Book Review Rewind: Dimiter by William Peter Blatty

 

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,

   This is the second book that I have read by William Peter Blatty. Entitled Dimiter, the novel plays upon much of Blatty's strengths when delivering this twisting detective tale. 

  In 1970s Albania an attempted assassination of a local politician sparks a manhunt that leads to a mysterious stranger in a cabin in the woods belonging to an old blind man. Many believe the stranger to be a local food vendor, while others identify him as another man altogether. He is silent. When asked if he had anything to do with the assassination, he remains silent. Officials begin to believe him to be guilty. But even through hours of brutal torture and interrogation he never says a word. With all other means failing the authorities decide to take more drastic measures. This leads to the stranger escaping, leaving dead bodies in his wake. The stranger is soon identified as Paul Dimiter, a notorious spy. Some call him Agent of Hell.

  Flash forward a year later to Jerusalem where we meet Doctor Moses Mayo. He has definitely seen a lot working at Hadassah Hospital. And he has heard a lot from his often scattered nurse Samia, who manages to see unexplained phenomena in the halls daily. He is a self-proclaimed "unsubscriber" of religion, often referring to God as "Maurice". We go on rounds with him visiting patients, some of which are very intriguing. In the same area of Jerusalem his boyhood friend, Detective Peter Meral, works on several cases that seemingly have ties to one another. The biggest mystery is the identity of a man found in the Tomb of Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Old Jerusalem City. This series of events ultimately leads to the resurgence of Dimiter and his encounter with Mayo and Meral.

  The entire story twists and turns, with several letters interjecting between chapters that seem to not hold any place in the book at first. But in the last few chapters, we are made aware of their significance. Blatty's characters are very likable, especially Samia, who often adds comic relief. Dimiter was often confusing to read. I felt that it started as a supernatural thriller, but was later changed to a mystery-espionage novel. There was somewhat of a disjointed flow to the narrative that had me putting this down several times. It was not until the introduction of Detective Meral that I became more invested in the book. But the narrative is often choppy, with the end of the book explained rather hastily through interviews.

  I read this book in part with the audiobook narrated by William Peter Blatty. His narration was excellent as usual, with the love for his characters apparent as he read their stories. I found that the book flowed smoothly with the audio edition, with Blatty often adlibbing sections to further extrapolate some scenes. I enjoyed the presentation very much.

  I give this book three out of five stars. Regardless of my feelings about its choppy structure, I ended up enjoying how all the plots came together. There is also an opening for a sequel at the end that had me intrigued.  

  

 Let me know in the comments below what you are reading.

      Also please follow me on my social media platforms and enjoy shopping with me at eBay and Mercari.

 

  SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS AT LINKTREE

 

 Because there is always time to read,

 Xepherus3

 All written content (c) Copyright 2023 by Thomas Bahr II

Top logo designed by Xepherus Studios

The book cover is Copyright by the publisher