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Konstantin Kirchenberg #1
Leichensache
Mitten in der Nacht wird Kriminalhauptkommissar Kirchenberg zum Schauplatz eines Mordes gerufen: eine junge Frau wurde missbraucht und erstochen. Da die Mitbewohnerin eine genaue Täterbeschreibung liefern kann, ist der Hauptverdächtige schnell gefunden. Aber der erfahrene Kirchenberg gibt sich mit allzu einfachen Erklärungen nicht zufrieden ...
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2003
5 people want to read
About the author
Norbert Horst
16 books4 followersNorbert Horst is a German former police officer and author of crime novels.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 21, 2019
Two things I liked about this book: 1) the style of writing, and 2) a realistic plot.
While my German was not quite up to total comprehension, I nonetheless feel confident in commenting about the writing style. It seemed to me to be a cross (or back and forth) between stream of consciousness and “hard-boiled” detective styles. That said, it did not feel at all pretentious. The stream of consciousness aspects sometimes dealt with the protagonist’s fantasies (right in the middle of a meeting, or driving, etc.), and more frequently, his barely above consciousness observations of people, objects, and activities surrounding him. For example, he might notice baggy eyes or how someone slouched against a door, wet pavement or a smell on the stairs, colleagues stapling together evidence reports or interviewing a witness. Such observations were more often than not reported in just sentence fragments - a technique that created a strong sense for me of “being there” - of seeing his day and the evolving case through his eyes.
Sometimes he was jaded or sardonic, sometimes philosophical, but not in a way that was stereotypic of many Krimis that feature a hard-boiled, “I’ve seen it all and have an idiot for a boss” detective.
The plot itself was methodical in a good way. There were no heroes, only individuals and the team doing the tedious work of trying to make sense of the evidence and find the perpetrator.
Overall, I’d say the crime itself was not the focal point, but rather it was real life as a detective and as a person. I found it quite engaging.
While my German was not quite up to total comprehension, I nonetheless feel confident in commenting about the writing style. It seemed to me to be a cross (or back and forth) between stream of consciousness and “hard-boiled” detective styles. That said, it did not feel at all pretentious. The stream of consciousness aspects sometimes dealt with the protagonist’s fantasies (right in the middle of a meeting, or driving, etc.), and more frequently, his barely above consciousness observations of people, objects, and activities surrounding him. For example, he might notice baggy eyes or how someone slouched against a door, wet pavement or a smell on the stairs, colleagues stapling together evidence reports or interviewing a witness. Such observations were more often than not reported in just sentence fragments - a technique that created a strong sense for me of “being there” - of seeing his day and the evolving case through his eyes.
Sometimes he was jaded or sardonic, sometimes philosophical, but not in a way that was stereotypic of many Krimis that feature a hard-boiled, “I’ve seen it all and have an idiot for a boss” detective.
The plot itself was methodical in a good way. There were no heroes, only individuals and the team doing the tedious work of trying to make sense of the evidence and find the perpetrator.
Overall, I’d say the crime itself was not the focal point, but rather it was real life as a detective and as a person. I found it quite engaging.
August 13, 2023
Die Geschichte an sich ist wirklich interessant, auch wie detailliert alles beschrieben wird. Ich mag aber den Schreibstil so gar nicht. Viel zu nüchtern und Telegramm artig.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews