Der Beobachter

This is a very, very, very German book, that out of some unexplicable reason is set in England. Ms. Link has apparently been on a hasty weekend visit to the London area, to pick up some names and such, but has obviously not made any more thorough research. It is rather fluently written, but she should have had some English editor look at the manuscript. And why on earth is it set in Britain, if not out of a greedy wish to earn more money by sort of exotising it. There are so many oddities in it. For instance: 1. There is no such thing as somebody living alone on the eighth floor of a public housing building. 2. There is rarely any hausmeister in British public housing of this kind. 3. A murder of this kind, where the details are not known to the public, would call little attention in London. 5. The German stammtisch has no equal in Britain. 4. English upper class thinks it rather vulgar to undergo facelifts and botox treatments: that is for the newly-rich (contrary to some socalled upperclass in Germany, I think). 5. It would be unthinkable for a handball club to serve sekt at a meeting. Perhaps white wine, though. Probably no alcohol at all. 6. And the first names that all seem to at random have been taken out of a telephone book. Names mean a lot in Britain, they place you in society. a fact that Ms. Link seems not have been conscious of. AND introducing a dog, for the sole reason that it probably will get killed later, made me stop reading and directctly disposing of the volume into the waste paper bin for circulation.

Mit diesem neuen Roman beweist Charlotte Link wieder ihre Spitzenkasse im Segment anspruchsvoll-niveauvoller Krimis. Perfekt inszenierte Handlung, mit der für die Autorin so typischen feinsinnigen Zeichnung der Charaktere und ihre Kunst, die Spannung stets durch geschickten Szenenwechsel aufrecht zu erhalten und neu aufzubauen. Und da ist auch wieder diese psychologische Tiefe,diese für alle Link-Romane ebenfalls so typischen Botschaften, mit der sie unser ethisch-moralisches Empfinden im Ummgang mit anderen Menschen berührt. Wunderbar zu lesen und im tieferen Inhalt weit mnehr, als ein Krimi. Wir lasen es direkt im Anschluß an den neuen Spitzentitel unserer schwedischen Lieblingsautorin (Jenseits der Abendröte)- eine ergreifende, mystisch exotische Geschichte, die uns wie auch die anderen Werke beider Autorinnen, auf ganz unterschiedliche Art tief berührten. Tolles Erlebnis der Kontraste...