Mord im Zeichen des Zen

Louise Boni #1

by Oliver Bottini

Louise Bonì, Hauptkommissarin der Freiburger Kripo aus dem Dezernat Kapitalverbrechen, 42 Jahre alt, geschieden, steht vor einem tristen Winterwochenende und den Schatten der Vergangenheit. Doch dann stört ein Anruf des Dezernatsleiters die Erinnerung an die Toten und Verflossenen, und Louise bekommt den merkwürdigsten Auftrag ihrer Karriere als Polizistin: Sie soll einen japanischen Mönch suchen, der in Sandalen und Kutte durch die verschneite Winterödnis östlich von Freiurg geht, und herausfinden, was er vorhat. Widerwillig macht sie sich auf den Weg. Als sie den Mönch eingeholt hat, wird ihr rasch zweierlei klar: Er ist verletzt, und er ist auf der Flucht. Mühsam kann Louise die Hintergründe aufdecken und kommt so einem schrecklichen Verbrechen auf die Spur, in dessen Sog sich auch ihr eigenes Leben entscheidend verändert.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Germany, Buddhism, German Literature, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

367 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Oliver Bottini, in Nürnberg geboren, studierte in München Neuere deutsche Literatur, Italianistik und Markt- und Werbepsychologie. Er erhielt für seine beiden Kriminalromane »Mord im Zeichen des Zen« und »Im Sommer der Mörder« jeweils den Deutschen Krimi Preis. Beide Romane standen monatelang auf der KrimiWelt-Bestenliste und wurden in mehrere Sprachen übersetzt. 2007 wurde er für den Friedrich-Glauser-Preis in der Sparte Roman nominiert. Sein dritter Roman, »Im Auftrag der Väter«, stand 2007 auf der Shortlist des Münchener Tukan-Preises. Auch der vierte Roman, »Jäger in der Nacht«, war sehr erfolgreich. Oliver Bottini lebt in Berlin.

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an offbeat German crime thriller set in the borders of France and Germany. Chief Inspector Louise Boni is in her forties with the Freiburg Serious Crimes section run by Rolf Bermann. She is divorced from Mick, and her brother, Germain is dead, she shot Rene Calambert dead after he abducted a young girl. Louise is unable to negotiate the travails of her life without liberal helpings of alcohol, associates snow with the worst traumas of her life, and constantly sees the ghosts of the dead and those still alive. A badly injured monk, in inappropriate clothes and sandals for the weather, is walking through a small village, the locals panic thinking he will bring trouble and attract hordes of other foreigners. Local cop, Hollerer gives the monk food but fails to communicate with him but stays with him. Louise is called to the scene, and follows the monk, spending the night with the fearful and traumatised man. She senses that something is seriously wrong, and that the monk is in deadly danger. This is supported by the sighting of men in a car in the forest. Louise tries to set up a rota to protect the monk with locals, Hollerer, a young cop, Niksch, and Lederle, from Freiberg Serious Crimes.

However, Louise's boss Bermann does not acquiesce to her request for more help. Tragedy ensues with a cop shot dead, a critically injured Hollerer, and the disappearance of the monk. Louise is forced to go off sick whilst she addresses her issues with alcohol. Bermann and others believe the monk is the prime suspect, unconvinced by Louise's conviction that others are responsible. Louise fears the monk is dead, and looks into Kanzan-an, a buddhist monastery with the help of Richard Landen. Boni's investigation has her travelling back and forth across the border, ignoring orders to not get involved. She follows the thread of Asile d'enfants, who share the Kanzan-an, a charitable organisation that places orphan children from the Far East and Thailand with new adoptive families. Louise finds her life in danger as she uncovers a network of human trafficking, set up to sexually abuse and exploit children.

Amidst the high drama of the criminal investigation, Louise is drawn into the thinking and philosophy that lies behind Buddhism in her search for identity and address the wreckage that is her life. She becomes obsessed with Landen and his marriage to the pregnant Japanese Tommo, harbouring lustful thoughts of him whilst instigating sexual encounters with the younger Anatol, a taxi driver. Louise is the child of a Frenchman and a German woman, she is warm, wild, sad, original and a woman facing the abyss which accounts for her interest in Buddhist theology. This is a wonderful and entertaining read, and I loved its wintry setting in Germany and France, for which Louise with her dual background in the two countries is the ideal protagonist. I hope Bottini's other books in the series get translated soon, cannot wait to read them. Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.

[Kirsty ❤️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Scandi-feeling book is set in snowy Germany and for once had a female Chief Inspector. However she does fit the detective stereotype - maverick cop, has demons and a probably addiction to alcohol. 

She is sent to a small town to investigate a wandering monk who she finds is injured and running away from something terrifying. 

I liked the feel of the book and the writing style but I struggled with the story. I think mostly because I didn't like the main character Louise. She came across as a cliche. 

It wasn't a bad book but just didn't grab me. Not for me this one

Free arc from netgalley

[Raven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now this one perplexed me, as for the first half of the book I was submerged in the existential peace of tranquillity that gradually evolves into a more straightforward thriller. I loved the concept of this calm, ethereal figure of the monk, traversing the terrain of the Black Forest, pursued by this, as it turns out, very emotionally unstable female detective. I felt a bit like like Manny in Black Books where he swallows The Little Book of Calm as reading this induced a kind of contented relaxation in me, as Bonetti brings the natural serenity of monk, woman and forest into alignment.
Then I got bored.
And increasingly annoyed.
Boni began to irritate me with her constant self obsessed, self pitying keening, and to be honest, my interest was waning from this point. I found the child trafficking plotline slightly repetitive and circular, and I fair scampered to the end of the book just to see how things would pan out. Did feel a huge sense of disappointment in not enjoying this one more, as regular readers know my universal love for translated crime fiction, but alas not this time.

[Sarah Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d say more like 3.5 stars, but a very good read. Louis Bonì is a troubled DCI who is haunted by the man she killed. Her boss sends her to find out why a Zen monk has shown up out of nowhere up and disturbed the village with his presence. He’s injured and afraid but won’t talk. Following him she discovers that there is reason for his fear and things go from bad to worse before it’s over.
This is a dark mystery covering very dark subject matter and the horrid things people are capable of doing to themselves and others.
Bonì is an interesting character. She’s intelligent and sees connections that others don’t so she’s a step ahead of her colleagues, but her self destructive behaviors and her tortured soul make it that much harder for her to do what she needs to, but she’s like a Pitt Bull when it comes to a case and once she’s begun a line of inquiry she see it through to the end despite others lack of interest. She is very intuitive and it helps her on her cases but not her personal life which is an utter disaster area. She’s a little hard to like to be honest. She is just so bleak and makes such bad decisions about her own life that it’s a bit hard to relate to her at times, but her commitment to those who need help and her sense of humor are her savings grace. You may find yourself getting a little frustrated with her self destructive behavior right in the middle of all her insights to the case. It’s like that have to balance out; for every correct insight or determination to help someone, she has to drink or make things complicated.
The story takes place in Germany and France but it’s definitely got that frozen Scandinavian bleakness. It’s a great read on a hot summer day as you’ll get chills.

[Hasewue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Als ein verwundeter japanischer Mönch im verschneiten Liebau, einem kleinen Ort östlich von Freiburg auftaucht, wird die Hauptkommissarin der Freiburger Kripo Louise Bonì mit der Lösung des Falls beauftragt.
Zunächst kann sich niemand erklären woher der Mönch stammt und warum er verwundet ist bis die Ermittlungen Louise nach Frankreich in ein buddhistisches Zen – Kloster führen.
Dort kommt sie einem furchtbaren Verbrechen auf die Spur.
Oliver Bottini erzählt „Mord im Zeichen des Zen“ aus der Sicht einer alkoholkranken, geschiedenen Hauptkommissarin, die neben ihrem Kampf mit dem Vorgesetzten auch ihre Vergangenheit bewältigen muss. Dabei kommt es immer wieder zu Rückblenden bei denen Geschehnisse erläutet werden, die zu ihrer Alkoholabhängigkeit führten.
In einer passend düsteren Atmosphäre skizziert Bottini Louises Kampf mit dem Alkohol, ihr Versagen und ihre Ängste in ihrem Beruf und ihre Bemühungen und den Willen diesen Fall aufzuklären.
Die düstere Atmosphäre fand ich sehr stimmig und eben diese schaffte es auch Spannung aufzubauen und die Neugier am Verlauf der Handlung aufrecht zu erhalten.
Dadurch, dass Louise Bonìs Privatleben eine große Rolle spielt und auch Auswirkungen auf den aktuellen Fall hat wirken sowohl Handlung als auch Charaktere sehr authentisch.
Dennoch fand ich das Ende etwas enttäuschend, da trotz einiger unerwarteter Wendungen viele Fragen offen blieben und ich mir deswegen mehr Aufklärung gewünscht hätte.
Alles in allem ist „Mord im Zeichen des Zen“ ein guter und stimmiger Krimi mit einer authentischen Hauptfigur von der ich gerne noch weitere Fälle lesen werde!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise Boni is a police inspector suffering from PTSD from the shooting of a man two years previously plus the breakdown of her marriage. The story is set in winter around the city of Freiburg near the French border in a dreary winter snowscape. A mysterious young monk called Taro appears with injuries and keeps walking. Louise follows him trying to find out how he was injured and why he is scared. Two other police officers assist.

Things take a dark turn when the monk disappears and one officer is killed and the other injured. Louise feels guilt and has nightmares not helped by her alcoholism. The police find out where the monk comes from and it is a Buddhist retreat in France. Investigations uncover a dark secret and Louise fighting her demons gets more enmeshed although she is on sick leave die to her drinking problem.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I can understand why this story won a German Crime Fiction Award. Louise discovers children are being sex trafficked by a fraudulent charity. She is wounded in a chase resulting in a shootout. The suspects escape but are eventually captured or at least some of them. A couple are killed and Louise is exonerated and gets help for her drinking problem.

There are some gaps. Why didn’t the monk
Who saw the abuse and runaway not go to his abbot? We don’t find out what happened to him. There are several tropes alcoholic cop, broken marriage and misogynist male boss but overall an entertaining read.

[Rowena Hoseason · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover art perfectly captures its sensibilities: a lone individual, trudging in an endless, featureless expanse – seemingly aimless, isolated and disoriented.
‘Zen’ shares much with the stranger side of Scandinavian crime fiction: that slippery sensation of disconnectedness; an understanding that important things are happening but they seem to be just out of sight. As much is expressed through implication as explanation – a form of storytelling which some people find rewarding but which demands active participation on the part of the reader.

The opening scenario is simply superb. It has the feel of a scene which the author dreamed and then was compelled to share with an audience – attaching a plot and storyline to it seems almost superfluous.

A shoeless, speechless monk stumbles through the snow. He won’t stop. He has no apparent destination but a definite direction of travel. He has no food, water or warm clothing. He doesn’t seem to have committed a crime but could so easily become the victim of one. Is he running away from something, or struggling to reach someone?

Inspector Louise Boni is sent to resolve the situation while struggling through an emotional breakdown. Louise is surrounded by ghosts; the people she’s loved and lost, the people she’s been unable to save, and the people she’s been forced to kill in the line of duty. Her self-esteem is at rock-bottom: her reliance upon alcoholic assistance has become inescapable.

She’s attracted to the stillness and certainty that the Zen Buddhists appear to possess, but the only way she can quiet her own ghosts is by drowning them in Țuică. And as Louise’s grip on reality fractures, so does the reader’s certainty about which events are really happening.

The result can be quite bewildering at times. You definitely get the impression that you’ve come in part-way through an extended story (and indeed there are earlier books in the series).

Disappointingly, that masterstroke of the opening chapters – the mysterious monk, the main motivator of the mystery – is abandoned mid-way. Instead we spend more time with Louise in her fracturing and fragmenting reality, where she can’t remember a taxi driver from one day to the next – where her fragile psyche propels her to break rules and take unsupportable risks. She’s a wild card, tugging on loose threads in a bitter winter – propping herself up with booze and ill-judged intimate encounters.

Eventually, the author delivers resolution and some sense of an ending. But the second storyline (which takes over where the monk left off) was less than satisfying for me. Zen is not an easy or especially accessible read – I wished I’d read the previous books before tackling this one.
7/10

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the synopsis of this book and I thought that I simply had to read the book. I studied German at university and I absolutely love most things German. As part of my year abroad I stayed not far from where the book is set and so I thought that I might be familiar with some of the place names. I enjoyed this book but more about that in a bit.
Detective Chief Inspector Louise Boni is a woman fast approaching middle age. She is already divorced. From reading the book and picking up on the little clues, it appears that she has been through some pretty horrendous times and as a result she has been left mentally scarred. You could say that she is haunted by what she has seen and what she has heard. DCI Boni seems to have a gut instinct about things, which frequently brings her into conflict with her immediate superiors. She requests more help or presents her theories but her superiors don’t listen to her and refuse her requests. As is so often the case, DCI Boni uses alcohol as a coping mechanism and as a result she has become a bit too fond of it. Boni is described as being a maverick, which she is because if she doesn’t agree with her superiors she does her own thing. I get the impression that Boni is a tortured soul and she has an internal monologue that she has to do battle with on a daily basis. Boni is far too hard on herself and she is her own worst critic. This book sees her reflect on her own life and she becomes interested in Buddhism, as she chases the Buddhist monk across the snow.
This book is well written although a couple of times I did wonder if something had been lost in translation or if the translation was a bit clunky. That just could be the German student talking in me though and after all I am the one who hasn’t used the language since I graduated all those years ago and so it could be me that is rusty and clunky. It took me a little while to get into the book but by the end of the second chapter I was away with the story. I wouldn’t say that I became totally addicted to the book but I was sufficiently interested to be able to go back to it to read more and to finish it. I am a nosy devil and so I need to know what happens, who, where. why and so on. The author certainly knows how to create a dramatic and tense situation. Whilst reading the book, there was the occasional time where I didn’t want to turn the page as I feared what was going to happen next. The descriptions of the area and the people were so vivid that if I was to shut my eyes I could imagine that I was there in the middle of the Black Forest and listening to the hustle and bustle of German daily life. The descriptions of the cold weather and the snow were so vivid that I felt very cold and shivery, whilst I was reading the book.
In short I did enjoy this German tale and I would recommend it to others. I enjoyed reacquainting myself with the Black Forest and it has made me more determined to pick the language back up again. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is 4* out of 5*.

[Elaine Tomasso · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of Zen and the Art of Murder, a police procedural set in around the Franco-German border with Chief Inspector Louise Bonì as the protagonist.

Louise is called out to help the Liebau police deal with a wandering Buddhist monk. The monk is obviously injured and frightened but refuses help and keeps walking so there is nothing they can do but observe. Louise spends the night in the forest with him and comes to suspect that he is being followed and in danger. How this all pans out is the meat of the novel.

I found the first few chapters of this novel absolutely captivating. The cold calm of the forest is so expertly described I could feel the cold and stillness. The puzzle of how to act and what to do with a man who doesn't want help is beguiling and the sense of helplessness is pervasive. It's all very unusual, atmospheric and enticing. The pace is leisurely and adds to the atmosphere. So far, so good and then the focus changes to Louise, her problems and her lone wolf investigation. After that it is a fairly run of the mill crime novel.

I think I might have enjoyed the novel more if I had liked Louise but the actions, alcoholic visions, nightmares and thoughts of a functioning alcoholic don't interest me and the character study of her and her journey, which is the main focus of most of the novel, just made me yawn. Through in some explanations of the Buddhist way of thinking and the crime element gets a bit lost.

Louise is 42 and divorced. She appears to have had a troubled adolescence and had to shoot a suspect a couple of years ago which preys heavily on her mind. She is a sensitive soul and has turned to drink in an effort to cope with life but it's catching up with her. Her superiors are on to her, she has no real friends and is very obviously lonely. It's all a bit clichéd but, at the same time, amorphous. I found her a difficult character to understand or grab hold of. The author very helpfully includes, at the end, a short story about the shooting which haunts her. Maybe I should have read it first.

Zen and the Art of Murder is not a bad book, in fact I like the linear timeline, third person narrative, the flashes of humour and the opening chapters and I will certainly give the next book in the series a read, but the concentration on Louise and her character are not to my taste.

[Alex Cantone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspector Louise Bonİ of the Freiburg Kripo is 41, divorced from her philandering husband and an alcoholic. Her dreams are haunted by the case of a 14-year-old girl abducted and found trussed up in the boot of a car, who died four days later, so she is not in a good space when Bermann, her superior, rings her on a Sunday, sending her to investigate a report of a monk seen wandering through the snow of a Black Forest village, dressed only in sandals and a cowl, with staff and begging bowl.

She locates the monk, noting his injuries and follows him into the forest, trying to establish who he is and why he is there, and ends up sheltering in a bolthole with him, surviving the wintry night with the heat he seems to generate. It is obvious the monk is scared, moving away from some unseen danger.

Louise returns to the office to work out the monk’s movements from reported sightings, and seeks out Landen, a Japanese-speaking a university professor as translator. When a senior detective detailed to watch the monk is wounded and his young offsider shot dead, it sparks a major police investigation, but Louise is sidelined by Bermann placing her on sick leave for her drinking problem. Louise ignores the advice to seek psychological help and decides to find the answers on her own.

Bermann owned situations like this. His energy and determination set the many-linked machinery smoothly in motion. He was depressing proof of just how much dictators are able to achieve. And how first they create problems before solving them.

As Louise seeks to understand Buddhist philosophy, she visits her mother and tries to come to terms with her failings and childhood influences, growing up with a French father who became increasingly German, her mother’s alleged involvement with the Baader-Meinhof militant group in the seventies, and the death of her brother in North Africa.

Beyond the hill lay a gently sloping meadow with yellowish grass, which after a couple of hundred metres became a barren, rocky landscape. Wisps of fog hung between hulking boulders and a muddy path led up to them. They followed in silence. Louise thought of Landen and wondered how he coped with the knowledge that he’d never really understand his wife. And whether he had a way of making it bearable.
Winner of the German Crime Fiction Award, this is a very strong debut novel, a mystery with spiritual undertones. Thought-provoking.

[Sheila Howes · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the beginning of the book, we are introduced to Chief Inspector Louise Boni. She’s meant to be having a day off, but is called in to help investigate the strange case of a Monk who is wandering around a local town. By the time she arrives, he has left the town, and is wandering in the forest. He’s only wearing sandals and a cowl, and carries a staff and a small bowl. When Louise catches up with him, she finds him badly beaten. They are also unable to speak to one another as he appears to have originated from Japan. He allows her to trail him, but not protect him.

The next day, Louise leaves him with her local colleagues and heads home to get a translator. By the time she returns, he has disappeared.

Who is the mysterious monk, and what is he running from?

I was intrigued when I first heard about this book – the Black Forest holds many happy memories for me, and we all know I love a good crime story! However, I have to admit to having been a little disappointed with the beginning. It was a very slow burner and took a long time to get going.

I also initially did not like the character of Louise Boni. She is an alcoholic, and keeps seeing ghosts of her past. It was a little confusing as to who was real and who was a work of her imagination!

She grew on me as the investigation progressed, and I did like some of her colleagues. I do wish there had been something to grab me earlier though – I nearly gave up on it at one point!

[Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kripo chief inspector deals with alcoholism following her shooting of a villain. Intriguing premise of a mysterious monk , inevitable struggle with demons, and brush with Zen Buddhism. Death, sexism and numerous affairs later our protagonist overcomes what seems a bit random child abuse network and shows you should never give up. Could have been shorter, but still worth the read.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crime set in Black Forrest. Great.

[Anne Fenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great series new to me, prize winning German crime fiction. Louise Boni is a police woman with alcohol problems, something more often seen in male roles. The author builds an in-depth character with real complexity over the two novels in the series. Here she’s seriously affected by her constant drinking. We see the world through bleary eyes, she’s struggling to grasp situations, often acting inappropriately among other staff. Her position is threatened by this. At the same time she’s the lone wolf who cuts through mysterious actions by secretive people. Somehow she has an active sex life with one man, a lusting sex life with another.
The complicated plot involves Europe now, with work restricted by borders and haunted by history. It’s an insight into a law and justice system continent wide and nearly falling apart.
Zen - a Buddhist monk is the starting point , threading through both novels, with efforts to explore the meaning of life and how to leave much of it behind .
A great beginning to the Black Forest series, I loved it.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're into Scandinavian Noir you'll really appreciate this German voice complete with the ice/snow and the problems for law enforcement with national borders. If you are close to law enforcement personnel you'll easily recognize the way that the job can damage a person who is driven by caring for the innocent, especially after having to kill another human regardless of the horrors he has done.
Despite her alcoholism and other personal demons Louise pursues an innocent monk in sandals and robes through the cold and snow even though they do not speak each other's language only because she knows that he needs help. She pushes on despite getting no support from superiors even after unknown persons murder one officer and critically injure another. It's a very dark mystery, but too much of it is all too likely in any country. It forced me to finish it all in one day.
I believe that translator Jamie Bulloch did an excellent job.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Dover Publications via NetGalley. Thank you!

[Berit Lukman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeg er nu færdig med Mord i Zen -og er ærlig talt noget skuffet, når man betænker den har fået en tysk krimi-pris. Eller er det udtryk for niveauet i Tyskland?
Den var ikke særlig spændende, ikke medrivende og virkede på en måde gammeldags.
Godt oplæg-det første kapitel var interessant, men det varede ikke længe.

[J Fearnley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book starts off well with a monk walking through the snow covered village of Freiburg moving through the countryside towards the forest. You get a good sense of atmosphere and that continues during the monks travels. The local police chief calls for help from the Black Forest crime squad even though there does not appear to have been any crime committed. Chief Inspector Louise Boni is sent. Louise walks with the monk, who has clearly been hurt, and stays in the forest with him overnight. It is intriguing.

Louise carries on looking into the monk but her boss wants it finished with. Then there’s a shooting, a death and the monk goes missing. Louise is allowed to carry on. Through this is the issue of Louise’s drinking and being allowed to continue the investigation is agreed provided she sees a psychologist to help with her drink problem. A problem that has been getting worse since Louise’s marital problems and a previous case.

As the investigation continues there are even darker issues that arise. Louise gets suspended but continues looking into what has become a child trafficking ring. There is pace in places and some tension. This is a book which I enjoyed. I liked the fact that it finished after the conclusion of the immediate investigation so you learnt a bit more about what happens. However what happened to the monk, sadly, remained a mystery I know that’s sometimes, indeed, often the case in life but I was disappointed.

We are treated to a prequel short story at the end it helps with some of the background and might have been useful to read first.

It is the first of a series of six books, listed below, which it seems will be translated from the original German into English. So we will get the opportunity to get better acquainted with Louise and her colleagues. I think it may well be worth it.

Rating: 3.5*

[The Honest Book Reviewer · Rating 2 out of 5]

My opinion of this novel wavered between enjoyment and boredom, as the story meandered slowly towards its conclusion. While I could see the author providing a decently detailed introduction to the characters of this series, I couldn't help but feel the development of the case and investigation suffered. It moved at a crawl, and my interest waned before it picked up a little in the final few chapters.

I admit the cover and the blurb grabbed my attention. It seemed a different setting than a lot of other crime novels, but it felt as if the novel was as sparse as the backdrop. There are small sections that grab you here and there, but it wasn't enough. I also found it difficult to like the protagonist, Louise. She seemed the typical tortured soul that a lot of leading crime characters are, but I honestly don't think the depths of the self-loathing worked for me. Maybe I already have too many series with tortured investigators, or maybe I need a crime series that has a little more vibrancy in sections.

Conclusion: this series, while set in an intriguing backdrop, isn't for me.

[Ad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Japanese Zen monk wanders through the snowy woods and fields near Freiburg in southern Germany, dressed in only sandals and a monk's cowl. The local population is worried at the sight of this stranger, so Louise Boni, chief inspector with the Black Forest crime squad, gets the assignment to trail him and see what he is doing. Louise has her own demons to struggle with: divorced at forty-two, angry at her father for his past behavior, and above all, feeling guilty as she recently shot a criminal to death, she seeks relief in alcohol and is glad with the new task, for she dreads yet another dreary winter weekend alone. She doesn't know yet what she'll get on her plate... This is an original thriller - both the character of Louise Boni, the Buddhist element, and above all the literary way of the writing.

Only one minus point: the Zen monk tramping on and on through the snow in the Black Forest is a beautiful image, but the motivation is lacking. Surely, the Japanese monk belongs to this modern world - when feeling danger he would call a taxi to take him to the airport and fly back to Japan instead of start walking in the snow.

[Mark Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just could not get into this book, I got to the end and thought "yeah, and...". I keep questioning why.. and am struggling, however having finished it at 10pm last night, if you were ask me any detail about the story, I couldn't, I think there was a distinct detachment between me and the main character, and I certainly felt no empathy with her or indeed any of the characters in the book.

The book continually refers to an earlier case which has had an indelible effect on Boni, the lead character, and interestingly this is included as a short story at the end of the "main course". Surely it would have been better to do this as a prologue? I was so bored by the end, I did not bother to read this story, as was not really interested why, what or where Boni's issues came from.

A disappointment.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Louise Boni is a likeable flawed detective, and alcoholic with some self-awareness still in action. She is, like the best detectives, dogged to the point of being foolish in her pursuit of the truth of the case. The book starts benignly with a Japanese monk simply walking through German towns in the snow, causing uncertainty and even fear in town residents. Boni walks with him for a night, sleeping out in the forest. By the end of the night she is convinced that his story must have more to it than a simple walk in the woods. As the mystery unfolds, it becomes very dark as it involves child kidnapping, abuse and sex slavery. Not the most wonderful mystery, but the tension builds and I'm curious to know what happens to Boni as she seems to be heading for rehab at the end of the book.

[MRS CA THOMSON · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book where we meet Louise Boni. She is not a person easy to like. She is an alcoholic and a police officer and we meet her at her lowest point.
At the same time there is a Buddhist monk with mysterious injuries. Who is he, how did he get injured? Louise is compelled to find out. She is driven by the need to know the answers to everything. Including events from her childhood. When she can't get answers she drinks.
What follows is a tale that twists into some very dark corners. There is a resolution but Louise has to accept she can't go on. It ends on a sober note.
Included is a short story that fills in some of the back story.
Not an easy read because Louise is not a friendly character. Things that go wrong are often due to her alcoholism. Persist and it is worth it.

[Jo-anne Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suffering from PTSD following the shooting of a paedophile, recently divorced police officer Louise Boni is struggling. She is assigned to what seems a simple if odd case, to follow a Buddhist monk who is wounded and trailing through the Back Forest in the snow. When her team come under fire from unknown assailants Boni is thrown into a case involving child traffickers.

There is quite an interesting plot underneath all of this. However I found myself getting confused with characters and the actual start of the book didn't grab as quickly as it ought.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quirky book (translated from German) in which the main character Louise Boni is a police officer in Germany. It took me several pages before I got used to the author's style and a few more pages before I realised that not everything Boni was seeing really existed as Boni was an alcoholic. However once I got into the swing of things this was a good read. The edition I read also contained a short story called "Dark death" which I would recommend people read first as it gives some background to the main novel.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be an atmospheric, noir detective procedural with an interesting police detective as the central character. In spite of the expected detective cliches, the fact that this is set mostly in unfamiliar parts of Germany and is in translation make it a little more unusual than the norm. The start is intriguing and the story is well plotted. Although I’m not completely convinced by the male author writing a central female character, especially with the heavy psychological battles described, it was an enjoyable read, and I might return to others in the series at a later date.

[Beth Younge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a fan of the TV version of Zen and felt slightly disappointed when it came to this book. I was really intrigued with what was going no in the early part but i found the more i progressed with the book the more i lost interest with what was happening. The female character introduced in the first couple of characters was interesting and she made me push through a bit further.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Igor Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annoying main character, can’t really explain why the plot didn’t grab me but it seemed flat somehow, I guess intended to imply some kind of zen calm or stasis but just wasn’t really that interesting. Same for other characters like Landen, Lederle and the Roshi, brought in to serve purposes but not really fleshed out enough to be interesting or deep enough to distract from the main detective’s self-obsessed meanderings. An overall “meh”.

[I Read, Therefore I Blog · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oliver Bottini’s crime novel (the first in a series and translated from German by Jamie Bulloch), is a cliche-riddled, plodding affair revolving around a self-pitying alcoholic who isn’t good at her job. Too many questions are left unanswered at the end (including what happened to the monk), the “chemistry” between Boní and Landen is non-existent and characters are essentially stereotypes, some of which border on racist. Not a series for me.

[Terje Tondel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book had a promising start with an unusual mystery angle involving a wandering monk fearing for his life. The investigating police officer, who is the central character in this book is depicted as a flawed individual whose background is too extensively described which became a distraction. The story line bumped along tediously for then to suddenly end with a cop chasing sequence. We never got to know what happened to the monk ! The ending was too rushed with a disappointing conclusion.

[Richard Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited by the premise - the mysterious monk, the alcoholic policeman, the early demise of likeable characters. But in the end I felt that the plot did not live up to its early promise and seemed to collapse under the weight of its own expectations. However I will reserve final judgment until I have read a couple more stories in the series.