szga's review
1.5
Stereotypical, Slightly racist and predictable. Only giving it the extra 0.5 star because I listened to it quickly.
franzio97's review against another edition
2.0
Die Idee ist ganz gut, aber der Schreibstil macht's fast unleserlich...
kolymaarasto's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kiramke's review against another edition
3.0
We jump right into to a lot of action. Well before I know or care about the characters, which is problematic. There is a distinct lack of atmosphere. Nothing but the occasional neighborhood name indicates this is taking place in Berlin; it could be any city anywhere. That was especially disappointing. This is probably my least favorite plot type, and it's very weird to start a series with it. However by the end it reads a little better, the characters are slowly growing on me, the story isn't terribly done, still no atmosphere... I'll probably try another and see if they get better.
filunara's review against another edition
2.0
Mein erster Krimi seit Ewigkeiten und mein erstes Buch, das ich auf Deutsch lese seit noch länger. Ich weiß nicht, ob ich einfach nur die englische Sprache gewohnt bin und mir das Buch deshalb so „hakelig“ vorkam ... aber alleine, dass der Autor „als wie“ schreibt macht mich wahnsinnig. Welches Lektorat lässt das denn durchgehen? Sprachlich jedenfalls nichts besonderes.
Zur Story: Ich wusste schon nach ein paar Seiten, wer für die Morde verantwortlich ist. Ich habe nicht direkt ein Motiv erkannt, aber das kam dann mit der Zeit. Insofern war die Auflösung für mich alles andere als eine Überraschung und ich war jedes Mal genervt, wenn die Verdächtigen sich geändert haben, weil ja klar war, dass es nicht richtig ist. Die Charaktere sind nicht sehr dreidimensional, einzig Jan war etwas besser geformt als die anderen. Die weiteren Protagonisten sind eher Klischees. Die Beschreibung von Max, dem Hacker, nehme ich ein wenig persönlich. Warum müssen die Computernerds immer gammelig sein, irgendwie weird und sozial nicht sehr begabt? In seiner Wohnung stinkt es, er selbst müffelt und überall stapeln sich Pizzakartons. Zoe ist dann die toughe Rechtsmedizinerin, die einfach zu „cool“ ist, ständig raucht und flucht und sO aNdErS iSt AlS dIE aNdErEn FrAuEn. Bei Chandu bin ich mir noch nicht sicher. Er sollte etwas mehr Hintergrund erhalten, das ist mit klar, aber irgendwie wirkt seine Geschichte angefangen und nicht zuende gebracht. Vielleicht wird im zweiten Teil der Reihe ja noch mehr aus ihm gemacht.
Alles in allem eine kurzweilige Unterhaltung, wenn man sich nicht an eher flachen Charakteren stört. Das Sonderermittlungsteam rund um Jan hat aber Potential, ich hoffe für alle LeserInnen, dass das auch ausgeschöpft wird. Ein bisschen CIA- Charme, aber i Berlin.
Zur Story: Ich wusste schon nach ein paar Seiten, wer für die Morde verantwortlich ist. Ich habe nicht direkt ein Motiv erkannt, aber das kam dann mit der Zeit. Insofern war die Auflösung für mich alles andere als eine Überraschung und ich war jedes Mal genervt, wenn die Verdächtigen sich geändert haben, weil ja klar war, dass es nicht richtig ist. Die Charaktere sind nicht sehr dreidimensional, einzig Jan war etwas besser geformt als die anderen. Die weiteren Protagonisten sind eher Klischees. Die Beschreibung von Max, dem Hacker, nehme ich ein wenig persönlich. Warum müssen die Computernerds immer gammelig sein, irgendwie weird und sozial nicht sehr begabt? In seiner Wohnung stinkt es, er selbst müffelt und überall stapeln sich Pizzakartons. Zoe ist dann die toughe Rechtsmedizinerin, die einfach zu „cool“ ist, ständig raucht und flucht und sO aNdErS iSt AlS dIE aNdErEn FrAuEn. Bei Chandu bin ich mir noch nicht sicher. Er sollte etwas mehr Hintergrund erhalten, das ist mit klar, aber irgendwie wirkt seine Geschichte angefangen und nicht zuende gebracht. Vielleicht wird im zweiten Teil der Reihe ja noch mehr aus ihm gemacht.
Alles in allem eine kurzweilige Unterhaltung, wenn man sich nicht an eher flachen Charakteren stört. Das Sonderermittlungsteam rund um Jan hat aber Potential, ich hoffe für alle LeserInnen, dass das auch ausgeschöpft wird. Ein bisschen CIA- Charme, aber i Berlin.
urlphantomhive's review against another edition
3.0
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
I chose this book solely because the setting is Berlin, one of my favourite cities (and I really like to read about it as well). Not too much Berlin in this book though...
When Jan wakes up with a hangover, he doesn't expect the police to storm into his room. He - a police officer himself - can't remember what he's done the last 36 hours, and they arrest him for the murder of a respected judge. With his memory gone, it's hard to proof he's innocent...
An enjoyable read. I almost always like German crime novels, and this is no exception. There's a lot of running around so if that's something you like, you'll probably like this too. One thing that made the whole plot a bit more realistically is that the main character is a cop (as opposed to all people who've no experience whatsoever fighting crime/policing but know how not to get caught). His friends however are made of cardboard stitched together with a lot of clichés. I mean, the techguy/hacker who doesn't leave his house and doesn't seem to know how to use a bath/shower? I've read that too many times before.
The translation, for as far as I can tell (I've only read the English version), seems quite good, and is very readable. The story was okay too, though the thought keeps nagging at me that I've read a book with a very similar story before. I just can't remember which book.
Original Title: Bis alle Schuld beglichen
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I chose this book solely because the setting is Berlin, one of my favourite cities (and I really like to read about it as well). Not too much Berlin in this book though...
When Jan wakes up with a hangover, he doesn't expect the police to storm into his room. He - a police officer himself - can't remember what he's done the last 36 hours, and they arrest him for the murder of a respected judge. With his memory gone, it's hard to proof he's innocent...
An enjoyable read. I almost always like German crime novels, and this is no exception. There's a lot of running around so if that's something you like, you'll probably like this too. One thing that made the whole plot a bit more realistically is that the main character is a cop (as opposed to all people who've no experience whatsoever fighting crime/policing but know how not to get caught). His friends however are made of cardboard stitched together with a lot of clichés. I mean, the techguy/hacker who doesn't leave his house and doesn't seem to know how to use a bath/shower? I've read that too many times before.
The translation, for as far as I can tell (I've only read the English version), seems quite good, and is very readable. The story was okay too, though the thought keeps nagging at me that I've read a book with a very similar story before. I just can't remember which book.
Original Title: Bis alle Schuld beglichen
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
wertzuio's review against another edition
2.0
Relativ spannend aber der Schreibstil hat mir überhaupt nicht gefallen. Auch die Charaktere waren zu übertrieben und klischeehaft. Zoe hat mich besonders genervt und Jan ist ein 0815 Typ der meiner Meinung nach nichts zur Handlung beigesteuert hat. Zudem waren die "Plot twists" ziemlich offensichtlich und letztendlich war die Handlung sehr unrealistisch. Ich glaube der Autor hat zu viel CSI geschaut... Dieses Buch ist eher was für zwischendurch, muss man aber nicht gelesen haben.
yetanothersusan's review against another edition
4.0
Jan is a detective who becomes a murder suspect within the first few pages. The rest of the book follows his attempt to clear his name with the help of an odd assortment of friends. The beginnings of an excellent series!
kitaliae's review against another edition
4.0
I'm actually a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I wasn't expecting much - it's fairly short for the advertised plot and is translated from German - but it turned out to be a great afternoon read!
The plot is well paced and while dark, very readable. I don't think it was ever too unreasonable or into the realm of fantasy which made the whole thing very enjoyable. There was no magical all knowing character who always had the next lead - every bit of information was earned. There were lots of errors and flaws in the thoughts of those investigating leaving lots of room for surprises. That coupled with the sheer speed of the plot leaves the reader completely off guard without feeling stupid or frustrated.
Despite the fact that the characters were maybe a tad too one dimensional they were enjoyable companions. They all had hints of deeper characterization that would be wonderful to see in any future books, which I hope to see published and translated one day, there is a very solid place to pick up from.
Overall it was a great read that wasn't bogged down by over complicated prose or drab unnecessary scenes. It was a very enjoyable read and I would absolutely recommend it and look forward to any future sequels.
The plot is well paced and while dark, very readable. I don't think it was ever too unreasonable or into the realm of fantasy which made the whole thing very enjoyable. There was no magical all knowing character who always had the next lead - every bit of information was earned. There were lots of errors and flaws in the thoughts of those investigating leaving lots of room for surprises. That coupled with the sheer speed of the plot leaves the reader completely off guard without feeling stupid or frustrated.
Despite the fact that the characters were maybe a tad too one dimensional they were enjoyable companions. They all had hints of deeper characterization that would be wonderful to see in any future books, which I hope to see published and translated one day, there is a very solid place to pick up from.
Overall it was a great read that wasn't bogged down by over complicated prose or drab unnecessary scenes. It was a very enjoyable read and I would absolutely recommend it and look forward to any future sequels.
ivyegraves's review against another edition
5.0
I gave this book a 4.5/5 Stars
I didn't have high expectations going into this book... I got this book for free off of Goodread's Giveaways but boy was I wrong. This book was amazing. It is about a homocide detective becoming the main suspect of a murder... But Jan, the detective, knows he didn't kill anyone, so he runs. While reading the first 70% of the book I thought I knew who the real killer was from the start, I usually am good at that type of thing, but I was way off. Talk about plot twist. Anyway let's talk about the actual book. The writing was astonishing and the character development amazing. The only problem I had with this book was that the ending seemed to wrap up too nicely... That's why I didn't give it 5 stars. But other than that I thought this book was really good and would recommend it to anyone who likes murder mysteries.
I didn't have high expectations going into this book... I got this book for free off of Goodread's Giveaways but boy was I wrong. This book was amazing. It is about a homocide detective becoming the main suspect of a murder... But Jan, the detective, knows he didn't kill anyone, so he runs. While reading the first 70% of the book I thought I knew who the real killer was from the start, I usually am good at that type of thing, but I was way off. Talk about plot twist. Anyway let's talk about the actual book. The writing was astonishing and the character development amazing. The only problem I had with this book was that the ending seemed to wrap up too nicely... That's why I didn't give it 5 stars. But other than that I thought this book was really good and would recommend it to anyone who likes murder mysteries.