 |
|
Phoenix Paperbacks, November 2005
Reviewed by Sally Roddom
Gerhard Self is a private detective. He is a widower, balding, single and
sixty-eight years old; he likes to smoke, drink ‘Aviator Fuel’ cocktails,
and admires ladies bottoms when they walk away from him. Self is summoned
by his long-time friend and brother-in-law Korten, to investigate several
incidents of computer-hacking at a chemicals company. He soon finds
himself dealing with an unfamiliar kind of crime that throws up many
challenges. But in his search for the hacker, Self stumbles upon something
far more sinister. His investigation eventually unearths dark secrets of
Germany’s past that have been hidden for decades, and forces Self to
confront his own demons and wrestle with some moral questions.
SELF’S PUNISHMENT was first published in Germany in 1987, but has just
been translated into English. The co-authors, Bernhard Schlink and Walter
Popp, are both lawyers, so it makes sense that their hero is a lawyer as
well, who does investigative work for insurance fraud on the side. It is a
very different mystery, and I would recommend it to lovers of Euro-crime
novels. Written in the first person, we get to learn more about the
personal thoughts of Self, why he does what he does, what he feels. Self
is a lovely man with a good sense of humour. For example, he decorates his
Christmas tree with different objects: this year it is sardine cans. He
also has some dreadful chat-up lines. When he sees a woman reading an
article about sterilisation in a magazine, he first asks if she comes here
often and then leaps straight in "…Are you sterilised..?” One thing I
particularly liked was the amount of detail given in the various scenes,
which made the whole book quite evocative. I liked to travel in my mind
along with him as he journeyed through Germany, the rest of Europe, as
well as America. The only thing I wasn't too sure about was the end. You
might feel justice is done but what happens is certainly unusual in
detective fiction; and certainly thought provoking.
January 2006
All cover art used at Reviewer's Choice Reviews is copyrighted by the
respective publisher. All reviews and articles found at Reviewer's Choice
Reviews are the sole property of the contributor and are copyrighted by
the same.
|
