Blog Tour stop for this Gritty, Raw, and Captivating crime thriller
#MexicoStreet #ChastityRiley @ohnekilppo @OrendaBooks @annecater #RandomThingsTours
" A life-threatening discovery involving criminal gangs and a very illicit love story…"
Synopsis
Hamburg state prosecutor Chastity Riley investigates a series of arson attacks on cars across the city, which leads her to a startling and life-threatening discovery involving criminal gangs and a very illicit love story…
Night after night, cars are set alight across the German city of Hamburg, with no obvious pattern, no explanation and no suspect.
Until, one night, on Mexico Street, a ghetto of high-rise blocks in the north of the city, a Fiat is torched. Only this car isn’t empty. The body of Nouri Saroukhan – prodigal son of the Bremen clan – is soon discovered, and the case becomes a homicide.
Public prosecutor Chastity Riley is handed the investigation, which takes her deep into a criminal underground that snakes beneath the whole of Germany. And as details of Nouri’s background, including an illicit relationship with the mysterious Aliza, emerge, it becomes clear that these are not random attacks, and there are more on the cards…
My Review
After reading this Gritty, raw, and modern story I can see why the authors books are constantly on the German best sellers list. Without a doubt I feel the same will happen now in the UK with this fantastic translation.
In Germany the main character Public Prosecutor Chasity Riley and she forms the base of the 3 books in this series, I am sad to say now that I have not had the enjoyment of reading the other too (that's going to soon change!) but I loved this book and was happy to learn this was able to stand tall as a standalone read with me knowing nothing of the previous books..
We join this tale with cars being set on fire all over Hamburg, No rhyme or reason, until one car is found alight with a man's body inside, but when its discovered that the victim is a key member of the Bremen clan.
A murder case mixed with gang warfare, a side to hamburg no one whats to acknowledge, this story takes us on the journey of Riley's investigation from the murder itself and the members and victims of the Bremen gang, to the illicit love of two immigrants.
This story invokes so many emotions and the struggles of these characters living in what is thought of the dark underside of the town, showing such heartache and a real frailty to even the toughest of characters.
As a character Riley really stood out for me I can see why she holds together this bestselling series, The depth this book goes to and the thoughts and emotions in provokes for such a short read is outstanding I have read books 3 times the size of this that don't have as captivating or complex of a story.
I will be seeking out the translations for the previous books in this series and I urge you to do the same, this is a crime series not to miss.
Author Bio
Simone Buchholz was born in Hanau in 1972. At university, she studied Philosophy and Literature, worked as a waitress and a columnist, and trained to be a journalist at the prestigious Henri-Nannen-School in Hamburg.
In 2016, Simone Buchholz was awarded the Crime Cologne Award as well as runner-up in the German Crime Fiction Prize for Blue Night, which was number one on the KrimiZEIT Best of Crime List for months.
She lives in Sankt Pauli, in the heart of Hamburg, with her husband and son.
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Publisher
Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation.
They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016.
In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime.
Six titles have been shortor long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions.
Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.
www.orendabooks.co.uk
@OrendaBooks
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Thank you to the Publisher and Author for sending me an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel and for the opportunity to review these works.
All reviews are my own unbiased opinion.