Dry Bones

Fintan Dunne #3

by Peter Quinn

As the Red Army continues its unstoppable march toward Berlin in the winter of 1945, Dunne and his fellow soldier Dick Van Hull volunteer for a dangerous drop behind enemy lines to rescue a team of OSS officers trying to abet the Czech resistance. When the plan goes south, Dunne and Van Hull uncover a secret that will change both of their lives. Years later, Dunne is drawn back into the shadowy realm of Cold War espionage in an effort to clear his friend's good name and right an injustice so shocking that men would, quite literally, kill to keep it quiet. A literary thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end, Dry Bones completes the trilogy started in Hour of the Cat. Peter Quinn has crafted yet another smart and stylish historical mystery, following his longtime hero from the last gasp of the Third Reich to the heady days of the Cuban revolution. Quinn's signature prose--which Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt described as "spare but passionate, wry but loving"--shines once again throughout. New York Times bestselling author James Patterson credits Quinn with "perfecting, if not actually creating, a genre you could call the history-mystery." Blending fact and fiction into a thoroughly compelling whole, this is Quinn at his very best.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction, World War II

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 31, 2013

About the author

Peter Quinn is the author of the novel Banished Children of Eve (winner of an American Book Award) and previously served as speechwriter for New York governors Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo. A third-generation New Yorker whose granparents were born in Ireland, he is currently Editorial Director for Time Warner and lives in Hastings, New York.

Reviews

[Gram · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 3rd in the series about private eye Fintan Dunne involves a World War II mission by the OSS (forerunner to the CIA) and the sordid history of the Allies' use of former Nazis after the war. Fintan joins up with his senior officer Dick Van Hull to rescue a group of OSS officers who have been helping the Resistance in Czechoslovakia. Things do not go as planned and Fintan & Van Hull gradually uncover a secret that will change their lives. In the years immediately after the war, bad things happen to friends of Fintan who were hired by the CIA and have been secretly trying to discover what exactly happened to one infamous Nazi doctor who experimented on prisoners in concentration camps. Once again, Peter Quinn's historical research is meticulous as he easily blends fact with fiction. Although this story unfolded slowly, I think it is the best of the Fintan Dunne novels.

[Trilby · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of the book, the "thriller" part about an OSS attempt to rescue men caught behind German lines during WWII is quite good--exciting, well written. The secondary plot about SS officers whitewashed by the Allies after the war (Wernher von Braun, for example) is a gripping story that this book begins developing, but then detours from, going far off into fiction. The historical tale is much more interesting, and chilling.

The second half of the book is not thrilling. The story bogs down and jumps around, following protagonist Fintan Dunne's career in New York after the war. The narrative is peppered with fake documents and (worst of all) a very long letter designed to develop the plot. This device seems ridiculously contrived. The epistolary novel is dead (to me at least); let it rest in peace. The ending completely went off the rails with fictitious documents and articles about fictitious characters. If this is meant to be an historical novel, it didn't quite make it. Readers want updates about the lives of historical people--not about a bunch of characters, especially minor characters. The fictitious secretary winds up as a best-selling novelist, writing about a fictitious character in this novel? It boggles the mind.

[David C Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last of the Fintan Dunne historical mysteries set in the mid 20th century. Dunne’s wartime service in the OSS with a perilous mission in Czechoslovakia and then the postwar consequences of that mission for the men involved as the Cold War begins and the Red and Lavender scares start up. A war criminal ties the two halves together. As before, Quinn is a good writer but his plots are ungainly.

[Robert Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final volume of the Fintan Dunne trilogy. Working for the OSS at the end of World War Two, Dunne is part of an abortive mission to Eastern Europe. The book is largely about the aftermath in the postwar era, Dunne is an interesting and complex character. The New York ambiance is excellent.

[Chris R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay.
This novel deals with some big issues, especially how the Allies essentially forgave and recruited Nazis after WW2.
But it honestly seemed like it was all over the map at times.
Never a good sign when, towards the end, you find yourself skimming through pages, hoping to see the bad guy killed while avoiding all kinds of filler.

[Sean Harding · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the third and final instalment in the Fintin Dunn trilogy and I found this one a real struggle to get through, it just wasn't engaging on any level, and whilst the first two books were tough going, this one was just not on the same level. Disappointing.

[Joe Hauglie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history/mystery! Much better than Hour of the Cat!

[Evan Welsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book, sometimes confusing

[Mike Wing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Quinn writes with a unique combination of literary wit, deep historical curiosity and tragic lyricism. As in his previous works, the pages of Dry Bones exude the decency, energy and mordant irony of a true son of New York. Both Fintan Dunne and his creator love and embody their city’s hard-eyed, generous soul. This is noir detective fiction of the highest order, probing our darkest reaches with the knowledge that the past is never dead, or past. It’s vibrant history, and it’s a hell of a read.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information about the OSS is interesting. The basic plot is more than OK. What falters is the conversation between and among the major characters. It's full of literary quotes and is heavy with information of the sort that conversation doesn't usually carry in spy novels; e.g., a more-or-less escaped concentration camp prisoner gives us the history of Auschwitz and the sonderkommando in ten pages rather than further escaping or looking for food and weapons. The briefing for the mission is both wordy and largely ignored by those going on the mission (maybe that's real life).

[Ojhawkeye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book in a sort of trilogy about political and social history of US during mid-20th century. I was drawn in by Hour of the Cat, and Dry Bones, the third entry, lives up to the first. Thought second book lacked a bit. I am old enough to remember when the events of Dry Bones were current events, except for the flashbacks to WWII action. I believe I'm seeing a lot of the same political maneuvering happening again.

[Alexandra Bogdanovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel conflicted about this book.
I picked it up at my local book bin and read it because I am interested in the time period in which it was set. However I think I made a mistake in reading Dry Bones -- the last book in a trilogy -- before I read the others. In any case, this particular book was well-written, but it seemed a bit disjointed and rushed at the end.
To sum it up, this is a decent read, but not good enough to make me an instant Peter Quinn fan.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not realize until just now this is book 3 in a trilogy. Perhaps reading the first two would make this just a little clearer.

However, since this is about intelligence in the 1940s up to 2005, there is quite a bit of murky about it...especially dealing with Nazi scientists after WW 2.

I read an advance reader edition, so there may be changes in the final version.

[Jack Laschenski · Rating 4 out of 5]

After WWII, the US government (or parts of it) hired and protected many Nazi war criminals on the pretext of extracting from them intelligence info about Russia.

This includes the worst of them, the doctors and other murderers in the death camps.

This very good novel explores and reveals how this happened, the despicable people who did it, and the good guys who tried to expose it.

[Boris Feldman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Tale of Two Books.
The first half, which took place in Europe, is a first-rate spy thriller.
The second half, which largely took place in New York after WW II, is so weak one wonders whether the author sub-contracted out the completion of the novel.
This is the third in the Fintan Dunne series. The character is superb. But the author, whom I like, may be running out of steam on this project.

[F Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great job Peter - Was always curious about deNazification & if we became the fascists by association?

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. I'm gonna miss Fintan Dunne.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the style and tone,seems a bit of research would have gone into writing a book like this. Worth a try.

[Louie Haltom · Rating 4 out of 5]

good spy novel

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Got a little confusing keeping up but that may have been because I had breaks the last third of it and had to keep refreshing memory. A side to WWII I hadn't read and found the ops intriguing.

[Maddy]

Accidentally bought this. PUT THE DANG NUMBER ON THE SPINE!