Blogging Anniversary - 10 years

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A while ago I checked when I did my first blog post, in order to celebrate with an anniversary post. Well, that day came and went without any reaction from me. Better late than never, so here a reminder of my very first blog post from 24 October 2012.  The book was New Finnish Grammar  by Diego Marani. Marani is an Italian novelist, translator and newspaper columnist. While working as a translator for the European Union he invented a language ‘Europanto’ which is a mixture of languages and based on the common practice of word-borrowing usage of many EU languages. It was a suitable book to start with, being a book about letters, languages and memories. With a beautiful prose, the novel went directly to my heart.  "One night at Trieste in September 1943 a seriously wounded soldier is found on the quay. The doctor, of a newly arrived German hospital ship, Pietri Friari gives the unconscious soldier medical assistance. His new patient has no documents or anything that can ide...
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Big Bad Wolf (Böser Wolf) by Nele Neuhaus

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I was happy to find another book by Nele Neuhaus in our residence library. Still fresh in mind is my first read by her; Snow White Must Die (Schneewittchen muss sterben), which was an excellent read. This is another "non-put-downable" book. Had to read into the night to finish it, after having read almost the whole day. Yes, it is such a book.

The story is built up the same way as the previous one. At the beginning we meet a man who was convicted as a pedofile and is now out from prison, fighting with his life. We meet once again the police officers; Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein and their colleagues. The story starts when the body of a young girl, badly mistreated, is found in the river. Nobody seems to know who she is and the clues are none. Then a popular TV hostess is found beaten almost to death and looked into the trunk of her car. She is working on a new series of child abuse documentaries, where the culprits can be found at the highest level of society.

As usual, Neuhaus builds up a complex story. There are several story lines, not seeming to have anything in common at all, but as the story develops they come closer and closer together. Each story is a fascinating family story in itself and very well characterised. Neuhaus writes about police work as we can imagine it is. Not so much action, although there are some here for sure, but following different clues, many of which don't take them further. It is a slow process, but so exciting. Like Agatha Christies, she gives us the clues and we can make up our own mind of what is happening and has a fair chance of guessing who the culprit is. At least easier than in an Agatha Christie mystery, where the clues are not always that clear.

A highly recommended author. I see there is another one available in Swedish; Annars skjuter jägarn dig, as well as in English; I Am Your Judge/To Catch a Killer). Original title; Die Lebenden und die Toten. Are you familiar with the author and her books? Please let me know.


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