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Nutze deine Feinde
Thirty-something Josefa Rehmer is as smart and ambitious as they come, qualities that have earned her the enviable position of events manager at Loyn, an exclusive Zurich leather accessories company. But when Werner Schulmann is appointed to be her new supervisor, Josefa’s professional ambitions are dealt a serious blow. After all, it was Schulmann’s sexual harassment that nearly derailed her career years earlier. Unable to stomach the thought of working for such a man, Josefa resigns, abandoning Loyn for another local firm. But when Schulmann is murdered and Loyn’s CEO commits suicide, Josefa begins to suspect that something other than sexual impropriety is plaguing her former company. She sets out to uncover the truth and soon realizes the two deaths are just the tip of the iceberg. As she digs deeper, Josefa finds herself caught in a complex and dangerous web of blackmail, corporate espionage, and murder. And if she’s not careful, she will be the next one to take the fall. This dramatic tale of corporate intrigue doubles as an intricately plotted thriller about the darkest side of office politics and the people who will do anything to come out on top.
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First published April 12, 2012
46 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Bernadette Calonego
21 books98 followersI was born and raised in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, on Lake Lucerne, a very picturesque area with mountains and lakes. I grew up in a house full of book lovers. As a child, I sneaked in my brothers' rooms to read their adventure books like "Ivanhoe", "The Leatherstocking Tales", "Treasure Island", "Robinson Crusoe", "Huckleberry Finn". Or I persuaded my mother that I was old enough to read romances (they were really harmless!). To make me happy, I wanted nothing more than read a good book while eating an apple, and to be left alone!
My mother, a poet, encouraged me to try my hand at writing at an early age. My first publication was a fairytale, which appeared in a Swiss newspaper when I was eleven years old.
But I did not turn into a writer right away. I became a teacher, then a reporter and a foreign correspondent.
My career has included working as a reporter/editor for Reuters newsagency in Zurich. My time covering financial news for Reuters inspired my book "The Zurich Conspiracy".
From 1990 to 2000, I was the foreign correspondent for “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, the largest circulation daily newspaper in Germany, reporting from Switzerland. After I had emigrated to Canada, I wrote regularly for newspapers and magazines in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
I now reside and work as a crime novelist near Vancouver, Canada, on the beautiful Sunshine Coast (okay, in winter, it is raining a lot). Visitors in my backyard include black bears, racoons, coyotes and bold eagles. You can also find me often in northern Newfoundland on Canada's east coast which is moose, polar bear and humpback whale territory.
My popular mystery thriller series with intrepid RCMP detective sergeant Calista Gates is set in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Come and read my English blog on my website www.bernadettecalonego.com
You can also contact me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BernadetteCa...
Or Instagram @bernadettecalonegoauthor
Or Tiktok @bernadettecalonego.author
I would love to hear from you!
My mother, a poet, encouraged me to try my hand at writing at an early age. My first publication was a fairytale, which appeared in a Swiss newspaper when I was eleven years old.
But I did not turn into a writer right away. I became a teacher, then a reporter and a foreign correspondent.
My career has included working as a reporter/editor for Reuters newsagency in Zurich. My time covering financial news for Reuters inspired my book "The Zurich Conspiracy".
From 1990 to 2000, I was the foreign correspondent for “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, the largest circulation daily newspaper in Germany, reporting from Switzerland. After I had emigrated to Canada, I wrote regularly for newspapers and magazines in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
I now reside and work as a crime novelist near Vancouver, Canada, on the beautiful Sunshine Coast (okay, in winter, it is raining a lot). Visitors in my backyard include black bears, racoons, coyotes and bold eagles. You can also find me often in northern Newfoundland on Canada's east coast which is moose, polar bear and humpback whale territory.
My popular mystery thriller series with intrepid RCMP detective sergeant Calista Gates is set in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Come and read my English blog on my website www.bernadettecalonego.com
You can also contact me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BernadetteCa...
Or Instagram @bernadettecalonegoauthor
Or Tiktok @bernadettecalonego.author
I would love to hear from you!
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 17, 2021
This was a decent murder mystery translated from German to English. It is on my Clear My Kindle list that I am making my way through.
I liked the depiction of Josefa Rehmer’s whirlwind corporate lifestyle. She with her assistant Claire plans events for a luxury luggage company which allows her to hobnob with celebrities and high-powered executives. I liked that the character of Josefa grows as a person when her life throws her challenges. I also liked that she is portrayed as someone with anxieties, at times too trusting and not some all-knowing whiz detective.
I loved the visual descriptions of the Swiss settings.
The mystery part was not so much of a mystery and there were maybe too many murdered executives to keep track of. The ending left possibilities of a sequel.
3 1/3 stars rounded up to 4
I liked the depiction of Josefa Rehmer’s whirlwind corporate lifestyle. She with her assistant Claire plans events for a luxury luggage company which allows her to hobnob with celebrities and high-powered executives. I liked that the character of Josefa grows as a person when her life throws her challenges. I also liked that she is portrayed as someone with anxieties, at times too trusting and not some all-knowing whiz detective.
I loved the visual descriptions of the Swiss settings.
The mystery part was not so much of a mystery and there were maybe too many murdered executives to keep track of. The ending left possibilities of a sequel.
3 1/3 stars rounded up to 4
September 19, 2012
yeah this was not stellar by any stretch. it oscillated between "ok we are getting somewhere... this is good," but then immediately felt like the story completed switched translators.@/vantage point. not good. it has been a while since i have read a book and genuinely felt i was lost.
I feel like my kindle must have lost the ending because it was just so unfinished.
one last comment...just like the movie "the descent "... do not go into caves if you are female!!!!
I feel like my kindle must have lost the ending because it was just so unfinished.
one last comment...just like the movie "the descent "... do not go into caves if you are female!!!!
July 27, 2012
Maybe it was the translation, but for a suspense novel, I didn't feel much suspense at all. At least I didn't have to pay anything for the copy I read.
January 8, 2026
I was expecting a "sexual harassment in the workplace" type of thriller. What I got was corporate espionage and the lengths to which some will go to achieve power and wealth. I also didn't expect to to find so many suspects I thought would be guilty of murder. Just when I thought I knew who was behind the murders, the narrative would twist just enough I began to suspect someone else.
I can highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a whodunit mystery and/or psychological thriller. Just be prepared to be left hanging with a surprise at the end.
I can highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a whodunit mystery and/or psychological thriller. Just be prepared to be left hanging with a surprise at the end.
July 14, 2014
“A pretty good mystery novel”
Bernadette Calonego is a native of Switzerland raised in the German-speaking part of the country. She obtained a teaching diploma from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland majoring in German, French and English literature. She worked for a time as a reporter-editor for Reuters news service in Zurich assigned to the financial desk, and it was from this experience that inspired her to write “The Zurich Conspiracy”.
Calonego’s mystery/murder novel is born of a very complex plot, taking its intrigue from the nefarious behind the scenes maneuverings of the rich and powerful of a high image corporate machine. Everyone is scratching and clawing to get to the top, and some don’t care what it takes to get there. Calonego draws upon a considerable number of characters in her work and that throws certain confusion into the soup that successfully keeps the reader pondering the connections. The heroine of the story, Josefa Rehmer, steadfastly progresses the reader through the anonymous narrated mystery step by step until the final conclusion.
This was a pretty engaging murder/mystery conspiracy type theme, well written, and as mentioned, rather complex in its character devices. It was a bit anti-climatic at the conclusion and somewhat puzzling too. Because of the intricate weaving that Calonego does with her characters, it takes a bit more than casual attention to understand the full interplay; I felt like I needed to read it again to clear up some of my lost connections. I will have to admit that I never did fully figure out the end, there seemed to be some motivation missing to explain it. One other trouble I had was visualizing Frau Rehmer. I know this was a translation, but the German to English translation left me somewhat perplexed. I just couldn’t come to grips with a female named Josefa; it just didn’t conjure up an image of someone feminine – I kept thinking of Ruth Buzzi’s character in the old Rowan & Martin Laugh-In TV series.
All in all this was a good mystery-murder novel steeped with intrigue, and I would recommend you add it to your reading list. I would rate it pleasurable, not particularly memorable but pretty good just the same.
Bernadette Calonego is a native of Switzerland raised in the German-speaking part of the country. She obtained a teaching diploma from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland majoring in German, French and English literature. She worked for a time as a reporter-editor for Reuters news service in Zurich assigned to the financial desk, and it was from this experience that inspired her to write “The Zurich Conspiracy”.
Calonego’s mystery/murder novel is born of a very complex plot, taking its intrigue from the nefarious behind the scenes maneuverings of the rich and powerful of a high image corporate machine. Everyone is scratching and clawing to get to the top, and some don’t care what it takes to get there. Calonego draws upon a considerable number of characters in her work and that throws certain confusion into the soup that successfully keeps the reader pondering the connections. The heroine of the story, Josefa Rehmer, steadfastly progresses the reader through the anonymous narrated mystery step by step until the final conclusion.
This was a pretty engaging murder/mystery conspiracy type theme, well written, and as mentioned, rather complex in its character devices. It was a bit anti-climatic at the conclusion and somewhat puzzling too. Because of the intricate weaving that Calonego does with her characters, it takes a bit more than casual attention to understand the full interplay; I felt like I needed to read it again to clear up some of my lost connections. I will have to admit that I never did fully figure out the end, there seemed to be some motivation missing to explain it. One other trouble I had was visualizing Frau Rehmer. I know this was a translation, but the German to English translation left me somewhat perplexed. I just couldn’t come to grips with a female named Josefa; it just didn’t conjure up an image of someone feminine – I kept thinking of Ruth Buzzi’s character in the old Rowan & Martin Laugh-In TV series.
All in all this was a good mystery-murder novel steeped with intrigue, and I would recommend you add it to your reading list. I would rate it pleasurable, not particularly memorable but pretty good just the same.
February 8, 2013
The Zurich Conspiracy is an overly ambitious mystery/thriller with murders galore but only a thin plot to tie them together. It's very hard for the reader to tell the dead apart without a program, because they are all ambitious Swiss businessmen, and most of them don't die "real time." Instead, their deaths are recapped via newspaper articles and other such devices. One guy comes back from the dead but quickly returns there--his cameo appearance revealing the ruthlessness of one of the sweeter killers. The ending drags with the business of tying up loose plot lines, including a protracted, pointless explanation of the sad childhood of one of the murderers. The final twist comes at the very end, leaving what the writer must believe is a cliff hanger that will lead into a sequel; it fell flat for this reader and for many others whose reviews I've read.
With all that said I still liked this book. With the exception of the dead businessmen, I thought the characters were reasonably well-developed and real in the sense that they had flaws and strengths. After a weak and confusing start, the storyline moved along at a good clip until it started dragging again at the end. If a sequel does come out, I'll probably read it.
With all that said I still liked this book. With the exception of the dead businessmen, I thought the characters were reasonably well-developed and real in the sense that they had flaws and strengths. After a weak and confusing start, the storyline moved along at a good clip until it started dragging again at the end. If a sequel does come out, I'll probably read it.
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August 28, 2012The Zurich Conspiracy
by Bernadette Calonego, Tanya Eby (Goodreads Author) (Narrator)
3.00 · rating details · 11 ratings · 4 reviews
By the time she reaches her midthirties, Josefa Rehmer's career is right on schedule. Her job as events planner for Loyn, an exclusive Zurich leather accessories company, has placed her on the fast track up the corporate ladder ? until the day Werner Schulmann walks back into her life. Schulmann's sexual harassment years before nearly derailed her ambitions; now that he is her new supervisor, Josefa doubts she?ll escape a second time. Unable to stomach the thought of working for such a man, she resigns, hoping to salvage her career before things get ugly. But when Schulmann is murdered and Loyn's CEO commits suicide, Josefa begins to suspect that something much worse than sexual impropriety was plaguing her former company. Caught in a complex and dangerous web of blackmail, corporate espionage, and murder, Josefa realizes it isn?t just her career on the line ? it's her life.(less)
by Bernadette Calonego, Tanya Eby (Goodreads Author) (Narrator)
3.00 · rating details · 11 ratings · 4 reviews
By the time she reaches her midthirties, Josefa Rehmer's career is right on schedule. Her job as events planner for Loyn, an exclusive Zurich leather accessories company, has placed her on the fast track up the corporate ladder ? until the day Werner Schulmann walks back into her life. Schulmann's sexual harassment years before nearly derailed her ambitions; now that he is her new supervisor, Josefa doubts she?ll escape a second time. Unable to stomach the thought of working for such a man, she resigns, hoping to salvage her career before things get ugly. But when Schulmann is murdered and Loyn's CEO commits suicide, Josefa begins to suspect that something much worse than sexual impropriety was plaguing her former company. Caught in a complex and dangerous web of blackmail, corporate espionage, and murder, Josefa realizes it isn?t just her career on the line ? it's her life.(less)
July 4, 2014
Looking forward to the next one
Reading a translation is often tricky - is this what the author really wrote? In this case, that is actually a clue to the story. Colonel quickly drew me into her story and held my attention throughout, right to the very end. Very good pacing and development of plot and characters. It helped that my husband was stationed in Germany and was familiar with High German and German/Swiss pronunciation. Four stars instead of five because I found the ending confusing, but it was way after midnight when I finished reading and it was probably just sleepiness. In any case, I'm looking forward to the next book from this author, with or without Josefa.
Reading a translation is often tricky - is this what the author really wrote? In this case, that is actually a clue to the story. Colonel quickly drew me into her story and held my attention throughout, right to the very end. Very good pacing and development of plot and characters. It helped that my husband was stationed in Germany and was familiar with High German and German/Swiss pronunciation. Four stars instead of five because I found the ending confusing, but it was way after midnight when I finished reading and it was probably just sleepiness. In any case, I'm looking forward to the next book from this author, with or without Josefa.
May 10, 2015
Maybe it was the translation (although this book was written in german, I got the english translation through a kindle daily deal), but I thought it was terribly written. There were so many loose ends and the ending itself felt as if the writer just didn't know how she could finish the book. I hated the main character. The conversations felt staged (nobody that I know talks like that) and the story itself was too construed.
November 3, 2013
The author overstepped her bounds in trying to create a layered plot -- instead there are far too many sinister conspiracies and implausible coincidences. And in several spots the translator couldn't decide if he would use the literal German translation or use equivalent English idioms. I thought about stopping after 100 pages, and after finishing it, I wish I had.
February 28, 2016
2.5 stars. Josefa works as an event coordinator for a fashionable brand. Claire is her assistant, Pius the ace photographer. She gets a new boss, who tried assaulting her in the past. An unrelated company recently underwent an Enron/Madoff-like situation and the ringleaders start disappearing, as do some people at Josefa's company.
May 18, 2014
The Zurich Conspiracy
Splendid book, spellbinding, surprise ending leaves questions in your mind to puzzle over so it's not a book I will quickly forget. enjoyed the marvellous writing style.
Splendid book, spellbinding, surprise ending leaves questions in your mind to puzzle over so it's not a book I will quickly forget. enjoyed the marvellous writing style.
August 2, 2014
Good not great.
Good not great.
It was worth the time, but it could've been better. The plot was decent although I would've liked it better if the end turned out different or if there weren't as many characters to keep up with.
Good not great.
It was worth the time, but it could've been better. The plot was decent although I would've liked it better if the end turned out different or if there weren't as many characters to keep up with.
September 10, 2014
I enjoyed this Swiss thriller about a group of corporate raiders being killed off. I did find the interjections of a bit unconvincing especially as they didn't seem to lead to any revelations about the mystery or her character.
August 25, 2012
It was ok. The ending was odd.
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August 1, 2020couldnt finish it
August 23, 2012
Tedious read
January 21, 2013
This book was pretty good for a free Kindle title. I didn't like the author's habit of only revealing major points in the story through conversations after the fact.
February 24, 2014
Even tough it was free, can't rate it higher!!
September 10, 2012
Almost put it down several times. Got thru it, not sure why....
July 31, 2013
Keeps you intrigued and guessing until the end.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews