Hansjörg Schneider – The Basel Killings

‘The Basel Killings’ by Hansjörg Schneider is the first book in the Inspector Hunkeler series. Translated by Mike Mitchell and published by one of my favourite publishers Bitter Lemon Press, I knew I was in for a treat with this book before I even began reading.

We are introduced to Inspector Peter Hunkeler as he approaches a bench where a man he knows, Hardy, is sat. He only wants to ask him for a cigarette. What he finds is that Hardy is dead, strangled with his left ear slit and a diamond stud stolen too. It seems to be the work of Albanian drug smugglers.. or so they conclude. Could they be wrong?

We are with Hunkeler as he begins his investigation, sifting through evidence and making the links from one thing to the next. A thriller that really had me there, with him the whole time as he dots his I’s and crosses his T’s. I was so immersed I was questioning my own deductions and found I was right to.

A great new series that has a setting in a country that I have never been to, Switzerland. So I have again done more travelling via the excellent world-building in this story. It was so good I could visualise the settings throughout the book, this really helped the feeling of being with Hunkeler. Hansjörg Schneider throws the reader straight into the action from the beginning and keeps the same pace throughout. The sense of mystery behind the killings that Hunkeler was investigating helped to keep the pace up too.

I am glad it is a new series as I am looking forward to learning more about Detective Peter Hunkeler, he seems a very interesting man.

Thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours and Bitter Lemon Press for my place on the tour and the copy of the book.