Crime stories - krimi - are a beloved genre within the German speaking realm and there are plenty of excellent authors among the favorites of the public. However, the outside world rarely know about them given the linguistic limitations. After all, according to the latest statistics, there are only 130 million humans in the world speaking German.
Therefore, translations are an excellent way to introduce to a wider audience less known authors with an extraordinary art of writing. As, for instance, Simone Buchholz made known to the non-German audiences by the hardworking (fleißig, in German) Orenda Books. The latest translation by Rachel Ward, River Clyde is a serious game changer for the genre, due to the unique writing and the well chosen turns of the story.
State prosecutor Chastity Riley - a character in other books by Buchholz - is going to Scotland aiming to trace a personal episode, while inspectors Stepanovic and Calabretta are investigating a wave of ransom attacks in Hamburg - Buchholz homecity and one of my favorite destinations for short trips in Germany - that threated to escalate into a violent internal conflict. There are many references that would have been better understood if I had read more from the series, as I missed probably a couple of details that were not part of the current story.
The dialogues are the backbone of the story and through them both the story and the characters reveal. The writing story is unique, especially for a thriller, with a very creative and literary touch. Last but not least, the chapters do inspire the reader to creatively imagine whatever he or she may expect from the story in the making and even in the end the final spin belongs to the author, it is worth trying it.
The urban environments where the story is taking place - Hamburg and Glasgow - are brought to life in a very personal intimate way and this interest for urban details is another unique literary touch.
I was pleasantly surprised in many ways by River Clyde as it shows how much freedom the writer has when writing a thriller. The choice of the genre is not a limitation and a punishment, but encourages the writer to be him- or herself and create its world of choice that only in the end, maybe for advertising and categorisation purposes, should have a name. But as it happens in a big smart family, there may be many individual members.
Rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own
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