review
Flying under the Radar is the third in Mann’s detective series focusing on Zurich private eye Vijay Kumar. Mann’s youthful PI is of Indian descent and brings a fresh perspective to this ever-popular genre.
A young Arabic man has been found in the woods outside Zurich, his face and body hideously disfigured by brutal violence. The man carries no personal effects or papers and there seem to be practically no leads. Once Kumar arrives at the scene, however, he spots some broken twigs straight above the victim’s body. In Sherlock Holmes-like fashion, he quickly deduces that the young man was probably a refugee hiding in the landing gear of an aeroplane, falling out as the plane approached the nearby airport. When Kumar takes his theory to the police inspector in charge he is coolly dismissed, only to discover in the next day’s newspapers that the inspector is taking full credit for Kumar’s deductions.
As the case progresses, Kumar is drawn into an intricate web of lies and deception which leads all the way up the ranks of the Zurich police department and soon claims the lives of more young men.
All recommendations from Spring 2013