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El Caso Collini (2011)

by Ferdinand von Schirach(Favorite Author)

3.75 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Salamandra

review 1: Caspar Leinen, a newy qualified defence lawyer, takes the case of Fabrizio Collini; a quiet, industrious, respectable middle-aged man, Collini walks into a hotel room and kills a seemingly innocent 87 year old man. He calls the police himself, freely admits to the killing but offers no defence and no motive. When Casper learns the identity of the victim he finds himnself in a dilemma; they were close friends, especially during Caspar's childhood. In an attempt to find a motive Caspar uncovers a terrible secret...A short but excellent book, tightly written and well paced; I often find translations of foreign writing somewhat stilted, but not in this case. The characters are well drawn and likeable, and the technical detail not too overwhelming. Although this is a work of fi... morection it reads almost as fact which, I found, adds to the story. Unusual for me to read a book in one day, but I could not put this down.My thanks to Amazon Vine for a free copy to review.
review 2: Highly recommended for the shocking opening, the autopsy scene, the tense courtroom action and the ending. In all those instances, von Schirach's terse style comes across in the translation, as does his intimate knowledge of legal proceedings and the world surrounding them. There is an unflinching attention to detail, making for uncomfortable but completely unforgettable reading.Outside of these places, however, the book performs much less well; I wasn't convinced by Leiner and Johanna's relationship, and more crucially Collini failed to become the source of sympathy that the narrative demands. Since the entire courtroom drama hinges essentially on Collini's character, firstly in the sense of pure mystery (why has he committed this murder?) then increasingly in a empathetic light, it requires him to be fully realised. This is perhaps why, whilst I breezed through the book and found it fairly interesting, it didn't particularly stay with me afterwards. less

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