Back From the Dead by Peter Leonard

First published in the UK in 2013; published by The Story Plant on January 22, 2013 

Back From the Dead is a sequel to Voices of the Dead. The sequel is a better book, but that's small praise given the first novel's mediocrity.

Back From the Dead begins shortly after Voices of the Dead ends. Gerhard Braun wants to find Ernst Hess, although Braun has less interest in Hess than in artwork that Hess possesses. Braun hires Albin Zeller to track Hess down. The task should be impossible since Hess died at the end of the last novel, but given the title of this novel, it is no surprise to learn that Hess isn't dead after all. His improbable survival goes largely unexplained, one of many ways in which the novel strains credulity.

Hess is still a cartoon villain and an empty shell of a character. The notion that this celebrated political figure, who is also a wanted war criminal, can go jetting around the world, entering and leaving Germany undetected -- largely due to the happy coincidence that he's a dead ringer for someone whose passport he steals -- is just impossible to swallow. Of course, Hess wants to kill Harry Levin, the star of the last novel. Harry is becoming romantically entangled with Colette, the German reporter he met in that book. Before Harry can get too comfortable with Colette, however, Zeller kidnaps her from Harry's home. Harry rescues her, only to see her captured again. What passes for a plot is Harry's ongoing effort to keep Colette out of Hess' clutches and avoid death while Hess tries to recover artwork stolen by the Nazis so he can fund a new life. That Hess feels it necessary to risk his life and freedom to seek revenge against Harry instead of disappearing to some safe sanctuary is too absurd to merit belief.

As he did in the first novel, Leonard relies on stereotypes rather than giving his secondary characters authentic personalities. In this book, Columbians have oily hair and wear white suits, two characters from Tennessee are redneck hillbillies, and the black characters are criminals. Although Leonard reprises drug dealer Cordell Sims from Voices of the Dead, he at least tones down the offensive nature of his African American stereotyping.

If there is a point to Back From the Dead, I couldn't find it. It hardly seems worthwhile to bring back such a lackluster character as Harry Levin. The novel adds no depth to his shallow character. The story is a rehash of the first novel. There's a fair amount of action but none of it is compelling.

On a more positive note, the story is coherent, even if it lacks substance. Peter Leonard is no longer mimicking his father's writing style (there's only one Elmore Leonard and it isn't Peter). Leonard's decision to craft complete sentences improves the flow of his narrative, making Back From the Dead an easy, quick read. There just isn't much reason to read it.

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