The Murder of Anton Livius by Hansjorg Schneider translated by Astrid Freuler

I would like to thank Bitter Lemon Press and Anne from Random Things Tours for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for fair and honest review

Publisher - Bitter Lemon Press

Published - Out Now

Price - £9.99 paperback £5.99 Kindle eBook

For Inspector Hunkeler the New Year begins with a most unwelcome phone call. He is summoned back to Basel from his holiday to unravel a gruesome killing in a gardening allotment on the city's outskirts. An old man known as Anton Flockiger has been shot in the head and found hanging from a butcher's hook from the roof of his garden shed - like butchers hang the carcasses of dead animals. Hunkeler must deal not only with the quarrelsome tenants of the allotment but with the challenges of investigating a murder that has taken place outside his jurisdiction, across the French border in Alsace. The case becomes increasingly mystifying when Hunkeler stumbles upon a sinister Second World War connection. What exactly happened in the Alsatian village of Ballersdorf in February 1943? And how are those events connected to the case?

I’ve talked before how the role of the Detective is often the person allowed to explore and more often expose the dark secrets of the victim, the community and in the process talk about social issues affecting us. I was very impressed how in Hansjord Schnieder’s The Murder of Anton Livius (translated by Astrid Freuler) we get exposure not just of a unusual border community in Switzerland but also the darker side of WW2 which for me was eye-opening and revealing towards a country’s history that I’ve tended to be unaware of.

New Year’s Day should be for relaxing and recovering from the night’s excursions and alcohol consumption but instead Inspector Peter Hunkeler is on duty and ordered to explore the crime scene of a elderly man found in his garden community. Anton Fluckiger was over 80; a well known figure in the community and now is shot dead and hanging from a rafter via a meathook in his chin. The Alsace region is tricky enough thanks to borders with France creating complications but Inspector Hunkeler finds a community whose high standards often create trouble, many secrets are being withheld from prying eyes and the victim may not be the man he has claimed himself to be.

I think this story feels quite refreshing in approach. The character of Hunkeler clearly has his demons from his past but he has faced them down. He’s in a good relationship and actually feels guilty work has called him away. He loves food, drink and cigarettes but is conscious he is getting old (as his back likes to reminds him). but what doe strike me is his dogged determination not to be put off by either French officials or community leaders. He explores options and has a gentle inquisitive skill at asking the right questions to get to the truth of things. He is a detective you enjoy being around and want to end up happy which is quite novel in our current age.

The story also runs quite successfully having two potential explanations for what is going on. Our victim having lived in WW2 and has a false name leads to conclusions you may be able to guess but more interesting is that Schneider uses the story to explore Switzerland’s history in WW2 a time of dangerous attacks, war crimes and also a peace that led to some people being able to hide in plain sight. It is a really dark chapter that the story tells us about. But Scheider also uses this to explore this area known as the Emmental - here the traditional idea of Swiss society being measured and law abiding is actually revealed to be an area with racism, villagers constantly squabbling over who is transgressing the rules (which is leading to more violence) and a clear dislike of those in authority. It is quite disconcerting to discover a frontier that is a bit more wilder than you expect from a central european country.

The final interesting angle is how the story explores detective tales itself. Hunkeler trades ideas with an anonymous writer who seeks the more salacious angles to explore the crime or the motive; the press seek the louder angle of the victim’s past and yet perhaps more hum drum motive may lurk too. Scheider explores how the truth may be ordinary and also amazing at the same time.

Its refreshing to finish a thriller that both stretches the brain solving a puzzle but also to think about history, detective stories and our own desires for the best angles. A really interesting read that fans of european thrillers should seek out!