I would like to thank Netgalley and AmazonCrossing for an advance copy of To Clear The Air, a police procedural set in Cleves, Germany.
An elderly farmer is found dead in a field. Although his wrists are slit it is fairly obvious he has been murdered and left to die slowly. Chief of detectives Peter Böhm and his team aren't sure what to make of it until they find an announcement of his death in the local paper on the same day which hints that the reason for his death may lie buried in the past. This is more or less confirmed when the first victim's friend is also murdered. A trawl through the region's old crimes brings them to the 30 year old Behrens case where Johan killed his wife, Magdalena, in a drunken rage. Or did he? He committed suicide in his cell so the police closed the case.
To Clear The Air is a short read of 225 pages but it packs a punch. It takes a while to get going as there is a fair amount of scene setting, concentrating on the mentally fragile Anna Behrens, daughter of Johan and Magdalena, and the implications of her inheritance from her grandmother. It would seem that some of the land is zoned for housing and worth a fortune, especially to the two murder victims. Once the police get involved it is the straightforward hunt for a killer but, of course, being fiction nothing is clear cut. Böhm is convinced the answer lies in the past but the villagers refuse to talk about the Behrens case and in some instances lie outright. I found Böhm's doggedness and patience realistic as is his despair at not moving fast enough when the second victim is found 3 days after the first.
The premise of past actions causing new crimes is not new or original but Ms Borrmann puts her own spin on it and by the end you can't help feeling that the victims deserved all they got and pitying the perpetrator who suffered as a result of their actions. Murder may be a bit extreme as a revenge but it's fiction so it seems acceptable in this context.
I also liked the sympathetic way Ms Borrmann dealt with Anna's mental health problems which all stem from the murder of her mother. I also liked the final irony in this regard but can't say any more without spoilers.
Peter Böhm is in many ways the stereotypical policeman, too wrapped up in his job to make real time for his family. It is only when a family crisis looms that he sees the need to re-prioritise. I think that characterisation is the only part of the novel which suffers in its shortness. I found it difficult to get a fix on the characters or identify with them as they are a touch underdeveloped.
I thoroughly enjoyed To Clear The Air with its absorbing plot and foreign perspective. I would have preferred an English rather than American translation as that seems more appropriate to the European setting but it's not overly intrusive. I have no hesitation, therefore, in recommending it as a good read.