjoyable read for a first novel.… (mere)