Simone Buchholz

Roman

Unsterblich sind nur die anderen

Blaue Nacht

Ein Hamburg-Krimi

Revolverherz

Drei Männer verschwinden spurlos auf der MS Rjúkandi, einer Nordatlantikfähre. Zwei Frauen machen sich auf den Weg, um nach ihren verschollenen Freunden zu suchen – und sie besteigen das Schiff nach Island in der festen Überzeugung, bald wieder zu Hause zu sein. Aber schon in den ersten Tagen an Bord fallen ihnen merkwürdige Dinge auf, und die seltsame Atmosphäre: Die Crew ist überirdisch gutaussehend, der Kapitän scheint bei aller Erhabenheit und Coolness stets einen Sack voll Schuld mit sich herumzuschleppen, und was zur Hölle ist eigentlich mit der Barfrau los? In unnachahmlicher Lakonie erzählt Simone Buchholz von Freundschaft und Liebe, von der Endlichkeit des Lebens und der Unendlichkeit des Ozeans, und von Iva und Malin, die sich plötzlich in einer Parallelwelt ohne Ausgang wiederfinden, in der alles, was sie im Leben für wichtig hielten, plötzlich nicht mehr zählt.

Mexikoring

The hair stands up on the back of my neck and I get an age-old feeling in my belly. Like there’s a fight ahead. Like something’s really about to go off... After convicting a superior for corruption and shooting off a gangster’s crown jewels, the career of Hamburg’s most hard-bitten state prosecutor, Chastity Riley, has taken a nose dive: she has been transferred to the tedium of witness protection to prevent her making any more trouble. However, when she is assigned to the case of an anonymous man lying under police guard in hospital – almost every bone in his body broken, a finger cut off, and refusing to speak in anything other than riddles – Chastity’s instinct for the big, exciting case kicks in. Using all her powers of persuasion, she soon gains her charge’s confidence, and finds herself on the trail to Leipzig, a new ally, and a whole heap of lethal synthetic drugs. When she discovers that a friend and former colleague is trying to bring down Hamburg’s Albanian mafia kingpin single-handedly, it looks like Chas Riley’s dull life on witness protection really has been short-lived... Fresh, fiendishly fast-paced and full of devious twists and all the hard-boiled poetry and acerbic wit of the best noir, Blue Night marks the stunning start of a brilliant new crime series, from one of Germany’s bestselling authors. ‘Stripped back in style and deadpan in voice, Blue Night is a scintillating romp around the German criminal underworld and back’ Doug Johnston, The Big Issue 'By turns lyrical and pithy, this adventure set in the melting pot of contemporary Hamburg has a plot and a sensibility that both owe something to mind-altering substances. Lots of fun’ Times Crime Club ‘Simone Buchholz writes with real authority and a pungent, noir-is sense of time and space. Blue Night is a palpable hit’ Barry Forshaw ‘By turns lyrical and pithy, this adventure set in the melting pot of contemporary Hamburg has a plot and a sensibility that both owe something to mind-altering substances. Disgraced state prosecutor Chastity Riley chases round the dive bars of the port city pursuing and being pursued by a beguiling cast of cops, criminals and chums, delivering scalding one-liners as she goes. Lots of fun’ Times Crime Club ‘Blue Night has great sparkling energy, humour and stylistic verve ... and the story itself is gripping and pacey’ Rosie Goldsmith, European Literature Network ‘A must-read, stylish and highly original take on the detective novel, written with great skill and popping with great characters’ Judith O’Reilly, author of Killing State 'Constantly surprising, Blue Night is an original, firecracker of a read' Liz Robinson ‘Blue Night has great sparkling energy, humour and stylistic verve ... and the story itself is gripping and pacey' Rosie Goldsmith, European Literature Network ‘If Philip Marlowe and Bernie Gunther had a literary love child, it might just explain Chastity Riley - Simone Buchholz’s tough, acerbic, utterly engaging central character’ William Ryan

Blue Night

Hamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley becomes involved in the horrifying, perplexing search for a violent serial killer targeting dancers from a club ... the first book in an award-winning, wildly original, addictive series... 'Such a revelation' Laura Lippman 'Gruesome and assured, Buchholz's work remains as persuasive as ever' Barry Forshaw, Financial Times 'Reading Buchholz is like walking on firecrackers ... a truly unique voice in crime fiction' Graeme Macrae Burnet **WINNER of the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger** ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– A serial killer is on the loose in Hamburg, targeting dancers from The Acapulco, a club in the city's red-light district, taking their scalps as gruesome trophies and replacing them with plastic wigs. Chastity Riley is the state prosecutor responsible for crimes in the district, and she's working alongside the police as they investigate. Can she get inside the mind of the killer? Her strength is thinking like a criminal; her weaknesses are pubs, bars and destructive relationships, but as Chastity searches for love and a flamboyant killer – battling her demons and the dark, foggy Hamburg weather – she hits dead end after dead end. As panic sets in and the death toll rises, it becomes increasingly clear that it may already be too late. For everyone... ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 'Caustic, incisive prose. A street-smart, gutsy heroine. A timely and staggeringly stylish thriller' Will Carver 'The coolest character in crime fiction ... Darkly funny and written with a huge heart' Doug Johnstone, Big Issue 'Modern noir, with taut storytelling, a hard-bitten heroine, and underlying melancholy peppered with wry humour' New Zealand Listener 'Dark, atmospheric, and complex, with often surprisingly emotional ... a classy piece of fiction from an author who never disappoints' Jen Med's Book Reviews Praise for the Chastity Riley series: 'Combines nail-biting tension with off-beat humor ... Elmore Leonard fans will be enthralled' Publishers Weekly 'Buchholz doles out delicious black humor ... interwoven in a manner that ramps up the intrigue and tension' Foreword Reviews 'Lyrical and pithy' Sunday Times 'Fierce enough to stab the heart' Spectator 'A real blast of adrenaline' Big Issue 'Simone Buchholz writes with real authority and a pungent, noir-ish sense of time and space' Financial Times 'A stylish, whip-smart thriller' Russel McLean

The Acapulco: The breathtaking serial-killer thriller kicking off an addictive series

Chastity Riley travels to Scotland to face the demons of her past, as Hamburg is hit by a major arson attack. Queen of Krimi, Simone Buchholz, returns with the emotive fifth instalment in the electric Chastity Riley series ... ‘Written in crackling prose and with searing insight, this is a deeply heartfelt slice of existential noir – utterly unique’ Doug Johnstone 'Deftly captures the beating heart of Glasgow' Herald Scotland ‘A beautifully crafted exploration of grief and redemption, wrapped in a love letter to Glasgow ... Glorious writing’ Will Carver 'Reading Buchholz is like walking on firecrackers ... a truly unique voice in crime fiction’ Graeme Macrae Burnet –––––––––––– Mired in grief after tragic recent events, state prosecutor Chastity Riley escapes to Scotland, lured to the birthplace of her great-great-grandfather by a mysterious letter suggesting she has inherited a house. In Glasgow, she meets Tom, the ex-lover of Chastity’s great aunt, who holds the keys to her own family secrets – painful stories of unexpected cruelty and loss that she’s never dared to confront. In Hamburg, Stepanovic and Calabretta investigate a major arson attack, while a group of property investors kicks off an explosion of violence that threatens everyone. As events in these two countries collide, Chastity prepares to face the inevitable, battling the ghosts of her past and the lost souls that could be her future and, perhaps, finally finding redemption for them all. Breathtakingly emotive, River Clyde is an electrifying, poignant and powerful story of damage and hope, and one woman’s fight for survival. ––––––––––––--- ‘Every word is a heartbeat, loaded with pain and anguish and self-discovery. This is Harbour Noir. This is a bravura literary performance, and a fitting swan song' Paul Burke, CrimeTime FM ‘In just a few words – a light brushstroke – Simone paints such a vivid picture. Unlike any crime novel I’ve read. I loved it’ Michael J. Malone ‘Simone Buchholz writes with real authority and a pungent, noir-ish sense of time and space’ Independent Praise for the Chastity Riley series ‘[A] nerve-racking narrative ... [with] a cunning climax that is shocking and deeply romantic’ The Times ‘Modern noir, with taut storytelling, a hard-bitten heroine, and underlying melancholy peppered with wry humour’ New Zealand Listener ‘The coolest character in crime fiction ... Darkly funny and written with a huge heart’ Big Issue ‘Fierce enough to stab the heart’ Spectator ‘A stylish, whip-smart thriller’ Herald Scotland ‘Combines slick storytelling with substance ... like a straight shot of top-shelf liquor: smooth yet fiery, packing a punch with no extraneous ingredients watering things down’ Mystery Scene 'With brief, pacy chapters and fizzling dialogue, this almost feels like American procedural noir and not a translation' Maxim Jakubowski 'A smart and witty book that shines a probing spotlight on society' CultureFly 'Fans of Brookmyre could do worse than checking out Simone Buchholz, a star of the German crime lit scene who has been deftly translated into English by Rachel Ward' Goethe Institute ‘Lyrical and pithy’ Sunday Times

RIVER CLYDE: The word-of-mouth BESTSELLER

When a mysterious letter suggests that she has inherited an old house Chastity Riley travels to Glasgow, where she is forced to confront the demons of her past. A powerful, breathtakingly emotive new thriller from the Queen of Krimi, Simone Buchholz.

River Clyde

On a warm September morning, an unconscious man is found in a cage at the entrance to the offices of one of the biggest German newspapers. Closer inspection shows he is a manager of the company, and that he's been tortured. Three days later, another manager appears in similar circumstances. Chastity Riley and her new colleague Ivo Stepanovic are tasked with uncovering the truth behind the attacks, an investigation that goes far beyond the revenge they first suspect, to the dubious past shared by both victims. Traveling to the south of Germany, they step into the elite world of boarding schools, where secrets are currency, and monsters are bred—monsters who will stop at nothing to protect themselves. A smart, dark, probing thriller, full of all the hard-boiled poetry and acerbic wit of the very best noir, Beton Rouge is both a classic whodunit and a scintillating expose of society, by one of the most exciting names in crime fiction.

Beton Rouge

Uscita ammaccata dalla sua ultima indagine, Chas Riley è stata messa in panchina. La più rispettata pm di Sankt Pauli è ora assegnata alla protezione delle vittime di violenza. Faller, il suo mentore, è in piena crisi di mezza età e Calabretta, il suo unico alleato al dipartimento, ha il cuore spezzato e la testa altrove. Non le resta che passare le notti sulla trincea del bancone al Blaue Nacht. Un giorno però arriva il suo primo incarico. Un colosso d’uomo, taciturno come la pietra, è ricoverato all’ospedale per un’aggressione. Non vuole rivelare la sua identità, ma Riley, grazie a qualche birra sottobanco, riuscirà a guadagnarsi la sua simpatia. Tra una sigaretta e l’altra, una parola, Krokodil, la nuova droga che sta invadendo le strade di Lipsia. E Riley è di nuovo in pista sulle tracce d’un pesce davvero grosso.German Crime Fiction Prize 2017Crime Cologne-Award 2016

La notte del coccodrillo

On a warm September morning, an unconscious man is found in a cage at the entrance to the offices of one of Germany's biggest magazines. He's soon identified as a manager of the company, and he's been tortured. Three days later, another manager appears in a similar way. Chastity Riley and her new colleague Ivo Stepanovic are tasked with uncovering the truth behind the attacks, an investigation that goes far beyond the revenge they first suspect . . . to the dubious past shared by both victims. Traveling to the south of Germany, they step into the hothouse world of boarding schools, where secrets are currency, and monsters are bred . . . monsters who will stop at nothing to protect themselves. A smart, dark, probing thriller, full of all the hard-boiled poetry and acerbic wit of the very best noir, Beton Rouge is both a classic whodunit and a scintillating expose of society, by one of the most exciting names in crime fiction.

Chastity Riley and her friends are held hostage in a hotel bar by twelve armed men set on revenge, in a searing, breathtakingly original new thriller from the ‘Queen of Krimi’. ‘Simone Buchholz writes with real authority and a pungent, noir-is sense of time and space ... a palpable hit’ Independent 'Reading Buchholz is like walking on firecrackers ... a truly unique voice in crime fiction’ Graeme Macrae Burnet ‘If Philip Marlowe and Bernie Gunther had a literary love child, it might just explain Chastity Riley – Simone Buchholz’s tough, acerbic, utterly engaging central character’ William Ryan _______________ Twenty floors above the shimmering lights of the Hamburg docks, Public Prosecutor Chastity Riley is celebrating a birthday with friends in a hotel bar when twelve heavily armed men pull out guns, and take everyone hostage. Among the hostages is Konrad Hoogsmart, the hotel owner, who is being targeted by a young man whose life – and family – have been destroyed by Hoogsmart’s actions. With the police looking on from outside – their colleagues’ lives at stake – and Chastity on the inside, increasingly ill from an unexpected case of sepsis, the stage is set for a dramatic confrontation ... and a devastating outcome for the team ... all live streamed in a terrifying bid for revenge. Crackling with energy and populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, Hotel Cartagena is a searing, relevant thriller that will leave you breathless. _______________ Praise for the Chastity Riley series ‘Caustic, incisive prose. A street-smart, gutsy heroine. A timely and staggeringly stylish thriller’ Will Carver ‘With plenty of dry humour and a good old dash of despair, Simone Buchholz is an unconventional, refreshing new voice’ Crime Fiction Lover ‘Lyrical and pithy’ Sunday Times ‘With brief, pacy chapters and fizzling dialogue, this almost feels like American procedural noir and not a translation’ Maxim Jakubowski, Crime Time ‘There is a fantastic pace to the story which keeps you hooked from the first sentence all the way to the end ... a unique voice that delivers a stylish story’ New Books Magazine ‘A smart and witty book that shines a probing spotlight on society’ CultureFly ‘Fans of Brookmyre could do worse than checking out Simone Buchholz, a star of the German crime lit scene who has been deftly translated into English by Rachel Ward’ Goethe Institute ‘Stripped back in style and deadpan in voice ... a scintillating romp around the German criminal underworld and back’ Doug Johnstone, Big Issue 'By turns lyrical and pithy, this adventure set in the melting pot of contemporary Hamburg has a plot and a sensibility that both owe something to mind-altering substances. Lots of fun’ Sunday Times ‘Disgraced state prosecutor Chastity Riley chases round the dive bars of the port city pursuing and being pursued by a beguiling cast of cops, criminals and chums, delivering scalding one-liners as she goes’ The Times ‘Great sparkling energy, humour and stylistic verve ... and the story itself is gripping and pacey’ Rosie Goldsmith, European Literature Network ‘A must-read, stylish and highly original take on the detective novel, written with great skill and popping with great characters’ Judith O’Reilly, author of Killing State 'Constantly surprising ... an original, firecracker of a read' LoveReading

Hotel Cartagena

Kriminalroman

Hamburg, kurz vor Weihnachten. Irgendwer verprügelt Obdachlose, die Männer liegen mal mehr, mal weniger bewusstlos in den Ecken des idyllischen Karolinenviertels. Dann verschwindet ein Teenagerpärchen. Staatsanwältin Chas Riley kriegt währenddessen zweimal Höchststrafe: Urlaub und Besuch von ihrer Mutter. Sie ermittelt trotzdem, findet ein uraltes Labyrinth – und hochmoderne Verwahrlosung.

Eisnattern

Kein guter Sommer für Staatsanwältin Chas Riley: Regen, Regen, Regen – und ein brutaler Polizistenmord in den Elbvororten. Die Ermittlungen schieben Chas und ihre Kripokollegen in ein schmieriges Karussell aus Korruption, Gefälligkeiten und Männerfreundschaft. Am Ende ist ein weiterer Kollege am Ende, eine Frau verschwunden, eine Freundin verheiratet. Und der große Gangster lernt, dass gegen die große Einsamkeit keine Knarre gewachsen ist.

Bullenpeitsche

Eine Villa im Hamburger Süden und darin zwei tote Amerikaner. Außerdem: ein schnüffelnder Ex-Kommissar, ein paar sehr höfliche Autonome, eine durchgeknallte Schwedin, Immobilienhaie, eine Freundin, die vielleicht ein Kind bekommt, ein schnöseliger Kollege – und überall der mafiose Behördensumpf. Mittendrin stapft Staatsanwältin Chas Riley durch den Novembernebel und braucht all ihre Kraft, um nicht darin unterzugehen.

Schwedenbitter

Staatsanwältin Chastity Riley haut ab nach Glasgow. Da ist nämlich erstens dieser Brief von einem Anwalt, der sie in die Geburtsstadt ihres Ur-Urgroßvaters lockt. Und zweitens ist ihr Leben in Hamburg in einer traurigen Sackgasse angelangt. In der rauen, schottischen Stadt trifft sie auf Tom, der den Schlüssel zum Familiengeheimnis der Rileys kennt – einem Panorama aus Gewalt und Verlust. Davon hatte sie zwar immer eine Ahnung, aber sie hat nie gewagt, sich den schmerzhaften Wahrheiten über sich selbst zu stellen. Jetzt helfen ihr ausreichend Whisky und ein paar Gespenster dabei, es doch zu tun. Während in Hamburg ein ganzer Straßenzug brennt, sich ein paar Immobilienmakler gegenseitig die Gesichter wegschießen und Kommissar Stepanovic die Arbeit verweigert, kämpft Riley in Glasgow mit den Geistern ihrer Vergangenheit. Und mit den verlorenen Seelen, die ihre Zukunft sein könnten.

È primavera ad Amburgo, ma la giornata comincia male per la giovane PM Chas Riley. La ballerina di un night è stata trovata morta vicino al fiume, con una parrucca celeste e senza scalpo. E non è l’unica vittima. Nel quartiere di St. Pauli, patria di marinai, puttane e alternativi, si aggira un killer spietato. Il primo caso del procuratore Chas Riley.

Revolver. Le ragazze del porto di Amburgo

Una mattina di settembre insolitamente calda, davanti all’ingresso di un importante gruppo editoriale viene ritrovato un uomo rinchiuso in una gabbia. Nudo, malconcio e privo di sensi, lo sventurato è niente meno che il direttore del personale. Tre giorni dopo lo stesso trattamento tocca all’amministratore delegato. All’inizio Chas Riley, la pm più tosta e scombinata di Amburgo, e il suo nuovo collega Ivo Stepanovic pensano a una vendetta contro chi per anni ha pensato solo ad arricchirsi e a licenziare a tutto spiano. Ben presto però i due fiutano un’altra pista che s’inoltra a sud, in Baviera, nel fosco passato che i dirigenti hanno in comune. Intanto, al Blaue Nacht, il locale amato dalla pm, tira una strana aria. Tra gli amici di sempre è arrivato il tempo degli strappi, delle scelte difficili che portano lontano. E Chas comincia ad apprezzare i vagabondaggi notturni con l’enigmatico Ivo.

Simone Buchholz

About

Books

Join the club