Hotel Cartagena by Simone Buchholz
Twenty floors above the shimmering lights of the Hamburg docks, Public Prosecutor Chastity Riley is celebrating a birthday with friends in a hotel bar when twelve heavily armed men pull out guns, and take everyone hostage. Among the hostages is Konrad Hoogsmart, the hotel owner, who is being targeted by a young man whose life – and family – have been destroyed by Hoogsmart’s actions.
With the police looking on from outside – their colleagues’ lives at stake – and Chastity on the inside, increasingly ill from an unexpected case of sepsis, the stage is set for a dramatic confrontation ... and a devastating outcome for the team ... all live streamed in a terrifying bid for revenge. Crackling with energy and populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, Hotel Cartagena is a searing, stunning thriller that will leave you breathless.
About the author.
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.
Review.
Once again Simone has a winner on her hands. It was a truly different take on crime fiction - have the whole team locked in a bar with a high stakes hostage situation. It just grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go, even now I am thinking of its musical prose days later.
In this outing, Chastity is celebrating Faller’s birthday and the whole team are there having drinks and making merry. That is until armed men show up and take hostages! The hotel owner is the target and it soon becomes clear it’s a case of revenge. As the night progresses Chastity begins to fall ill from sepsis and needs urgent medical attention.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was a master class in how to write a high-pressure situation but still give empathy to the ‘bad guy’. The dual narrative allows the reader to be brought through the background behind the armed raid and all I can say it at the end I had sympathy for all involved. Well apart from the hotel owner!
Chastity Riley as a character is brilliant, one of the best that I have read. In this book the attention is off her somewhat and that was fine, as it intensified the snippets you got of her and it was like a fine vintage was being poured. Her intelligence shone through, but also her loyalty and her comfort at being a sexual being. Sometimes I find myself in situations and ask myself ‘What would Chastity do?’!!!
However, it’s the brilliant style of writing (and translation) that dazzles me. It’s crisp and short, lyrical in places. It flows like a jazz band over you - distorted and you will never know where it will take you. The chapter headings are hysterical and the dialogue makes it seem as if there are no extra words needed. What I mean by that is that the German language is a harsh one - long sentences, complex grammar and also very complex words. Well it is to me, I can only remember a handful of phrases from school! But how it translates to English is outstanding. I wish I understood more German to read it in its original voice . Anyway, any time I review a book by Simone I wax lyrical about the writing!
I will say this I was super excited to see my home city crop up at the end. Please say a whole book is going to be set over here - you can stay at mine to do research trips! Hehe!
I knew when I picked up this book that I would love it but Simone has exceeds my very high expectations. She always surprises the reader and roll on the next outing. Unfortunately, it means a wait of a another year to pass!!!
