My thanks go out to Orenda Books for the chance to be on the blog tour for Simone Buchholtz's River Clyde wgich was published on March 17th. This is her latest book featuring Chastity Riley. You can read my reviews of Blue Night here Beton Rouge here Mexico Street here and Hotel Cartagena here.
I also have a great giveaway with the chance to win a print copy of River Clyde. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post. 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.
Nail-bitingly tense and breathtakingly emotive, River Clyde
is both and a thriller and a poignant, powerful story of damage and hope, and
one woman’s fight for survival.
My Thoughts
This novel follows on from the events of Hotel Cartagena and the action is split between Hamburg and Glasgow. It would be useful to have read Hotel Cartagena to understand the trauma that the characters have been through. It is very difficult to assign this novel to a genre. It has some surprising features and alongside the crime thriller element in Hamburg, you also follow Chastity's life in Glasgow as she tries to work through her feelings and there are elements of magical realism which are a surprise. There is also the contrast between the gritty, greyness of Hamburg and the treatment of Glasgow where the River Clyde is almost a character with his own thoughts and sensibilty.
Although the chapters alternate between the two stories, I did feel more drawn to Chastity's story which was intriguing and made me curious. She meets some singular characters who make the city come alive. You get the sense that this is a much needed pause in Chastity's life where she can catch her breath and begin to come to terms with her feelings of loss and grief. It will be interesting to see what happens next. She is certainly a complicated character and this is in many ways a stimulating read due to the writing style and tone.
In short: Chastity's life moves on.
About the Author
Simone Buchholz was born in Hanau in 1972. At university,
she studied Philosophy and Literature, worked as a waitress and a columnist,
and trained to be a journalist at the prestigious Henri-Nannen-School in
Hamburg. In 2016, Simone Buchholz was awarded the Crime Cologne Award, and
second place in the German Crime Fiction Prize, for Blue Night, which was
number one on the KrimiZEIT Best of Crime List for months. She lives in Sankt
Pauli, in the heart of Hamburg, with her husband and son.
Thanks to Simone, Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.
Check out these brilliant bloggers!
Follow and Retweet to win a print copy of #RiverClyde by @ohneKlippo. Check it out here https://bookslifeandeverything.blogspot.com/2022/03/river-clyde-by-simone-buchholz.html
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