What do you think?
Rate this book
Chas Riley #3
Sharks: The fiercely original, slick and darkly funny new Chastity Riley thriller…
Not yet published
Expected 9 Jun 26In Hamburg's troubled Wilhelmsburg district, Prosecutor Chastity Riley investigates a brutal double murder amid corruption and gentrification. Battling personal demons and powerful foes, she fights to expose a city's dark secrets.
____
In Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg's so-called 'problem area', an American couple is found brutally murdered in a derelict villa.
Prosecutor Chastity Riley is assigned the case, and quickly finds herself waist-deep in a murky tangle of city planners, shady investors and vanishing officials. The gentrification machine is rolling on, and someone is sending a very clear message.
As November fog settles over the city, Chastity is coughing up blood, her personal life is a slow-motion disaster, and her former colleague, Faller, won't stop interfering. But nothing's going to stop her from cutting through the lies – not even the sharks circling ever closer.
Dark, caustic and piercing, Sharks is a searing investigation into greed, power, and the price of resistance in a city devouring itself, from one of Germany's finest, most original crime writers.
______
____
In Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg's so-called 'problem area', an American couple is found brutally murdered in a derelict villa.
Prosecutor Chastity Riley is assigned the case, and quickly finds herself waist-deep in a murky tangle of city planners, shady investors and vanishing officials. The gentrification machine is rolling on, and someone is sending a very clear message.
As November fog settles over the city, Chastity is coughing up blood, her personal life is a slow-motion disaster, and her former colleague, Faller, won't stop interfering. But nothing's going to stop her from cutting through the lies – not even the sharks circling ever closer.
Dark, caustic and piercing, Sharks is a searing investigation into greed, power, and the price of resistance in a city devouring itself, from one of Germany's finest, most original crime writers.
______
276 pages, Paperback
First published November 2, 2011
4 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Simone Buchholz
30 books58 followersSimone Buchholz is a German author, best known for her crime fiction.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 21, 2017
Tolles Buch. Konnte man in einem Flow durchlesen. Schreibstil und Atmosphäre, wie immer, ganz ganz toll. Fallauflösung (auch wie immer) dürftig.
February 19, 2019
Not getting tired of this series at all.
Who knew that weather descriptions could be so poetic and more than that, spot on? It‘s like someone looked at my city with my eyes and managed to put words to my feelings.
Who knew that weather descriptions could be so poetic and more than that, spot on? It‘s like someone looked at my city with my eyes and managed to put words to my feelings.
January 3, 2026
I'm grateful to the publisher for sending me a copy of Sharks to consider for review.
Simone Buchholz's sequence of books about Chastity Riley, public prosecutor in Hamburg, is one of my favourite crime series. Starting with Blue Night and running through five stories up to River Clyde, we delve into Riley's troubled, deeply noir-tinged world. In the final book, we see her get some relief, perhaps.
But there is backstory! When Blue Night opens, Riley has already been through a lot, and Buchholz is now telling these stories which I think we previously published in German but are now being reworked, and then translated (again by the brilliant Rachel Ward).
Sharks is I think the third part of Buchholz's reworking of the earlier Chastity Riley books, described as "Chastity reloaded" (a phrase which I feel could constitute an... interesting... proposition in ontological terms, but let's not go down that rabbit hole). We can therefore see the setting, and the circle of friends and lovers, forming that constitute the background for the later books, beginning at Blue Night. So inSharks, we see the origin of the Blue Night café itself, which features as a central location in the stories. We also see a fracture in Riley's relationship with her lover Klatsche.
We also, of course, see Riley, public prosecutor in Hamburg, grappling with a crime, the brutal double murder of two Americans in a squalid, run-down apartment building, leading into a world of double dealing and corruption in a district subject to gentrification. It's a well thought out plot strand that demonstrates Buchholtz's familiarity with the pulse (as it were) of Hamburg. It also shows the start of her involvement with Inceman - perhaps the beginning of a Chastity spiralling out of control as we see in the later books.
A feature of these stories is that Chastity's world, and that of her colleagues in the police and the prosecutors' office, is a distinctly menacing, unfriendly place. Often the best friends, the warmest comradeship, is with the petty crooks of Sankt Pauli, the people with whom Riley will gladly drink a night away. The higher up the ranks of officialdom we go, the further into wealth and power, the worse people get and the more dangerous the journey. That's doubly true in Sharks, and Riley faces additional danger as our girl is suffering from a chest infection. She may even have to give up smoking, that's how bad it is!
As ever though this feeds into a tangible sense that Chastity's not taking care of herself and she certainly won't allow anyone else to take care of her, so she makes a point of only quitting for a day or two. After that there's the business of self-punishment to resume. The only respite she allows herself is when she's supporting her friends, as she does when Carla is in crisis - which paints more background to the development of the group, as do manoeuvres to establish the Blue Night café which we see in operation in the later books.
Told in taut chapters, Sharks is classic noir, a book with an atmosphere so strong that one almost inhales, rather than reads, this story of late nights, insomnia, coffee, and cigarettes - a world that seems nocturnal even when the watery sun is in the sky. Buchholz layers on the mean streets, the meaner people, the need to release through drink and sex. But the book also provides some relief in the small joys of friendship - Riley supporting Carla for example, or making time to watch her favourite (failing) football team.
It's less about the crime (though that is a satisfying mystery, taking us to some grim places physically and morally) than the little group of friends weathering the storm, trying to make something worthwhile and to endure.
Another lovely novel, one that contributes to the achievement this evolving series is. Chastity's always great to be around, and I really enjoyed this.
As ever Rachel Ward's translation is atmospheric, fun and nimble. The partnership of Buchholz and Ward as delivers a sharp, bracing story with language that seems laconic and plain at first sight but where deep and treacherous subcurrents run.
Strongly recommended.
Simone Buchholz's sequence of books about Chastity Riley, public prosecutor in Hamburg, is one of my favourite crime series. Starting with Blue Night and running through five stories up to River Clyde, we delve into Riley's troubled, deeply noir-tinged world. In the final book, we see her get some relief, perhaps.
But there is backstory! When Blue Night opens, Riley has already been through a lot, and Buchholz is now telling these stories which I think we previously published in German but are now being reworked, and then translated (again by the brilliant Rachel Ward).
Sharks is I think the third part of Buchholz's reworking of the earlier Chastity Riley books, described as "Chastity reloaded" (a phrase which I feel could constitute an... interesting... proposition in ontological terms, but let's not go down that rabbit hole). We can therefore see the setting, and the circle of friends and lovers, forming that constitute the background for the later books, beginning at Blue Night. So inSharks, we see the origin of the Blue Night café itself, which features as a central location in the stories. We also see a fracture in Riley's relationship with her lover Klatsche.
We also, of course, see Riley, public prosecutor in Hamburg, grappling with a crime, the brutal double murder of two Americans in a squalid, run-down apartment building, leading into a world of double dealing and corruption in a district subject to gentrification. It's a well thought out plot strand that demonstrates Buchholtz's familiarity with the pulse (as it were) of Hamburg. It also shows the start of her involvement with Inceman - perhaps the beginning of a Chastity spiralling out of control as we see in the later books.
A feature of these stories is that Chastity's world, and that of her colleagues in the police and the prosecutors' office, is a distinctly menacing, unfriendly place. Often the best friends, the warmest comradeship, is with the petty crooks of Sankt Pauli, the people with whom Riley will gladly drink a night away. The higher up the ranks of officialdom we go, the further into wealth and power, the worse people get and the more dangerous the journey. That's doubly true in Sharks, and Riley faces additional danger as our girl is suffering from a chest infection. She may even have to give up smoking, that's how bad it is!
As ever though this feeds into a tangible sense that Chastity's not taking care of herself and she certainly won't allow anyone else to take care of her, so she makes a point of only quitting for a day or two. After that there's the business of self-punishment to resume. The only respite she allows herself is when she's supporting her friends, as she does when Carla is in crisis - which paints more background to the development of the group, as do manoeuvres to establish the Blue Night café which we see in operation in the later books.
Told in taut chapters, Sharks is classic noir, a book with an atmosphere so strong that one almost inhales, rather than reads, this story of late nights, insomnia, coffee, and cigarettes - a world that seems nocturnal even when the watery sun is in the sky. Buchholz layers on the mean streets, the meaner people, the need to release through drink and sex. But the book also provides some relief in the small joys of friendship - Riley supporting Carla for example, or making time to watch her favourite (failing) football team.
It's less about the crime (though that is a satisfying mystery, taking us to some grim places physically and morally) than the little group of friends weathering the storm, trying to make something worthwhile and to endure.
Another lovely novel, one that contributes to the achievement this evolving series is. Chastity's always great to be around, and I really enjoyed this.
As ever Rachel Ward's translation is atmospheric, fun and nimble. The partnership of Buchholz and Ward as delivers a sharp, bracing story with language that seems laconic and plain at first sight but where deep and treacherous subcurrents run.
Strongly recommended.
January 11, 2026
Sharks is the latest addition to the Chastity Reloaded series of books set in the world of Hamburg Public Prosecutor, Chastity Riley. I really enjoy these books and getting to know Chastity in those early days that come to inform, and direct, the books we already know and love. At the heart of this book is the investigation into the brutal killing of an American couple, but that is only a backdrop to what is otherwise a complex story of friendship, urban gentrification and potential corruption.
This series really is a wonder. More literary and lyrical in tone than necessarily hard nosed noir, yet it is still gritty and dark and, for a public official charged with upholding the law, Chastity walks a very fine line between right and wrong. She is equally at home with the police charged with solving the crimes, and the slightly less reputable elements of the Hamburg community who she calls her friends.
This is actually a really fascinating book when trying to understand the context of Chastity's life when we first met her in Blue Night. In many respects it feels that this is amore a relationship drama that just happens to be set in the world of police, prosecutors and murder investigations, and much of the story is given over to the interactions between Chastity and her lover, Klatsche, her best friend, Karla, and her partner, Rocco, as well as the wider circle of friends in retired police officer, Faller, and her current police colleague, Calabretta. It is an eclectic cast of characters, but one I have come to know and love, and seeing the origins of the Blue Night Cafe, the way in which Chastity goes out on a limb for those she loves, and the introduction of a character who will have great sway over Chastity's future, Inceman, all just added to the draw of the story.
I will admit I have a huge smile on my face when the latter first appears on the page, and a fear that my kindle may malfunction, the electricity between the two characters enough to cause a short circuit. But it feels like the book marks the start of a change in Chastity. A kind of nod to her self destructive mode which is too often engaged, and throughout the book we bear witness to her lack of self care, with a lingering cough and heavy chest infection, if not early stage pneumonia, that she chooses to ignore. It has echoes of the Chastity we see in the future, and while all of her usual sardonic observation is still there, as is her determination to get to the bottom of the murders, after a fashion, it is more of the Chastity I recall from the later books, rather than the start of this reloaded series who seems to inhabit these pages.
The murder itself is an intriguing one which, despite being set a few years back, still resonates today. Faller is caught up in it despite his no longer being a Detective by virtue of having been hired as a Private Investigator to get to the bottom of this property linked mystery. There is much misdirection, a hint of corruption and of not necessarily above board city planning as the city Chastity knows and loves slowly gives way to more modern development. Getting to the heart of the case proves problematic, and I love how the author leads us readers down many paths here. When the truth lands, I can honestly say I didn't see it coming, and I appreciated it all the more for that fact. It's perhaps not as important and the human factor in this whole story, but an interesting insight into how the author's home city has changed and how so call progress waits for no crime.
Another fascinating and entertaining addition to the Chastity Riley series with a huge amount of backstory I loved but never knew I needed. Fans of the series will lap it up.
This series really is a wonder. More literary and lyrical in tone than necessarily hard nosed noir, yet it is still gritty and dark and, for a public official charged with upholding the law, Chastity walks a very fine line between right and wrong. She is equally at home with the police charged with solving the crimes, and the slightly less reputable elements of the Hamburg community who she calls her friends.
This is actually a really fascinating book when trying to understand the context of Chastity's life when we first met her in Blue Night. In many respects it feels that this is amore a relationship drama that just happens to be set in the world of police, prosecutors and murder investigations, and much of the story is given over to the interactions between Chastity and her lover, Klatsche, her best friend, Karla, and her partner, Rocco, as well as the wider circle of friends in retired police officer, Faller, and her current police colleague, Calabretta. It is an eclectic cast of characters, but one I have come to know and love, and seeing the origins of the Blue Night Cafe, the way in which Chastity goes out on a limb for those she loves, and the introduction of a character who will have great sway over Chastity's future, Inceman, all just added to the draw of the story.
I will admit I have a huge smile on my face when the latter first appears on the page, and a fear that my kindle may malfunction, the electricity between the two characters enough to cause a short circuit. But it feels like the book marks the start of a change in Chastity. A kind of nod to her self destructive mode which is too often engaged, and throughout the book we bear witness to her lack of self care, with a lingering cough and heavy chest infection, if not early stage pneumonia, that she chooses to ignore. It has echoes of the Chastity we see in the future, and while all of her usual sardonic observation is still there, as is her determination to get to the bottom of the murders, after a fashion, it is more of the Chastity I recall from the later books, rather than the start of this reloaded series who seems to inhabit these pages.
The murder itself is an intriguing one which, despite being set a few years back, still resonates today. Faller is caught up in it despite his no longer being a Detective by virtue of having been hired as a Private Investigator to get to the bottom of this property linked mystery. There is much misdirection, a hint of corruption and of not necessarily above board city planning as the city Chastity knows and loves slowly gives way to more modern development. Getting to the heart of the case proves problematic, and I love how the author leads us readers down many paths here. When the truth lands, I can honestly say I didn't see it coming, and I appreciated it all the more for that fact. It's perhaps not as important and the human factor in this whole story, but an interesting insight into how the author's home city has changed and how so call progress waits for no crime.
Another fascinating and entertaining addition to the Chastity Riley series with a huge amount of backstory I loved but never knew I needed. Fans of the series will lap it up.
May 8, 2019
Sätze ohne Schnörkel, gerade raus erzählt und super zu lesen!
February 28, 2023
Kodderschnauziger Ton und am Ende fällt alles etwas zu leicht dahin, wo es nun eben liegen muss. Man liest mehr für die Atmosphäre und die Charaktere als dass der Plot einen überzeugt.
December 8, 2011
Die ersten beiden Teile der Serie um die Staatsanwältin Chas Riley habe ich sehr gemocht. Die Figur ist unkonventionell, die Beschreibungen von Hamburg ganz prima, und die Fälle waren bisher immer spannend. Deshalb habe ich mir auch gleich Schwedenbitter besorgt - und wurde leider enttäuscht.
Ich weiß gar nicht mehr, ob das bei den anderen Teilen auch so war, aber diesmal ist mir die Art zu schreiben sehr auf den Geist gegangen. Immer wenn es um Personen geht, lese ich "der sowieso", "die sowieso" - ohne ging es gar nicht mehr. Und das Ende des Romans war so abrupt und unabgeschlossen, das ich fassungslos nach den nächsten Seiten im Buch gesucht habe. Schade. Hoffentlich wird der nächste Teil der Serie wieder besser :-)
Ich weiß gar nicht mehr, ob das bei den anderen Teilen auch so war, aber diesmal ist mir die Art zu schreiben sehr auf den Geist gegangen. Immer wenn es um Personen geht, lese ich "der sowieso", "die sowieso" - ohne ging es gar nicht mehr. Und das Ende des Romans war so abrupt und unabgeschlossen, das ich fassungslos nach den nächsten Seiten im Buch gesucht habe. Schade. Hoffentlich wird der nächste Teil der Serie wieder besser :-)
February 13, 2013
Herrlich! Alle anderen Bücher dieser Reihe müssen her. Sofort!
July 11, 2016
Ach, sie schreibt einfach so schön. Was aber von den dreien die ich bisher gelesehn habe der Schwächste. Kann gar nicht so genau sagen warum.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews