Translated by Rachel Ward — Sharks is the eighth novel featuring our intrepid, acerbic and tough Hamburg state prosecutor Chastity Riley, and frankly, I can’t get enough of her. Sharks is just as dark and gritty as other books in the series, from Blue Night onwards. Definitive German noir. However, the chronology of the stories is a little tricky and Sharks is one of three translated novels published in German prior to Blue Night. As such it follows on from The Kitchen.
As always, the setting is the shadowy side of Hamburg. We’re not in the tourist areas, but rather in the south of the city and the gentrifying Wilhelmsburg district, a so-called problem area. This is Chastity’s home ground where she lives and works. She knows it by heart, whether it’s the run-down tower blocks, the gloomy pubs or the nightlife and red light district centred around the Reeperbahn. The November weather is typically dreary, characterised by fog and an ‘anorexic sun’, as the author puts it.
Chastity’s state of body and mind is on a par with the winter weather. She’s suffering from a severe chest infection and a persistent cough, yet she still smokes like a chimney and refuses to stay in bed. “This is no entry-level cough,” she quips, taking a drag from her cigarette while standing over two dead bodies.
Walt and Lorraine Tucker, an American couple, have been brutally murdered in their apartment building. Walt worked for a security company and spent most of his time at the shooting range, while Lorraine was involved in a fundamentalist church. Was it their extremely conservative stance that got them killed, or was it something less obvious?
The building is run-down and partly occupied by homeless people. This leads Chastity to the unethical practices of property firms trying to get rid of tenants in sought-after Art Nouveau buildings – the ugly side of gentrification – and one Danish property company in particular.
The usual cast of characters is back, along with new additions: Bülent Inceman, a man who looks like an Arabian prince and is far too attractive for Chastity’s liking. He replaces the police detective Faller, while Hollerieth, the head of forensics, is replaced by the young and more efficient Kessler. Detective Calabretta still wants nothing more than a wife and family – something he couldn’t be further from achieving.
Faller now works as a private detective and is hired by the murdered couple’s niece, Amy Tucker, to investigate their deaths. Much to Chastity’s frustration, he stays one step ahead of her, remaining as sharp as ever.
Chastity and her ex-burglar neighbour, Klatsche, have been on-again-off-again for years. Apparently he has abandoned his criminal ways and now works as a locksmith. Chastity has her doubts about his career and their relationship, likely due to a fear of commitment. Meanwhile, Klatsche and Rocco, a friend he met in jail, are opening a pub called The Blue Night in the red-light district. It’s a financial risk, especially since Carla, Rocco’s girlfriend and Chastity’s best friend, is pregnant.
Two things make the Chastity Riley series special. Firstly, its caustic, wonderfully dark protagonist – someone who gets nervous around kids because they’re erratic and emotional, don’t drink or smoke, and are her total opposite. Chastity’s unfiltered inner and sometimes external dialogue always hits the mark. She’s the cool girl without trying.
Secondly, Buchholz’s singular writing style, no doubt sharply translated by Rachel Ward, works brilliantly thanks to its pared-back nature. It’s old-school hardboiled spiced up with off-beat humour and sharp observations. It’s never flowery, over-descriptive, or padded with unnecessary text. When Chastity says she feels as if she’s been “cobbled together out of greaseproof paper. A bad-origami state prosecutor,” it’s far more effective than a string of adjectives describing how tired she is.
Short, quirkily titled chapters keep up the pace, making for a one-sitting read. Isn’t that exactly what we need in this age of short attention spans and information overload?
Also see Hunkeler’s Secret by Hansjörg Schneider.
Orenda Books
Print/Kindle
£8.95
CFL Rating: 5 Stars
