Book Review of The Basel Killings by Hansjorg Schneider

 

Name of Book: The Basel Killings (Hunkeler macht Sachen)

Author: Hansjorg Schneider (Mike Mitchell translator)

ISBN: 978-1-913394-54-7

Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press 

Part of a Series: Inspector Hunkeler (5th book, SILVER PEBBLES is first) 

Type of book: Mystery, social justice, hidden misdeeds, Travelers aka Romani aka gypsies, 1990s or 2000s? tackling classicism and bureaucracy, Switzerland, Europe, France, Germany, Basel, murder, government coverup, autumn, secrets 

Year it was published: 2021 (2004 originally) 

Summary:

It is the end of October, the city of Basel is grey and wet. It could be December. It is just after midnight when Police Inspector Peter Hunkeler, on his way home and slightly worse for wear, spots old man Hardy sitting on a bench under a street light. He wants to smoke a cigarette with him, but the usually very loquacious Hardy is silent―his throat a gaping wound. Turns out he was first strangled, then his left earlobe slit, his diamond stud stolen. The media and the police come quickly to the same conclusion: Hardy’s murder was the work of a gang of Albanian drug smugglers. But for Hunkeler that seems too obvious. Hardy’s murder has much in common with the case of Barbara Amsler, a prostitute also found killed, with an ear slit and pearl stud missing. He follows his own intuition and the trail leads him deep into an edgy world of bars, bordellos and strip clubs, but also into the corrupt core of some of Basel’s political and industrial elite. More ominously, he will soon discover the consequences of certain events in recent Swiss history that those in power would prefer to keep far from the public eye.

Characters:

While there are secondary characters- and plenty of them, I should add- the character that is paid a lot of attention to is Peter Hunkeler. Peter is best described as determined, understanding and someone who doesn't give up on career or mysteries. He is also very resourceful and I get the feeling he often underestimates himself in intelligence department. The other characters definitely had potential to be interesting, but I definitely have a feeling I should re-read this novel when the time is right to get a fuller understanding of the universe that Peter inhabits.

Theme:

Prejudices die hard

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from Peter Hunkeler's point of view. I also should mention that for people that love chapter breaks, this book doesn't have them either. While its meant to be stand-alone, as best as I can judge, I am of definite opinion that the books should be read in order. This is also meant to be more of a social commentary mystery because it brings attention to Travelers group as well as injustices done to them, and there is also a compare/contrast between those that do investigative work vs brass. I did appreciate that the story is set in Switzerland which is rare to see in European fiction.  I also liked that I was getting an insider's glimpse of how Switzerland was like, as well as learning things that only someone from Switzerland could know. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

N/A
Opinion:

This is technically the fifth book of the mysteries, but the first to be published in English and to introduce the readers to Peter Hunkeler. Normally there are mystery series that can act as stand-alones, but in this series it isn't the case. I read the first book (SILVER PEBBLES, which has also been translated into English) first, and this one I read second (Books 2-4 haven't been translated to English yet.) I definitely felt as if I missed out a lot compared to when I met him in SILVER PEBBLES, which made the read less enjoyable, I'm afraid. Having said that, I do feel that its a pretty important read, especially when it comes to bringing attention to another persecuted group of Europe; people of Romani (Gypsy) heritage and what they had gone through at the hands of people and government. I really was shocked to learn what I learned. Having said that, I definitely look forward to reading future Inspector Hunkeler books and gaining more knowledge between books 1 and 5. 

This was given for review

3 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)