Revolverherz

Chas Riley #1

by Simone Buchholz

Cool bis zum Anschlag und mit ganz viel Herz, so sind die Menschen auf St. Pauli – und so ist auch Staatsanwältin Chas Riley, die gnadenlos romantisch wird, wenn es um ihren Kiez geht. Es ist Frühling in Hamburg, und alles könnte so schön sein – wäre da nicht ein rätselhafter Killer, der tote Frauen an der Elbe drapiert. Um ihn zu stoppen, muss Chas am Ende dahin gehen, wo es besonders weh tut: in die Abgründe der eigenen Vergangenheit...

Genres: Crime, Thriller, Mystery, Audiobook, Germany, German Literature, Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Simone Buchholz is a German author, best known for her crime fiction.

Reviews

[Yvonne (the putrid Shelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, stylish, and soaked in neon-lit menace, The Acapulco delivers a gritty serial-killer thriller that leans hard into atmosphere and morally messy characters. With dancers vanishing from Hamburg’s red-light district and turning up horrifically scalped, this is not a gentle crime novel—and it doesn’t pretend to be.

Chastity Riley is a compelling, sharply drawn protagonist: a flawed state prosecutor battling addiction, self-destruction, and her own recklessness while trying to hunt a flamboyant and deeply disturbing killer. I loved how her weaknesses are never softened, her bad decisions actively complicate the investigation, making the story feel raw and unpolished in the best way.

The setting is one of the book’s strongest features. Fog-drenched streets, clubs pulsing with danger, and the bleak, rain-slicked mood of Hamburg all bleed into the narrative and give it a heavy noir atmosphere. The killer’s scalp-taking trophy signature is grotesque without being gratuitous, adding a macabre edge that keeps the tension high.

[Monika Armet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chastity Riley is a State Prosecutor in Hamburg.

She is called in to her next case: a young woman is found dead, naked, presumably strangled and scalped – her hair replaced with a cheap, plastic wig.

Chastity suspects that the girl could have been a prostitute; however, none of the working women seem to have recognised the victim.

With help of Klatsche, Chastity’s neighbour/ ex-burglar turned successful locksmith/ friend with benefit, they discover that the girl was a dancer at Acapulco, a club in Hamburg’s red light district.

Then, more murders occur following the same pattern as the first victim.

Chastity, to solve the case, likes to think like the perpetrator. However, this time, she is really struggling…

I loved this book! Chastity is such a great character, intuitive, intelligent, but always on a path to self-destruction (and who could blame her after what happened to her father?).

The friendship between her and Carla (her only female friend) was something special and I could sense that it mattered a lot to Chastity.

I adore Buchholz prose – it’s sharp, to the point, and beautifully poetic. Some of the descriptions were just lyrical and I really appreciated them.

The translation work by Rachel Ward was outstanding and flawless.

Overall, it’s another cracker from Team Orenda!

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a positive surprise! A crime novel set in Hamburg, told from the point of view of a prosecutor who isn't exactly your regular boring office clerk either.

A girl is found dead (yeah, that could use a change...) with her hair and scalp removed. Chas Riley and her team start to investigate and things suddenly take a turn for the worse when more bodies start to turn up. The crime and reasons behind it aren't the most original, they're actually pretty run of the mill stuff for anyone who reads crime.

What made this such a fast and intriguing read was the main character and everyone around her. Riley certainly isn't what you'd expect a prosecutor to be: her dad is American and her German mum left while she was young, she drinks more than is healthy for anyone, looks after her friend, has a thing with her young neighbour who just happened to do some illegal breaking and entering while younger... It's Riley and the supporting characters who make this such a pleasing read, you actually care for them and what happens. Not to mention a female character going to football matches regularly, what a special thing for a football fan to come across. And the joys and frustrations of supporting a club like St. Pauli were wonderfully depicted.

If some gory details don't bother you and you're looking for something different, I can very much recommend this. And credit where credit is due, the Finnish translation is excellent. I've seen enough decent-but-not-feeling-authentic translations and this managed to avoid all the pitfalls.

[lise.charmel · Rating 2 out of 5]

L'ennesima storia di serial killer di donne con spiegazioni psicologiche finali completamente campate in aria.

[Alessia Scurati · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sono tornata indietro riprendendo dal primo episodio la serie di Chas Riley: qualche tempo fa avevo letto il primo tradotto in Italia, che però in realtà era il sesto (nota: continuo a pensare che forse sarebbe il caso di seguire l’ordine quando si traduce, è da poco uscito un’altra traduzione della Buchholz con la Riley ma non so quale dei nove sia, sarà quello successivo al sesto? Boh).
Comunque, avevo riportato in quella lettura che a volte era difficile la lettura perché si aveva a che fare con personaggi il passato del quale è già stato discusso, ma nei volumi precedenti.
In ogni caso, questo capitolo della storia, che è ovviamente un giallo a sé stante, mi è parso molto più divertente e godibile dell’altro.
Sfortunatamente, non posso dare un voto molto alto anche perché (indovinate?) si capisce il colpevole appena entra in scena. Anche se veramente è già in scena, è la Riley che entra nel posto dove sta appostato il killer.
Nel complesso è una lettura di quelle che vanno bene per l’estate, leggero, però con una punta di ironia intrigante, un personaggio femminile molto interessante (figlia di un militare americano di stanza in Germania, ultras del Sankt Pauli, innamorata senza volerlo ammettere di uno scassinatore… ha delle prospettive di crescita) e un ritmo andante, oltre alla punta di romanticismo della trama che è sempre utile a rendere attraente per il pubblico la storia al di là del mistero da risolvere.
Il punto debole, a mio parere, è sempre un po’ la scrittura che è sempre un po’ troppo lineare e piana. Non parlo della trama e della capacità di creare suspence, quanto come va raccontata.
In ogni caso, mi è piaciuto più dell’altro, quindi promosso e aspetto di passare al prossimo per ampliare sempre di più il parere su tutta la saga.

[Labyrinth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoiler! Ich mochte den Humor dieses Buches und die Ermittlerin. Allerdings hat die Auflösung mich extrem genervt: Frauen spielen mehr oder weniger freiwillig den Köder. Eine dieser Frauen wird vom mutmasslichen Täter zu einem leeren Haus geführt. Die Polizei hat DNA und alle möglichen Spuren, aber sie lassen die Frau beim Täter, weil das dann besser ist. Und danach wartet die Polizei noch 5 Minuten vor der Tür. Keine 10 Minuten, weil dann könnte es zu spät sein. Das ist nicht spannend, das ist unverantworlich und unrealistisch.

[Antonella Imperiali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scrittura secca, asciutta, essenziale, con un stile particolare eppure brillante, che regge bene la lettura.
Bella ambientazione e bei personaggi.
Tanta umanità.
Questi i caratteri predominanti del romanzo.

Ho comprato questo libro attratta dalla copertina e, vista la traccia, avevo buone aspettative; non sono rimasta delusa.
È un giallo classico, con delitti efferati, le solite indagini e i soliti colpi di scena, con un finale da “arrivano i nostri” che lascia una situazione aperta. Ma ciò che regge la storia sono proprio i personaggi: non sono super, non sono eroi, sono “normali”, e dalla loro hanno le carenze, le debolezze, i difetti e le paure, ma anche determinazione e coraggio, e organizzazione.
Una squadra efficiente che mi è piaciuta.
Penso che continuerò ad interessarmi ai casi della PM Chas Riley.
Già, Chas... quasi quarant’anni, single ma con una storia che va e viene con un tipo intrigante molto più giovane di lei (il grimaldello è la sua specialità), tifosa sfegatata della squadra di calcio del quartiere (lo stadio è la sua seconda casa), con la pressione ballerina che le gioca brutti scherzi (spesso sviene), sensibile sotto molti aspetti, dura per altri versi, tiene molto agli amici e si appoggia fiduciosa ad un collega anziano che l’adora... umana al 100%, l’ho presa subito in simpatia.
Sì, decisamente da leggere altro.


🌍 LdM Paesi: Germania 🇩🇪
🧳 LdM-> BaM: Germania task 64/a
📚 RC 2019 - Lo scaffale traboccante
🤔 RC 2019 - Esimio sconosciuto
🌍 EU: Germania 🇩🇪

[Rainer F · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simone Buchholz hat eine Schreibe so ganz anders als 99% ihrer Krimikolleg:innen. Da steht die Figutr und die Figuren im Mittelpunkt, aber nicht in einer scharfen Charakteranalyse, sondern eher mit spitzer Feder skizziert wie in einem grellen Comic. Überhaupt kam mir Revolverherz vor wie ein Comic. Man erfährt nicht viel über Spurenanalyse und methodisches Vorgehen. Heldin Chastity Riley (warum erinnert mich der Name an Modesty Blaise?) ist Staatsanwältin, kotzt schon mal beim Anblick skalpierter Leichen (wer würde das nicht?), schläft mit dem Nachbarn Klatsche, der exzellente Beziehungen in de Hamburger Kiezwelt hat und geht zu Heimspielen des FC St.Pauli. Relativ schnell wird einem klar, wer vermutlich der Bösewicht ist, aber das nimmt einem nicht das Lesevergnügen. Ich werde die Serie weiterlesen, nicht sofort, aber irgendwann 2023.

[monsieur_steini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sprachlich ist der Roman ein wahres Erlebnis - nüchtern und teilweise sehr eingängig, dennoch mit einer gewissen Wucht zeichnet die Staatsanwältin Chastity Reily ein markantes und düsteres Bild von der verruchten Seite Hamburgs, vor allem von Sankt Pauli mit seinen Luden, Zuhältern und schummrigen Kneipen und Nachtclubs. Ein Mörder treibt hier sein Unwesen, der Tänzerinnen erst betäubt, dann erwürgt und skalpiert.

Inhaltlich ist der Krimi leider zu glatt. Als Anwältin mischt die Protagonistin zu viel bei der Ermittlung mit, erledigt nahezu kaum ihre Büroarbeit, hat aber fast jeden Abend Zeit, einen saufen zu gehen und ihren Kater auszuschlafen oder stöckelt gedankenverloren durchs nächtliche Hamburg. Die Auflösung des Falles ähnelt der Spannungskurve eines 90min-Filmes. Dennoch bleibt man dabei, wahrscheinlich weil sie als Figur doch erfrischend neuartig und unkonventionell ist.

Ein kurzweiliges und vor allem sprachlich innovatives Leseerlebnis.

[Leena]

Joskus päätin, että luen ainoastaan dekkareita, joissa on huumoria. Enkä piittaa väkivallasta enkä sadistisista rikoksista. Päätin kuitenkin antaa Chastity Riley -sarjalle mahdollisuuden. Buchholz on selvästi löytänyt oman lokeronsa, Hampurin syrjäkulmat ja originellin, boheemin syyttäjän. Ylöjärveläinen pienkustantamokin on uusi tuttavuus. Pitää tsekata ainakin sarjan seuraava suomennos, joka on sarjan kuudes osa.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unverschämter Cliffhanger! Jetzt muss ich die ganze Reihe kaufen und lesen! :-D

[Peter Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billed as the Chastity reloaded series, but don’t worry this is far superior to anything you usually see appended with reloaded. It is going back to the start for Chastity with the original novels being given a new translation, so if you’ve loved the later books then you are in for a treat.

The plot is straightforward and linear, the search for a killer who becomes a serial killer. The story is told in a kind of staccato rhythm, the case moves forward and then something mundane happens such as Chasity and Faller will have a coffee and shoot the breeze before the story resumes. These slightly leftfield interjections work so well with the short chapters and allow snapshots of life in Sankt Pauli to be shown.

The author has a very distinctive style, at times the prose is sparse and stripped back, but there remains a lyrical quality to it, at times almost poetic. It is as if all the background noise is removed and what is left is carefully assembled into a text that is both precise and cuts to the heart of the matter. Its not just the quality of the writing though, the translation is a real tour de force in preserving these attributes. The chapters range from short to miniscule to accommodate this style, meaning every word counts, there is no excess baggage.

The dialogue fizzes with energy and then suddenly there is a crack like peanut brittle being snapped and there is a change in the vibe. This is not the usual wise cracking hard-boiled approach, but there is always an undercurrent of deliciously dark humour.

Fans of action won’t be disappointed, there’s blood and gory murder (described in the aftermath) along with some danger and jeopardy, but it stays in procedural territory rather than being an all-out thriller. It’s a trawl through the sleazy twilight world of Hamburg as working girls, erotic dancers, pimps and dealers are questioned.

Chastity is a fascinating character, thoroughly modern but unable to settle down. She’s thirty-eight but still has a chaotic approach to life like someone in her early twenties. At the start we find her suffering with a major hangover from drinking until 3am in a bar. She’s also full of contradictions, such as when she thinks her friend Carla is big enough to look after herself but then panics when she doesn’t answer her phone. Her love life vacillates too, she considers neighbour Klatsche is too young, but they end up sharing a bed while Carla is trying to set her up on a date with an older man. Very much a woman whose attitude is all in or nothing.

We get sketches of a past, a mother who deserts Chastity and her father, her father’s suicide and her moving to Hamburg. She only intended to stay a couple of years but cannot leave as she observes like your football time you cannot chose your city, it choses you. A brilliant observation as Chastity is absorbed into life in the Sankt Pauli as it becomes the fabric of her life. The dive bars, fish sandwiches on the docks, the nightclubs on the Reeperbahn, the street food, the sights, and smells of the docks and of course St Pauli FC for her football fix. In a similar way I think this series might be one that picks the reader, for me it’s totally absorbing.

The supporting characters are fabulous too. Head of CID Faller, likened to Robert Mitchum when troubled, is a substitute father figure, concerned for her welfare and someone she can confide in. Living next door to Chastity is Klatsche a young man who has turned his back on a life of burglary to become a master locksmith and is only too happy to help Chastity out in any way he can. Carla is the best friend, the female bond, who is just as unreliable as the rest, leaving a regular customer unofficially in charge of her café when the feeling takes her, usually consuming too much alcohol with chastity. There’s also a startling cameo and scene involving Julchen which I won’t spoil.

The Acapulco is the start of a fantastic noir series set in the dark shadows of the Sankt Pauli district of Hamburg. With stylish prose and punchy dialogue its hard-bitten, hard-boiled and hard to put down.

[Simona Moschini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non so se qualcuno abbia studiato il fenomeno del turismo letterario (leggere qualcosa solo per fingere con se stessi di trovarsi in un luogo ameno), ma per farla breve succede che ho una cotta per la città di Amburgo e, prima che svanisse con gli ultimi ricordi dei giorni trascorsi là, ho pensato bene di procurarmi un romanzo ambientato là.
Non cercavo necessariamente un giallo, ma oggi, com'è come non è, scrivono tutti gialli (c'è anche un autore di gialli storici amburghesi, che il mio mediocre tedesco non mi consente di affrontare, si spera lo traducano prima o poi), quindi: trovato e letto d'un fiato questo "Revolver" di mia omonima.

Al di là del giallo, carino non indimenticabile, trovo che la Buchholz catturi bene certe sfumature atmosferiche, certi deliri e alcolismi amicali / di coppia tipicamente tedeschi, certe casualità sessuali anche quelle tipicamente tedesche, e la mescolanza di culture che vivacizza e anima le grandi città tedesche (Amburgo vive molto delle sue contro e sottoculture: quella dei marinai, del quartiere a luci rosse, della malavita locale, dei portoghesi, degli italiani, dei russi...) rendendole completamente diverse da quelle piccole e sonnolente, vedi Dresda, vedi Norimberga, che portano sontuosamente il loro splendido o sordido passato ma sono inevitabilmente un'altra cosa. Una cosina piccola d'antiquariato, così amante del passato che vota pure Afd.

Ah: la gente di Amburgo non disdegna l'alcol (e fin qua), ma beve pure carrettate di caffè: annacquato, all'italiana, alla turca, purché sia caffè. Se cominciassero a farlo pagare un po' meno, credo che avrebbero serie intossicazioni alla Balzac.

[Heli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kesti hetken, ennen kuin pääsin sisälle tähän kirjaan. Kirjoitustyyli vaikutti aluksi hankalalta, mutta aikaa myöten siihen tottui. Päähenkilö Chastity Riley on eksentrinen persoonallisuus, kuten myös suurin osa kirjan henkilöistä. Oli virkistävä lukea dekkari, joka sijoittuu Hampuriin. Yleensä tulee tartuttua skandi-tai anglodekkareihin. Miksikähän seuraavaksi on suomennettu sarjan kuudes kirja ja jätetty neljä välistä?

[Dirk Schmücker · Rating 4 out of 5]

schräge Vögel, gut geschrieben, mal gleich den zweiten Band.

[gallizio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magone non muore

[Friederike Leppert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein guter Krimi mit besonderem Reiz für alle, die Hamburg gut kennen.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

W hamburskim porcie znaleziono zamordowaną dziewczynę – uduszoną, nagą i oskalpowaną. To nie jest przyjemna sprawa dla prokuratorki Chastity Riley. Kobieta ściśle współpracuje z policją, bo sprawa robi się skomplikowana – oskalpowanych kobiet jest więcej, a w ponurym i deszczowym Hamburgu wrze. Nie będzie tu jednak szczegółów śledztwa, policyjnych detali i opisów pracy detektywów.

Riley to kobieta po przejściach.
Ciąg dalszy: https://przeczytalamksiazke.blogspot....

[Jarkko Laine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the fact that this detective story was based in Hamburg for a change, and not in LA or some other big US city like the ones I'm usually reading.

[Lilli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hat richtig Spaß gemacht zu lesen

[Nordlese · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anna: »Unspektakulärer Krimi, der versucht, drei Dinge zugleich zu sein, was leider nicht gelingt.«

Finn: »Etwas langatmiger Krimi ohne Höhepunkte, der sprachlich gerade so Lesefutteransprüchen genügt.«

Elin: »Belangloser Krimi ohne Spannungsbogen und Tiefgang, mit einer eher blassen Protagonistin, die wohl wie die Autorin selbst nicht recht zu wissen scheint, in welche Schablone sie denn nun passen soll.«

Maja: »Lahmer Krimi für Menschen, die nackte misshandelte Frauenleichen noch immer für richtig interessant halten.«

[Jule · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is an easy read and a bit cheesy, with a focus on the city of Hamburg, Germany. In parts, it was WAY too cheesy and simplified but it still was an engaging (if rather foreseeable) crime plot. All in all, I liked it for a quick read.

[Christoph Moser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicht der Cleverste, nicht der Härteste und nicht der Spannendste. Aber der Erste und es war schon alles in Ansätzen da, was mich zum eingefleischten Fan werden liess: Wärme in der Kälte, Schlechte Gesellschaft die gut ist und verquere Charakteren die fadengerade erscheinen. Mag es, mag es sehr.

[Karen Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with Simone Buchholz's writing when I read Blue Night a few years ago and have eagerly looked forward to each new Chastity Riley book ever since. I've always felt a little regretful though that I couldn't read the earlier novels – Blue Night was the first to be translated into English but not actually the start of the series. Thankfully, Orenda Books have answered my silent plea and are going to be publishing these previous books. The Acapulco is the first book in the Chastity Reloaded series and as the introduction to Chastity Riley, it's the perfect place for new readers to start. However, those already familiar with the series shouldn't be concerned that they already know too much; there is inevitably some foreshadowing but this just makes everything that little more bittersweet, and there is still plenty to learn about Chas and her friends.
While Simone Buchholz's acerbically lyrical, gritty writing is always unmistakeable, each book is completely different from the last. This is the sort of risky, provocative fiction I love most and The Acapulco, while certainly a more traditional story than River Clyde, the last novel published into English, is still anything but a standard police procedural. Written mostly in the first person, present tense, Chastity's singular voice gives a real sense of immediacy but beyond that, it also allows readers to almost viscerally feel everything that she does. This might be a younger Chas but she still clearly bears the scars of her troubled past and it's fascinating to learn more about her upbringing and how she ended up working as a state prosecutor in Hamburg. It's not surprising to find that her relationships with her friends sustain her here, as much as in the future. It's particularly interesting to see how dependent she is on her boss, Fuller; he is not only her mentor at work, he's the father-figure she is desperate for and considering she often epitomises the hard-boiled detective at work, her vulnerability and need to reach out to him for comfort is rather touching.
The Acapulco is more a sharply perceptive character study than it is a murder mystery; how these gruesome deaths and the search for the killer affects Chas and her colleagues is what really drives the absorbing plot. However, Simone Buchholz ensures that the women who fall victim to a macabre serial killer who takes their scalps as morbid trophies are never merely faceless nobodies. Their deaths are shown to matter – to those who knew them and to this group of investigators who are perhaps at least as dysfunctional as those they seek justice for.
Meanwhile, Chastity's adopted home becomes almost another character in the book, the richly atmospheric, unvarnished portrayal of the city means The Acapulco also reads as a candidly honest love letter to Hamburg. The less salubrious, dirtier parts are shown to be at least as vital a part of the whole as the more affluent areas, as the hunt for the murderer becomes increasingly intense. Rachel Ward's translation effortlessly understands and captures the author's voice, losing none of the pacing, nor the drama, poignancy or wit.
The Acapulco is a compulsive, razor-edged thriller that crackles with energy and a stylish, often heartbreaking exploration of the darker sides of cities and the people who live in them. This is another outstanding novel from Simone Buchholz and one I cannot recommend highly enough, I loved it.

[J Fearnley · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*
Here we are at the beginning, in Hamburg with Chastity Riley and colleagues. As it’s the first we get some background into Chastity as one of the storylines. Chastity is the main character and we want to know something about her. We are also here for the story from the dark underbelly of Hamburg. Buchholz serves all of this up in her unique style of quirky, dark, edgy, funny and razor-sharp insight. You won’t be disappointed.

The Acapulco is a club in Hamburgs red light district there’s drinking and pole dancing on offer. The women are being targeted by a killer who is able to get them somewhere alone with ease and then kills them and takes their scalp, it’s gruesome but not graphic, the bodies when found are wearing wigs. From the finding of the first victim Chastity and the team know that they have a killer who isn’t going to stop. There’s little to help them with the first victim. Chief Inspector Faller is leading on this with Chastity.

Meanwhile another murder takes place and the victim is known indeed Chastity was supposed to be meeting him the previous night. It seems he had information for them, now they’re still in the dark. Klatsche had set it up but Basso never showed, now they know why. Calabretta is working this case with Chastity.

As more women are murdered Chastity is struggling with getting into the mind of the killer. It’s not usually so difficult. If she can just get a handle on the killer then she will know them, she will be able to figure out who they are.

As they work the case and they get more information on the victims Chastity begins to make connections. The team has a likely target and a plan emerges it’s risky but they need to take the killer off the streets.

Chastity has some understanding of and sympathy towards the killer but this won’t stop her from putting them behind bars and making the place safe for the dancers at the Acapulco.

She also wants to bring a reckoning to someone else connected to the killings but in doing so puts herself in harms way and it’s not just Chastity who pays the price!

I love Simone Buchholz’s style it has an edginess to it, you know there’s something just ahead, you won’t know exactly what but it makes you want to keep reading those short, fast paced chapters. It might be scary or heart wrenching, probably both and more but you just don’t want to stop and wait for the next chapter and the ones after that. You are so absorbed, totally immersed in the story and the characters. And the way she so deftly makes you know how important people are, or not, to Chastity is just wonderful. It’s all a little crazy, a bit dark and tense but if any writer can pull it off Buchholz can.

This is why I so enjoy this series and The Acapulco is a really great first book of the series. I cannot recommend it enough or too highly it’s a wonderful book.

I’m so happy that Orenda Books have now gone back to the beginning to make our journey and reading experience with this series of state prosecutor Chastity Riley books more complete. I really hope that the rest of the earlier books in this series are going to be translated and made available in the U.K. by Orenda Books.

At this point I want to say that I’m only able to read these books since they have been translated from German by Rachel Ward. What a great job she does translating Simone Buchholz to ensure we non-German readers get the best experience possible of these amazing stories.

Characters: Chastity Riley, state prosecutor | Faller, Calabretta, Brückner and Schulle, murder squad | Hollerieth head of forensics and Borger, forensic psychologist| Carla, friend, football Buddy & café owner | Klatsche, friend and more, neighbour & locksmith

Previously read: I have read and reviewed Beton Rouge | Mexico Street | Hotel Cartagena | I have purchased but, not yet reviewed, Blue Night (I somehow seem to want to keep this one to review last).


Thanks
Many thanks to the lovely Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for an invitation to join The Acapulco BlogTour from a favourite author of mine Simone Buchholz and the amazing Orenda Books for an eCopy of the book for review.

[Julie Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

So it’s back to the beginning with Chastity in the latest instalment and I found learning about the early Chastity absolutely riveting. Having been on an increasingly intense rollercoaster with this character over the last five novels – seeing relationships develop and fall apart, seeing how her life and career unfold, messily at times, watching the characters around her appear and disappear and the effect it has on her – going back to an earlier time and seeing how she and some of these relationships started out was illuminating, and thoroughly enjoyable with insider information in my back pocket.

For me, what we have hear is a more raw, less jaded and guarded Chastity who hasn’t become quite so cynical as we see, understandably, later on. She’s still strong and independent and non-conforming, not a wide-eyed ingenue in any sense. She’s not so young and not so new to prosecuting, but she still seems to have a more honest reaction to circumstances and the people around her than we see later on in the series. We have some insight into why she is how she is from the beginning, and why she develops the way she does throughout the series. We see the kernels of what is to come with her colleagues and friends/acquaintances but in a way that isn’t yet complicated by the shared experiences that come later.

For me, what really sets this book alight is the sense of place that Simone creates with her descriptions of Hamburg. It’s clear that this is a place the author loves, even the seamier sides of the city, and wants the readers to feel the same affection, the same buzz of life that infuses he streets and the people of Hamburg. The city is a flourescent organism that never sleeps or rests, and Chastity is Hamburg’s child. The streets fit her like a glove, its energy both feeds and drains her, but it is what drives her on. She feels its pulse and is animated by a relentless need to serve it in a way that nothing else motivates her. It’s never a place I have previously felt any curiosity about, but seeing it through this author’s eyes has changed that, despite what she shows us is no tourist attraction.

What is on the page here is a dark and dirty city where the crimes are gory and graphic but it makes for compelling and compulsive reading. Buchholz’s writing is short and sharp, with a great sense of urgency, but also poetic and lyrical, with a dark seam of humour. Having read the later books in the series, it is interesting to see how far her style has developed in the interim – her writing has got fiercer over the series – but the spark of genius is evident from the start. This is something different, this is something startling and we are all in for an exciting ride. Can’t wait to see what turn comes next on the coaster; the only certainty is that, whatever we expect, this author will surprise us.

Seamless translation, as always, from Rachel Ward, this book is a disturbing pleasure.

[David Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's always good to catch up with Chastity Riley's life. We last saw the Hamburg based State prosecutor getting a measure of closure over her family history in a visit to Glasgow. In The Acapulco, though, we don't get the next story - we're back to the beginning and able to read, for the first time in English, the first book. So we perhaps see a slightly less moody Riley than we're used to and those around her aren't, as it were, quite in their familiar settings.

Hamburg is still, though, throwing grim mysteries Chastity's way. Young women - dancers from the Acapulco club - are being murdered and mutilated, and Riley finds that something about the case makes it difficult for her to get into the mind of the murderer, her usual approach in investigating crimes. That family history, which is hinted at here (though if you've been reading these books you'll know a bit more than is directly stated) may be messing with her. Or it may be something else...

The study of a Chastity coming apart at the seams, so to speak, is as brutal but also as touching as ever. Drinking too much, smoking too much, her personal and professional lives both muddled and decaying, it's impossible to say whether she is suffering because she is trying to box in and control desperate underlying pain and trauma, or because she's failing to do that, and it is overwhelming her.

Also as ever, salvation seems to come from that small circle of friends, some of whom seem to bring a modicum of normality and sanity (though others, not so much - I'm looking at you, Klatsche.)

These are books where the noir atmosphere almost seems to take tangible form, a neon-lit, smoky, netherworld that has substance and personality all of its own, breeding both monsters and moments of beauty. Reading them - The Acapulco, if anything, even more than the others - is like being bathed in silver nitrate then dyed monochrome and developing-lamp red and transported inside the silver screen to sit in a corner of that club, that bar, simultaneously in 2020s Hamburg and a 1940s Hollywood flick, close - indeed at times, almost too close - to the action.

The writing - magnificently translated by Rachel Ward - is punchy, allusive, knowing, done in broken sentences and rueful, suggestive lines. Fittingly for the book that kicked it all off, unlike in some of the others, the point of view is all Riley's (apart from some interspersed sections which I'm not commenting on for spoiler related reasons) giving this story a very narrated quality - you can almost imagine her voice as a commentary to the film, sorry, the book. That also means there is little sense of what is happening out of view, with the atrocities committed by the serial killer coming as increasingly jarring, unpredictable shocks.

It is a short book but powerful, punchy and very dark. I found it hard to put down, even sitting reading it in the cinema in the gloom before the films started.

A magnificent addition to this sequence.

[Mandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been a while since I have been in the world inhabited by State Prosecutor Chastity Riley created by the talented and imaginative Simone Buchholz and I loved the fact that I could jump right back in and reacquaint myself with characters from the previous books that I had read. This is actually the first book in the Chas Riley series so even though it is not the first one that was published by Orenda Books it takes the reader back to the start of her story and shows the start of the dynamic between her and her friends and work colleagues.
Chas is not one to stay in her office whilst all the hard investigative work is done for her, she likes to see the scenes and the victims to get a sense of what is happening, but this is a tough case for her. Someone is killing dancers, leaving their bodies in public places, but it is what the killer is doing to them that is the hardest to understand for those investigating the case and the readers too. Thankfully the murders take place off the page, and we are only left with the aftermath where you can only imagine what the girls went through.
If that isn’t enough for her to deal with, her chaotic private life is also impacting on her work life as Chas knows how to unwind (sometimes to excess) but it is these moments that you get to step away from the horror of the murders and see Chas in a different light and just how her friendships actually help her cope with the day to day brutality she faces. I like Chas, she is feisty, determined to do a good job, and the conversations she has with herself over her life choices brought a smile to my face on more than one occasion.
The book is dark and with more than one possibility as to who is behind the killings you will be kept guessing right to the end. As for the ending well if you have not read any of the other books that have been published in the series then it will leave you wanting to know what happened and for me it has left me knowing that I will be reading The Kitchen as soon as possible

[Lynsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite this being a new title for Orenda this is actually the first book in the Chastity Riley series. This didn’t click for me straight away as I never read the blurbs when it comes to Simone’s books as I always know I will love them. I was there thinking this feels a bit different somehow… I’m an idiot! But it was lovely to get to ‘meet’ Chastity as a fresh faced state prosecutor and understand her background a bit more.

I devoured this book. I sat down to read a few chapters before bed, looked up to see it was 4 am and I was 2/3’s through it. It is those short but snappy chapters that beguile you into going ‘oh I will carry on’ and then time falls away from you and you are sucked into Chastity’s world. I do actually get spellbound reading Simone’s books! The structure of the edits of these books are genius in that regard. I haven’t read any other books like that really this, especially in crime fiction. The chapter headings are so zany and perfect as well. The chapters are seen from Chastity’s viewpoint but we also see a verse in italics which we realise as you progress from the book is from the killer.

This book chilled me to the core and it wasn’t the nature of the killings, which are extreme and extremely dark. But it was to do with Chastity’s reaction to them. She was scared. This is not the norm for her. Her character is all about being kick ass and confident. If something rocks her inner steel you know it is bad.

What always strikes me when reading this series is the beauty of the writing and especially the language. There is no word going spare. Every single one packs a punch with its meaning and that has everything to do with its translation. Rachel Ward has done a brilliant job translating as usual. I'm trying to relearn German at the moment and I know their sentence structure is complex and convoluted at times. How Rachel manages to pull short snappy prose from that is incredible!

A brilliant outing for Chastity Riley and I loved it!

[Matteo Bolognesi · Rating 3 out of 5]

#recensioneveloce Revolver - Simone Buchholz

Trama -La PM Chas Riley è un tipo strano. Detesta il suo ufficio, tifa per la squadra di calcio col teschio e fa la dura, ma di fronte ai cadaveri un groviglio di ricordi la manda in tilt. E sviene. Questa volta il caso è davvero inquietante. La ballerina di un night di St. Pauli, il quartiere a luci rosse di Amburgo, è stata trovata morta senza scalpo sulle rive dell'Elba. Ma il killer non ha ancora finito il suo lavoro. Sulle tracce dell'assassino, Chas si immerge nella vita notturna del distretto, tra magnaccia in pericolo, puttane e boss compiacenti. Ad aiutarla, l'anziano commissario Faller e Sberla, un ex scassinatore per cui ha decisamente un debole. E Carla, l'amica barista dalla vita sentimentale movimentata. Tra tante birre e troppe sigarette, le indagini vanno a rilento, fino a quando Chas non si trova coinvolta in prima persona. Il primo libro della serie di Chas Riley, la PM del distretto a luci rosse di Amburgo.

Recensione - "Revolver " offre colori locali lontani da qualsiasi romanticismo da cartolina.
Il libro si svolge ad Amburgo, St. Pauli, e il quartiere di Rosenheim.
L'autore interpreta quasi amorevolmente una scena tra turismo e criminalità, feste e prostituzione, un'area grigia morale in cui gli investigatori sono come te con i residenti più ombrosi.
Vediamo quanto la bravura della scrittrice ci porta dentro la città nonostante i toni sempre più bui come ogni noir deve fare e questo libro ci riesce abbastanza bene.
Nonostante gli do sempre tre stelle su cinque perché comunque nel genere ci sono milioni di libri migliori. Ma comunque lo consiglio a tutti gli amanti del genere.
Come al solito vi auguro una buona giornata e una buona lettura a tutti voi!