‘Death in Summer’ first appeared in its original German in 2006 and it has taken some time for this successful Swiss author to make it into English translation. Which is a shame, for there is a lot to commend this first book in the series – although, because of the time lag, some of the references are a little dated (at some point one of the characters mentions playing guitar on a Phil Collins record!).
Inspector Eschenbach, head of Zurich CID, gets involved in the murder of a prominent Swiss banker shot dead on a golf course. A second death in Basle follows and seems connected. Given that this is a crime novel I won’t go too heavily into plot or suspects but suffice to say the book deals with some weighty issues that are not always comfortable to deal with, but they are generally handled well by Theurillat, and complicated family relationships become central to the plot. If you are looking for a fast-paced, high-octane thriller then this is not the book for you; instead it is quite slow paced as the investigation grinds along through the hot Zurich summer. At times I was a bit bemused as to how little the investigation revealed – on several occasions a character would mention a fact that the Inspector did not know but actually, given some basic police work, he should have (for example, some time well into the investigation, the narrative goes: ‘it occurred to Eschenbach that he knew nothing about the family’ of the victim; surely this is the first thing you investigate?).
But, I’m quibbling, because actually I did enjoy the book with its twists and turns. The location of Zurich is an interesting new addition (for me at least) to the crime novel setting and allowed the author to discuss aspects of Switzerland, and the Swiss, that gave an interesting perspective from those reading in the UK, for example. The central character of Eschenbach (do we ever get to know his first name? I can’t actually remember coming across it) is a likeable hero: an espresso-drinking, cigarillo-smoking, happily-married family man (thank God we don’t get another psychologically scarred, alcohol-dependent loner, oft the way in crime novels). Doing some research Theurillat seems to have written 4 books so I hope that we can look forward to more being translated and published soon, if this one is a success. Much in the style of, say, Camilleri’s Montalbano, this looks a promising series.
Inspector Eschenbach, head of Zurich CID, gets involved in the murder of a prominent Swiss banker shot dead on a golf course. A second death in Basle follows and seems connected. Given that this is a crime novel I won’t go too heavily into plot or suspects but suffice to say the book deals with some weighty issues that are not always comfortable to deal with, but they are generally handled well by Theurillat, and complicated family relationships become central to the plot. If you are looking for a fast-paced, high-octane thriller then this is not the book for you; instead it is quite slow paced as the investigation grinds along through the hot Zurich summer. At times I was a bit bemused as to how little the investigation revealed – on several occasions a character would mention a fact that the Inspector did not know but actually, given some basic police work, he should have (for example, some time well into the investigation, the narrative goes: ‘it occurred to Eschenbach that he knew nothing about the family’ of the victim; surely this is the first thing you investigate?).
But, I’m quibbling, because actually I did enjoy the book with its twists and turns. The location of Zurich is an interesting new addition (for me at least) to the crime novel setting and allowed the author to discuss aspects of Switzerland, and the Swiss, that gave an interesting perspective from those reading in the UK, for example. The central character of Eschenbach (do we ever get to know his first name? I can’t actually remember coming across it) is a likeable hero: an espresso-drinking, cigarillo-smoking, happily-married family man (thank God we don’t get another psychologically scarred, alcohol-dependent loner, oft the way in crime novels). Doing some research Theurillat seems to have written 4 books so I hope that we can look forward to more being translated and published soon, if this one is a success. Much in the style of, say, Camilleri’s Montalbano, this looks a promising series.