The Murder of Anton Livius

(Paperback)

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Description

Inspector Hunkeler is summoned back to Basel from his New Year holiday to unravel a gruesome killing in an allotment garden on the citys outskirts. An old man has been shot in the head and found in his garden shed hanging from a butchers hook.

Hunkeler must deal not only with the quarrelsome tenants of the garden but with the challenges of investigating a murder that has taken place outside his jurisdiction, across the French border in Alsace. The clues lead to the Emmental in Berne, and then events from the last weeks of the Second World War in Alsace come to light, the wounds of which have never healed in the region.

'Ideal for anyone who enjoys reading about detectives like Martin Beck, Wallander or even Maigret.' CrimeFictionLover

Reviews

BASEL KILLINGS: Listed in What to Read this Week in the WSJ. " An excellent first mystery and series launch This gripping, plausible debut bodes well for future entries." Publishers Weekly (STARRED) "A magnetic central character, a skillful and unhistrionic telling and a dose of political realism make this book a very welcome arrival." Morning Star "Looks ideal for anyone who enjoys reading about detectives like Martin Beck, Wallander or even Maigret." CrimeFictionLover "A disturbing picture of a cruelty that has lain undiscussed behind the faade of Swiss propriety and complacency; and all the while he keeps us guessing right to the end." European Literature Network
SILVER PEBBLES: BEST NEW THRILLERS FINANCIAL TIMES: " Basel may be Swiss, but like all border cities it's anything but squeaky clean, especially in this fast-paced, gritty story." "Reminiscent of Wallander and Rebus, a little jaded, a bit rebellious and always independent with a strong intuition. The style is reminiscent of elements of earlier Swiss crime novelists Glauser and Durrenmatt work.--NB Magazine "Hunkeler has been compared to Simenon's Inspector Maigret, though there are no wreaths of pipe smoke or constant breaks for a quick digestif. After all, Basel is not Paris, it is cleaner, greyer and harder. Perhaps that's the point." --Shotsmag

Author Bio

Hansjorg Schneider, born in Aarau, Switzerland, in 1938, worked as a teacher, and journalist. He is one of the most performed playwrights in the German language but is best known for his Inspector Hunkeler crime novels. Schneider has received numerous awards, among them the prestigious Friedrich Glauser Prize for The Basel Killings. He lives and writes in Basel.