This outstanding book has an affinity with the equally excellent East West Street by Philippe Sands in that it is an exploration of law and international history entwined with family history. In this case, however, the family history is rooted (at least partially) on the other side of the Holocaust, as Linda Kinstler’s grandfather served in a notorious Latvian paramilitary unit that was involved in some of the most horrific Nazi atrocities in the Baltic region (and he may have also been a KGB agent).

The book follows Kinstler as she searches for traces of her grandfather, but it also revolves around the (frankly bizarre) story of Herberts Cukurs, another Latvian Nazi collaborator who served with Kinstler’s grandfather, was assassinated decades later in South America, and was subsequently investigated by Latvian prosecutors to determine whether he should be exonerated post-mortem (NB: the answer to that is a resounding no).

The subject matter is obviously grim, but the book is gripping, moving, insightful, and thought-provoking. It’s a detective story, a legal drama, a historical account, and a memoir all in one. Well worth reading.

Further reading…