Random Things Tours: Silver Pebbles by Hansjörg Schneider translated by Mike Mitchell

´Like little silver pebbles (...) like shining drops of water´.

Set sometime in the 1990s, Silver Pebbles by Hansjörg Schneider is at least as eventful as the Basel Killings (translated into English by the same Mike Mitchell) but has a more human-oriented take. Featuring the same inspector Peter Hunkeler, it follows the journey of some precious dirty diamonds, from the drug cartels to the dirt of Basel sewerage system. 

The story brings into the forefront simple people, with simple lives, with simple life aims - like dreaming of a good life - caught in the net of greediness. The diamonds that were supposed to be paid for some drug deals ended up in the pockets of a humble sewerage worker of Turkish origin. For a couple of days, he dreamt about returning back to his home country where he had a family and children, as a rich man. His Basel girlfriend tried and even succeeded to stop him from keeping the poisonous pebbles, not before going through some exceptional episodes and facing extraordinary life threats. But when you have nothing, you have nothing to lose, isn´t it?

I´ve found fascinating the illustration of the impact of global threads to the everyday life and souls, reflecting the take on the simple life, on the backdrop of globalisation.

Written as a classical crime novel, with a relatively predictable plot and sharing indirect meditations about life and human nature, the story is built as a game of chess. At least in the first part of the story, when it seems like most of the characters are fully devoted to find - or keep - the diamonds, no matter the price. This pace is, in my opinion, lost in the last part, and the pace is relatively slowing down. However, there are twists that keep your heart pounding until the very end of the story, which is unexpected, but follows the same human-focused story line.

As relatively familiar with Switzerland, less with Basel though, the book portrays an authentic ambiance for that period of time, particularly from the point of view of the increased ethnic diversity, the result of the immigration, that had a certain impact on the conservative local mindsets - without necessarily leading to a further positive perception of foreigners though.

If you are looking to read something insightful, smart and well written this weekend, Silver Pebbles is a perfect choice. For me, after my second Peter Hunkeler crime story, I know that Hansjörg Schneider is the author to look for when in need for some intelligent crime novel.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own