One of the most ingenious crime writers around. Highly recommended

Mankell is in the first division of crime writing

Not only an intriguing puzzle, but a moving description of a man trying to keep faith with a dead friend... This is the best aspect of crime fiction: a gripping plot plus the exploration of character and relationships that reverberate around murder

So compelling that, at the end of the sleepless night it took to read, I blearily reached for a keyboard to search for Mankell's other titles

A wonderful debut, gripping from the very first page and not a word out of place

A magnificent storyteller

The storytelling is poised and beautiful

The stories von Schirach tells here are compelling in their own right but he elevates them to something greater with his calm, precise narration. These are like 20 or more mini episodes of The Killing (acutally, they would make for an amazing television series). They are masterpieces in miniature. I cannot recommend them highly enough

Schirach is a defence lawyer in his native Germany, and these tales of individual crimes read almost like a real-life case-by-case study

My book of the year: a dazzling double-bill exploring unusual criminal cases… hypnotic, heartbreaking prose

Crime is a curiously beguiling collection of short stories