John Burdett: The Last Six Million Seconds, Vintage Crime, Penguin Random House, 9780307948618, ebook, 

I have read Burdett's exceĺlent Bangkok trilogy and while on holiday in Asia downloaded this novel. Hongkong during the last 2 months before being returned to China in April 1997.

Charlie Chan, chief inspector with the Royal police, of half Chinese, half European heritage,  is dealing with a gruesome murder, three mutilated heads are found without bodies. The beginning of a complex thriller. 

I was fascinated how Burdett processed the Asian mentality in this sometimes brutal novel, the delicate political landmines involved during the handover, the cover ups and the fundamental differences in Western and Chinese philosophy in dealing with problems.  Chan is a charismatic character who is trying to solve the murders before the clock runs out on him and he faces an uncertain future. A complex plot, sometimes too brutal for my taste but gripping. 

 Kristin Hannah: The Women, paperback, St. Martins Press, 9781035005680, paperback

( Deutsch: Die Frauen jenseits des Flusses, Rütten & Loenig, hardback - really ill suited title!)

The Vietnam war was a big issue for my generation and the country always held a fascination for me resulting in a trip a few years ago. I am in absolute awe of the Vietnamese people and their resilience.

 "The Women" starts in 1965 and has the women who served mostly as nurses with the US military in Vietnam at the heart of the novel. I was totally drawn in from first to the last page and loved the character of Frankie McGrath who is  synonym for all the women who were in Vietnam helping to save lives for a change.  Hannah does a great job portraying the hardship these nurses endured, their bravery,  getting absolutely no credit for it in the US,  being denied help with PSTD when they returned argueing they had not been actively fighting. I found the book fascinating, powerful and of course there is also love involved. The cameraderie of the nurses supporting each other is a greatvportrait of female solidarity. One of my favorite novels this year. 

Elke Heidenreich: Altern, Hanser Berlin, 9783446279643, hardback,

"ALTERN" von der unvergleichbaren, wunderbaren  Elke Heidenreich, ist das meistverkaufte Buch des Jahres 2025, was heissen muss, dass sie einen absoluten Nerv in unserer alternden Gesellschaft getroffen haben muss. 

Selten so zu diesem Thema gelacht, gepaart mit Nachdenklichkeit und Trauer,  gepaart mit ihrer heiteren Flapsigkeit und Weisheit. Ein sehr schlaues, humorvolles Buch, das nach Unangepasstheit schreit und dem Altwerden den Schrecken nimmt. Loved it! 20,00 € fand ich allerdings happig für dieses schmale Buch, aber Frau Heidenreich gönne ich die Tantiemen.

 Anna Bailey: Our last wild days, Transworld/PRH, upcoming April 25, 2025 pubdate, 9780867527400, c format paperbsck

"Our last wild days" reminded me a lot of " Where the Crawdads sing" which I loved. It is clearly directed at these readers.

Atmospheric setting in the Louisiana swamp town of Jacknife, with a corrupt policeforce, shady characters and colorful townspeople, it has at the heart a highly disfunctional white trash family, the Lasbasques who make a living hunting alligators. When Cutter is found dead in her boat in an alligator infested swamp, only Loyal, her childhood friend who is now a reporter at the local newspaper, seems interested to get to the bottom of what happend. It's a suspence packed, entertaining read, enjoyed the proof on vacation and was immediatly  sucked into this troubled, cajun small town atmosphere.  

 Anne Tyler: Three Days in June, Vintage /PRH,  upcoming Feb 2025 pub date, 9781784745752

( deutsch: Drei Tage im Juni, Kein & Aber) 

I absolutely loved " Three Days in June". Gail Baines, is the protagonist of the story and  the absolute anti-hero of a mother of the bride with a divorced husband, Max,  as a side kick, who has moved in with her for the duration of the wedding,  with a cat. Her daughter is about to get married and all is not well in this family  setting.  Written with a sharp sense of humor, I would recommend this quirky portrait of the trials of family life to anyone who loves Elizabeth Strout but without depressing characters. 5 stars. 

 L.V.Matthews: To love a liar, 9781405974707, Viking/Penguin, paperback, upcoming pub date : March 2025

Thanks to an early proof, I had the joy of reading this gripping thriller on vacation. What happens to a marriage when your husband is an undercover policemen leading a secret, separate life and you discover his girlfriend is found dead by an overdose of heroin.  When his wife disappears, Chris Fletcher's stands to be accused of possibly two deaths. This is just the beginning of a terrific plot with many twist and turns. Really loved this thriller because of its unusual story and excellent writing . 

 Florian Illies: Liebe in den Zeiten des Hasses, S. Fischer, Taschenbuch,

Nachdem ich Uwe Wittstock's fantastisches Buch "Marseille 1940 " gelesen hatte, erschien es nur logisch ergänzend Florian Illies: Liebe in den Zeiten des Hasses zu lesen, nachdem ich bestens vertraut war mit dem Beziehungsgeflecht der deutschen und europäischen Künstlerelite. 

Die propagierte freie Liebe zu Hippiezeiten erschien mir fast blass neben den Liebesgeflechten und Irrungen und Wirrungen dieser Menschen in den 1930igern. Bertold Brecht und Helene Weigel, die ganze Mann Familie, Henry Miller und Anis Nin, Satre und Beauvoir etc., um nur einige zu nennen. Eine wunderbare Zeitgeschichte und zugleich eine Gesellschaftsstudie von mehreckigen Liebesbeziehungen. Grossartig geschrieben und recherchiert, loved it.  

 Isabel Allende: The wind knows my name, 9780593873779, paperback, Penguin Random House,

German: Der Wind kennt meinen Namen, Suhrkamp, gebunden.

Working her magic storytelling skills, I read Isabel Allende's latest novel during the summer, one of her more outstanding books in her large body of work , this one with a very topic theme.

Two separate stories run parallel: that of Samuel Adler, a Viennese jewish boy who escapes the Nazis with the Kindertransport to England, moving to the US eventually as an adult  where his path comes in contact with that of Anita Diaz who as a minor was separated from her mother when entering the US illegally from El Salvador.  Serena Duran, a social worker, has dedicated her working life to these lost children trying to find their parents. Really well composed story with a gorgeous cover.

 Chris Hammer: The Broken River, Headline, I read the ebook, paperback out Jan 2025

Chris Hammer's homicide detectives Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic are dispatched to a place called The Valley to investigate the death and murder of Wolfgang Burnside. Nell is still digesting the recent news of who was her real mother when a new personal surprise is waiting for her during the investigation.  

The plot has two time lines with a complex narrative, one providing the answer to the other in the end. I very much like this unusual duo of detectives and particularly Nell whose personal story has dominated two novels. I like to see more emphasis on Ivan next but great fourth book in the series, lengthy complex  plot,  sometimes too much though.