Today to Celebrate Indie Publishing I am delighted to share a book from the amazing Orenda Books, a publisher who brings exceptional books to the hands of readers around the world and I’m pleased to say that today’s offering is one such book!
** My thanks to Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books and Anne Cater for my copy of this book and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour **
Description:
After convicting a superior for corruption and shooting off a gangster’s crown jewels, the career of Hamburg’s most hard-bitten state prosecutor, Chastity Riley, has taken a nose dive: she has been transferred to the tedium of witness protection to prevent her making any more trouble. However, when she is assigned to the case of an anonymous man lying under police guard in hospital – almost every bone in his body broken, a finger cut off, and refusing to speak in anything other than riddles – Chastity’s instinct for the big, exciting case kicks in. Using all her powers of persuasion, she soon gains her charge’s confidence, and finds herself on the trail to Leipzig, a new ally, and a whole heap of lethal synthetic drugs. When she discovers that a friend and former colleague is trying to bring down Hamburg’s Albanian mafia kingpin single-handedly, it looks like Chas Riley’s dull life on witness protection really has been short-lived… Fresh, fiendishly fast-paced and full of devious twists and all the hard-boiled poetry and acerbic wit of the best noir, Blue Night marks the stunning start of a brilliant new crime series, from one of Germany’s bestselling authors.
My Thoughts & Review:
Billed as the first book in the Chastity Riley series, Blue Night gives readers a glimpse into German crime writing.
Chastity Riley is state prosecutor in Hamburg who’s careers has stalled somewhat after her previous case, turns out prosecuting one of her superiors for corruption wasn’t the best move, neither was shooting a gangster in the genitals. Her new posting is in witness protection, the theory being she cannot get into too much trouble here. The discovery of a badly beaten man on the streets of Hamburg means a new case for our protagonist, and she has to use every ace up her sleeve to try and get him to open up and share his secrets with her, the most important being his identity.
There are so many aspects to the plot of this book and some wonderfully interesting characters that really make this book come alive. The unique layout of this book is what sets it apart in the storytelling. Between chapters are short monologues from the main characters, giving an intriguing look into their minds and their histories which builds a powerful and colourful image of the characters. These short snippets are used to great effect, adding so much to the plot through a few short paragraphs of even lines.
The style of writing is something that I think some readers may take a little getting used to but I did feel that it enhanced my enjoyment of the book. The wonderful way that Buchholz brings her plot alive through gritty, punchy and thrilling writing makes this a gripping read that readers can race through and devour every last tantalising detail.
The characters in this are intriguing and I felt that the more I learned about Chastity Riley, the more keen I was to read on. I’m glad that this is just the first book in the series, there seems to be so much to Chastity, more than could ever be put into one book. She’s fiercely loyal to those she holds dear and always tries to be there for them, this coupled with her cynical attitude makes her such a brilliant creation.
I’d definitely recommend checking this one out!
You can buy a copy of Blue Night via:
Orenda Books eBookstore
Amazon UK
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