River Clyde (Chastity Riley series #5) by Simone Buchholz, Transl. by Rachel Ward #RiverClyde #ChastityRiley @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours

A powerful, breathtakingly emotive new thriller from the Queen of Krimi, Simone Buchholz.

Book blurb

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 an electrifying thriller and a poignant, powerful story of damage and hope, and one woman’s fight for survival.

My thoughts

We begin with a scene of men purchasing fire accelerant it’s obviously a somewhat dodgy if not totally illegal action.

Chastity and the team are not all back to work as yet.

This book takes place in the wake of what happened in Hotel Cartagena (book 4 in the series) and I would strongly advise anyone who has not read it to do so before reading River Clyde.

Chastity still suffering from the aftermath of the siege receives a letter from a solicitor in Glasgow which Chastity uses as the perfect excuse to leave Hamburg. Once in Glasgow Chastity is told that she has inherited a house from her Aunt. Not sure if she wants it Chastity explores Glasgow. It’s not the tourist areas to which she is drawn but areas that feel more like Hamburg or at least where she feels more comfortable and where she comes upon a pub. She has a drink and meets some locals.

Meanwhile back in Hamburg Stepanovic is at work. Three of the others are having counselling.

Each of them is dealing with the grief and injury as best they can.

An arson attack takes place and then other events that have Stepanovic and Calabretta investigating.

However, we are focused on Chastity and the inheritance from her aunt. Should she take it or will it be a millstone around her neck? It is whilst she is wondering about this in the pub that she meets hers aunts former lover, Tom.

Once again in Hamburg the investigation is continuing as is the counselling and we have both these threads along with Chastity’s story interwoven through the book.

Chastity arranges to go with Tom to the house that her aunt has left her. He know where the key is kept. Once there the house brings memories and thoughts that Chastity hasn’t wanted to face for many years.

There is a fourth point of view that of the River Clyde the title of the book, which runs through Glasgow, and it brings a strange, haunting almost spooky atmosphere to the book.

As we learn of Chastity’s Scottish ancestry and what happens when she is at her Aunts house we wonder what is going to happen – to Chastity, to the relationship with Stepanovic, indeed what will happen with the team in Hamburg? Will any of them fully overcome the pain – physical and mental – that was a consequence of the Hotel Cartagena siege?

Chastity is a wonderful character and one I love to read. Still, I’m glad we had plenty of Hamburg, the other terrific characters and a criminal investigation as part of the storyline too – after all I love crime fiction.

This book is, as with all Simone Buchholz’s Chastity Riley series, quite unique in it’s structure, she writes in an innovative style and quite beautifully. Rachel Ward’s translation is, as always, wonderful.

I do hope that there will be more of Chastity Riley in the future not just the books prior to Blue Night which have yet to be translated into English, although that would be great too, because I want to know what happens next.

This is another wonderful book in her amazing series from Simone Buchholz who is quite rightly hailed as the Queen of Krimi.

Book: Purchased

Previously read: I have read and reviewed Beton Rouge | Mexico Street | Hotel Cartagena | I have purchased but, not yet reviewed, Blue Night.

Blog Tour

Many thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part in this wonderful books BlogTour.

Thanks also to Orenda Books. As they had promoted the book with a 99p purchase price that I took advantage of prior to Anne’s invite I didn’t require a copy from them but I do hope that both author and publisher gained something from this amazing offer. Orenda Books are a fantastic publisher and have a wonderful site packed with terrific authors and books from which you can purchase directly, so please do visit and support ORENDA BOOKS – you will still find River Clyde at a very competitive price.

Support 🇺🇦

Orenda Books are also supporting the Little Toller and Blue Moose Books Packed With Hope campaign. You can help too check them out on Twitter for information or support the Just Giving accounts were they are raising funds for children displaced by the war in Ukraine.

Information

Publishers: Orenda Books (March 2022)

Buy: Direct from Orenda Books | your local bookshop | Hive |AmazonSmileUK | Bookshop.org affiliate link

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 as well as runner-up in the German Crime Fiction Prize for Blue Night, which was number one on the KrimiZEIT Best of Crime List for months. The critically acclaimed Beton Rouge, Mexico Street and Hotel Cartagena all followed in the Chastity Riley series, with River Clyde out in 2022. She lives in Sankt Pauli, in the heart of Hamburg, with her husband and son.

Follow Simone Buchholz

Twitter: @ohneKlippo and visit her website: Simone’s website

Translator: Rachel Ward is a freelance translator of literary and creative texts from German and French to English. Having studied modern languages at the University of East Anglia, she went on to complete UEA’s MA in Literary Translation. Her published translations include Traitor by Gudrun Pausewang and Red Rage by Brigitte Blobel. Rachel is a Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting.

Follow Rachel Ward

Twitter @FwdTranslations |her blog http://www.adiscounttickettoeverywhere.wordpress.com |her website: ForwardTranslations

The Chastity Riley series