Simone Buchholz – författare

Hamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley and her new sidekick Ivo investigate the case of newspaper executives who have been caged and tortured outside their offices … on a trail that leads them to the hothouse world of boarding schools and some harrowing secrets…  You loved Dark … now meet Chastity Riley  ‘Caustic, incisive prose. A street-smart, gutsy heroine. A timely and staggeringly stylish thriller’ Will Carver  ‘With plenty of dry humour and a good old dash of despair, Simone Buchholz is an unconventional, refreshing new voice’ Crime Fiction Lover  ‘Lyrical and pithy’ Sunday Times   ***WINNER of the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger 2022******WINNER of the German Crime Book of the Year Award***  _______________  On a warm September morning, an unconscious man is found in a cage at the entrance to the offices of one of Germany’s biggest magazines. He’s soon identified as a manager of the company, and he’s been tortured. Three days later, another manager appears in a similar way.  Chastity Riley and her new colleague Ivo Stepanovic are tasked with uncovering the truth behind the attacks, an investigation that goes far beyond the revenge they first suspect … to the dubious past shared by both victims. Travelling to the south of Germany, they step into the hothouse world of boarding schools, where secrets are currency, and monsters are bred … monsters who will stop at nothing to protect themselves.  A smart, dark, probing thriller, full of all the hard-boiled poetry and acerbic wit of the very best noir, Beton Rouge is both a classic whodunit and a scintillating expose of society, by one of the most exciting names in crime fiction.  _______________  ‘Stripped back in style and deadpan in voice, this is a scintillating romp’ Doug Johnstone, Big Issue  ‘With brief, pacy chapters and fizzling dialogue, this almost feels like American procedural noir and not a translation’ Maxim Jakubowski, CrimeTime  ‘There is a fantastic pace to the story which keeps you hooked from the first sentence all the way to the end. Once again Simone Buchholz holds no punches, with a unique voice that delivers a stylish story’ New Books Magazine  ‘The follow-up to Blue Night is a smart and witty book that shines a probing spotlight on society’ CultureFly  ‘Fans of Brookmyre could do worse than checking out Simone Buchholz, a star of the German crime lit scene who has been deftly translated into English by Rachel Ward’ Goethe Institute  ‘Beton Rouge is a killer read, original, unusual and yet I felt that a part of it, in fact a part of Chastity, lodged itself deeply within my soul, it’s quite simply fabulous’ LoveReading  ‘Great sparkling energy, humour and stylistic verve’ Rosie Goldsmith  Praise for the Chastity Riley series  'Combines nail-biting tension with off-beat humor ... Elmore Leonard fans will be enthralled' Publishers Weekly'Buchholz doles out delicious black humor ... interwoven in a manner that ramps up the intrigue and tension' Foreword Reviews‘Fans of Brookmyre could do worse than checking out Simone Buchholz, a star of the German crime lit scene who has been deftly translated into English by Rachel Ward’ Goethe Institute‘By turns lyrical and pithy, this adventure set in the melting pot of contemporary Hamburg has a plot and a sensibility that both owe something to mind-altering substances. Lots of fun’ Sunday Times

Hamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley investigates a series of arson attacks on cars across the city, which leads her to a startling and life-threatening discovery involving criminal gangs and a very illicit love story…  ‘Another brilliant adventure in the company of Chastity Riley, the coolest character in crime fiction. Darkly funny and written with a huge heart’ Doug Johnstone, Big Issue  ‘Reading Buchholz is like walking on firecrackers … a truly unique voice in crime fiction’ Graeme Macrae Burnet  ‘Caustic, incisive prose. A street-smart, gutsy heroine. A timely and staggeringly stylish thriller’ Will Carver  ***WINNER of the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger 2022******WINNER of the German Crime Book of the Year Award***  _______________  Night after night, cars are set alight across the German city of Hamburg, with no obvious pattern, no explanation and no suspect.  Until, one night, on Mexico Street, a ghetto of high-rise blocks in the north of the city, a Fiat is torched. Only this car isn’t empty. The body of Nouri Saroukhan – prodigal son of the Bremen clan – is soon discovered, and the case becomes a homicide.  Public prosecutor Chastity Riley is handed the investigation, which takes her deep into a criminal underground that snakes beneath the whole of Germany. And as details of Nouri’s background, including an illicit relationship with the mysterious Aliza, emerge, it becomes clear that these are not random attacks, and there are more on the cards…  _______________  Praise for the Chastity Riley series…'Combines nail-biting tension with off-beat humor ... Elmore Leonard fans will be enthralled' Publishers Weekly'Buchholz doles out delicious black humor ... interwoven in a manner that ramps up the intrigue and tension' Foreword Reviews‘A stylish, whip-smart thriller’ Russel McLean  ‘Fierce enough to stab the heart’ Spectator  ‘Sharp and unrelenting’ CultureFly  ‘Simone Buchholz writes with real authority and a pungent, noir-ish sense of time and space’ Financial Times  ‘Deeply moody, atmospheric and evocative’ Blue Book Balloon  ‘An unconventional, refreshing new voice’ Crime Fiction Lover  ‘Fans of Brookmyre could do worse than checking out Simone Buchholz, a star of the German crime lit scene who has been deftly translated into English by Rachel Ward’ Goethe Institute  ‘By turns lyrical and pithy, this adventure set in the melting pot of contemporary Hamburg has a plot and a sensibility that both owe something to mind-altering substances. Lots of fun’ Sunday Times  ‘Great sparkling energy, humour and stylistic verve and the story itself is gripping and pacey’ Rosie Goldsmith  ‘A must-read, stylish and highly original take on the detective novel, written with great skill and popping with great characters’ Judith O’Reilly, author of Killing State

Hamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley and her friends are held hostage in a hotel bar by twelve armed men set on revenge, in a searing, breathtakingly original, and unexpectedly moving new thriller from the ‘Queen of Krimi’  ***WINNER of the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger 2022******WINNER of the German Crime Book of the Year Award***  ‘Simone Buchholz writes with real authority and a pungent, noir-ish sense of time and space … a palpable hit’ Independent  ‘Reading Buchholz is like walking on firecrackers … a truly unique voice in crime fiction’ Graeme Macrae Burnet  ‘[A] nerve-racking narrative … [with] a cunning climax that is shocking and deeply romantic’ The Times  ____________________  Twenty floors above the shimmering lights of the Hamburg docks, Public Prosecutor Chastity Riley is celebrating a birthday with friends in a hotel bar when twelve heavily armed men pull out guns, and take everyone hostage. Among the hostages is Konrad Hoogsmart, the hotel owner, who is being targeted by a young man whose life and family have been destroyed by Hoogsmart’s actions.  With the police looking on from outside their colleagues’ lives at stake and Chastity on the inside, increasingly ill from an unexpected case of sepsis, the stage is set for a dramatic confrontation and a devastating outcome for the team all live streamed in a terrifying bid for revenge.  Crackling with energy and populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, Hotel Cartagena is a searing, relevant thriller that will leave you breathless.  _____________________  Praise for the Chastity Riley series  'Combines nail-biting tension with off-beat humor ... Elmore Leonard fans will be enthralled' Publishers Weekly'Buchholz doles out delicious black humor ... interwoven in a manner that ramps up the intrigue and tension' Foreword Reviews‘Modern noir, with taut storytelling, a hard-bitten heroine, and underlying melancholy peppered with wry humour … there’s a fizz, a poetry and a sense of coolness’ New Zealand Listener  ‘The coolest character in crime fiction … Darkly funny and written with a huge heart’ Big Issue  ‘Fierce enough to stab the heart’ Spectator  ‘A stylish, whip-smart thriller’ Herald Scotland  ‘Combines slick storytelling with substance … like a straight shot of top-shelf liquor: smooth yet fiery, packing a punch with no extraneous ingredients watering things down’ Mystery Scene  ‘Caustic, incisive prose. A street-smart, gutsy heroine. A timely and staggeringly stylish thriller’ Will Carver  ‘With plenty of dry humour and a good old dash of despair, Simone Buchholz is an unconventional, refreshing new voice’ Crime Fiction Lover  ‘With brief, pacy chapters and fizzling dialogue, this almost feels like American procedural noir and not a translation’ Maxim Jakubowski  ‘There is a fantastic pace to the story which keeps you hooked from the first sentence all the way to the end a unique voice that delivers a stylish story’ NB Magazine  ‘A smart and witty book that shines a probing spotlight on society’ CultureFly  ‘Fans of Brookmyre could do worse than checking out Simone Buchholz, a star of the German crime lit scene who has been deftly translated into English by Rachel Ward’ Goethe Institute  ‘By turns lyrical and pithy, this adventure set in the melting pot of contemporary Hamburg has a plot and a sensibility that both owe something to mind-altering substances. Lots of fun’ Sunday Times  ‘Great sparkling energy, humour and stylistic verve and the story itself is gripping and pacey’ Rosie Goldsmith  ‘A must-read, stylish and highly original take on the detective novel, written with great skill and popping with great characters’ Judith O’Reilly  ‘Constantly surprising an original, firecracker of a read’ LoveReading

Hamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley travels to Scotland to face the demons of her past, as Hamburg is hit by a major arson attack. Queen of Krimi, Simone Buchholz, returns with the emotive fifth instalment in the electrifying Chastity Riley series …   ‘A modern classic’ Paul Burke, CrimeTime  ‘Written in crackling prose and with searing insight, this is a deeply heartfelt slice of existential noir – utterly unique’ Doug Johnstone  ‘Deftly captures the beating heart of Glasgow’ Herald Scotland  ‘A beautifully crafted exploration of grief and redemption, wrapped in a love letter to Glasgow … Glorious writing’ Will Carver  ‘Reading Buchholz is like walking on firecrackers … a truly unique voice in crime fiction’ Graeme Macrae Burnet   ––––––––––––  Mired in grief after tragic recent events, state prosecutor Chastity Riley escapes to Scotland, lured to the birthplace of her great-great-grandfather by a mysterious letter suggesting she has inherited a house.  In Glasgow, she meets Tom, the ex-lover of Chastity’s great aunt, who holds the keys to her own family secrets – painful stories of unexpected cruelty and loss that she’s never dared to confront.  In Hamburg, Stepanovic and Calabretta investigate a major arson attack, while a group of property investors kicks off an explosion of violence that threatens everyone.  As events in these two countries collide, Chastity prepares to face the inevitable, battling the ghosts of her past and the lost souls that could be her future and, perhaps, finally finding redemption for them all.  Breathtakingly emotive, River Clyde is an electrifying, poignant and powerful story of damage and hope, and one woman’s fight for survival.  ––––––––––––—  ‘Every word is a heartbeat, loaded with pain and anguish and self-discovery. This is Harbour Noir. This is a bravura literary performance, and a fitting swan song’ Paul Burke, CrimeTime FM  ‘In just a few words – a light brushstroke – Simone paints such a vivid picture. Unlike any crime novel I’ve read. I loved it’ Michael J. Malone  ‘Simone Buchholz writes with real authority and a pungent, noir-ish sense of time and space’ Independent  Praise for the Chastity Riley series  ‘[A] nerve-racking narrative … [with] a cunning climax that is shocking and deeply romantic’ The Times  'Combines nail-biting tension with off-beat humor ... Elmore Leonard fans will be enthralled' Publishers Weekly'Buchholz doles out delicious black humor ... interwoven in a manner that ramps up the intrigue and tension' Foreword Reviews‘Modern noir, with taut storytelling, a hard-bitten heroine, and underlying melancholy peppered with wry humour’ New Zealand Listener  ‘The coolest character in crime fiction … darkly funny and written with a huge heart’ Big Issue  ‘Fierce enough to stab the heart’ Spectator  ‘A stylish, whip-smart thriller’ Herald Scotland  ‘Combines slick storytelling with substance … like a straight shot of top-shelf liquor: smooth yet fiery, packing a punch with no extraneous ingredients watering things down’ Mystery Scene  ‘With brief, pacy chapters and fizzling dialogue, this almost feels like American procedural noir and not a translation’ Maxim Jakubowski  ‘A smart and witty book that shines a probing spotlight on society’ CultureFly  ‘Fans of Brookmyre could do worse than checking out Simone Buchholz, a star of the German crime lit scene who has been deftly translated into English by Rachel Ward’ Goethe Institute  ‘Lyrical and pithy’ Sunday Times

Hamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley becomes involved in the horrifying, chilling search for a violent serial killer targeting dancers from a club … the first book in an award-winning, wildly original, addictive series…  ‘Such a revelation’ Laura Lippman  ‘Gruesome and assured, Buchholz’s work remains as persuasive as ever’ Barry Forshaw, Financial Times‘Reading Buchholz is like walking on firecrackers … a truly unique voice in crime fiction’ Graeme Macrae Burnet  ‘Unpredictable, shocking and funny … Simone Buchholz is my favourite German crime writer’ Mark Sanderson,The Times  **WINNER of the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger**–––––––––––––––––––––––––––A serial killer is on the loose in Hamburg, targeting dancers from The Acapulco, a club in the city’s red-light district, taking their scalps as gruesome trophies and replacing them with plastic wigs.Chastity Riley is the state prosecutor responsible for crimes in the district, and she’s working alongside the police as they investigate. Can she get inside the mind of the killer?Her strength is thinking like a criminal; her weaknesses are pubs, bars and destructive relationships, but as Chastity searches for love and a flamboyant killer – battling her demons and the dark, foggy Hamburg weather – she hits dead end after dead end.As panic sets in and the death toll rises, it becomes increasingly clear that it may already be too late. For everyone…–––––––––––––––––––––––––––  ‘Caustic, incisive prose. A street-smart, gutsy heroine. A timely and staggeringly stylish thriller’ Will Carver  ‘The coolest character in crime fiction … Darkly funny and written with a huge heart’ Doug Johnstone, Big Issue  ‘Modern noir, with taut storytelling, a hard-bitten heroine, and underlying melancholy peppered with wry humour’ New Zealand Listener‘Dark, atmospheric, and complex, with often surprisingly emotional … a classy piece of fiction from an author who never disappoints’ Jen Med’s Book ReviewsPraise for the Chastity Riley series:'Combines nail-biting tension with off-beat humor ... Elmore Leonard fans will be enthralled' Publishers Weekly'Buchholz doles out delicious black humor ... interwoven in a manner that ramps up the intrigue and tension' Foreword Reviews’Lyrical and pithy' Sunday Times'Fierce enough to stab the heart' Spectator'A real blast of adrenaline' Big Issue'Simone Buchholz writes with real authority and a pungent, noir-ish sense of time and space' Financial Times'A stylish, whip-smart thriller' Russel McLean

In Hamburg’s troubled Wilhelmsburg district, Prosecutor Chastity Riley investigates a brutal double murder amid corruption and gentrification. Battling personal demons and powerful foes, she fights to expose a city’s dark secrets. Germany’s Queen of Krimi returns with the caustically funny, breathtakingly dark next instalment in an addictive series…‘As much a character study as the story of a crime … like a flipbook, full of startling images and sudden movements, that will thrill cynics and romantics alike’ Sunday Times‘For the first time in a long time, I found a book I simply couldn’t put down – and I didn’t want it to end. There really should be a word for the sadness you feel when you’re nearing the end of a truly fantastic read. Sharks is that kind of book’ Leye Adenle‘Taut, compulsive and laced with humour as dark as its setting, Sharks raises the bar again for one of my favourite series. Chastity Riley is the perfect anti-hero for our times, and Simone Buchholz is the real deal’ Rod Reynolds‘Such a revelation’ Laura LippmanThe Chastity Riley series WON the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger____In Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg’s so-called ‘problem area’, an American couple is found brutally murdered in a derelict house.Prosecutor Chastity Riley is assigned the case and quickly finds herself waist-deep in a murky tangle of city planners, shady investors and vanishing officials. The gentrification machine is rolling on, and someone is sending a very clear message.As November fog settles over the city, Chastity is coughing up blood, her personal life is a slow-motion disaster, and her former colleague Faller won’t stop interfering. But nothing is going to stop her from cutting through the lies, not even the sharks circling ever closer.Dark, caustic and piercing, Sharks is a searing investigation into greed, power and the price of resistance in a city devouring itself, from one of Germany’s finest, most original crime writers.____Praise for the Chastity Riley series:‘Richly entertaining, wickedly cutting, to the point and funny. The perfect example of a crime novel that is literally pacy and has something to say, because you know Buchholz cares about society and Hamburg, and it shows in her writing’ Paul Burke, CrimeTime‘A dark treat … memorable modern noir, and a fascinating portrait of seedy life in Hamburg’ Telegraph‘Simone Buchholz can make you grin, gasp or gag at will’ The Times‘Beautifully concise, with commendably sparse prose, dark humour and an appealing protagonist … uncompromising, provocative and righteously fierce’ Guardian‘Beautifully written in cool, witty prose’ N.J. Cooper, Literary Review‘German-American Chastity Riley is snooty, churlish, sarcastic, sometimes drunk and always inappropriate. The whole series breaks the boundaries of typical crime novels’ Romy Hausmann‘A distinctive voice, and a flawed but compelling protagonist … style and sass and St Pauli’ Will Carver‘Ice-cool, effortlessly classy prose’ Observer‘Reading Buchholz is like walking on firecrackers’ Graeme Macrae Burnet‘Buchholz’s work remains as persuasive as ever’ Financial Times‘Simone Buchholz writes with real authority and a pungent, noir-ish sense of time and space … a palpable hit’Independent‘With brief, pacy chapters and fizzling dialogue, this almost feels like American procedural noir and not a translation’ Maxim Jakubowski‘There is a fantastic pace to the story … a unique voice that delivers a stylish story’NB Magazine‘A real blast of adrenaline’ Big Issue