Tag: historical crime

#BookReview Stasi Winter (Karin Müller 5) by David Young @ZaffreBooks

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516zEuy13+L._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_About the Book

In 1978 East Germany, nothing is as it seems. The state’s power is absolute, history is rewritten, and the ‘truth’ is whatever the Stasi say it is.

So when a woman’s murder is officially labelled ‘accidental death’, Major Karin Müller of the People’s Police is faced with a dilemma. To solve the crime, she must disregard the official version of events. But defying the Stasi means putting her own life – and the lives of her young family – in danger.

As the worst winter in living memory holds Germany in its freeze, Müller must untangle a web of state secrets and make a choice: between truth and lies, justice and injustice, and, ultimately, life and death.

Format: Paperback (368 pages)         Publisher: Zaffre
Publication date: 9th January 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime, Thriller

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Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Hive (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

My Review

I seem to make a habit of coming to series part way through.  Such is the case with this series by David Young set in pre-unification Germany. However, although Stasi Winter is the fifth book in the series, I’m happy to say it works perfectly well as a standalone read. Having said that, there are references throughout to events in earlier books which would amount to spoilers. It certainly makes me wish I’d discovered the series earlier so that I could have read all the other books – Stasi Child, Stasi Wolf, Stasi State and Stasi 77 – first .

With events taking place over a few weeks in the ‘catastrophic’ winter of 1978/79, the author cleverly weaves the adverse weather and its impact into the plot. And the grim realities of everyday life for the population of East Germany are vividly depicted. Living in an oppressive state where people are in constant fear of informers and the secret police (the infamous Stasi), it’s no wonder individuals dream of escaping beyond the Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier (what we know as the Berlin Wall) and will go to almost any lengths to reach the West. However, it’s a high-risk venture with long-lasting repercussions for those who are caught – and their families – as will become evident.

I really liked the interesting dynamics the author creates between Müller and her investigation team. There’s clearly history between some of them and the reader may, like Müller herself, wonder just who can trusted at certain points. As well as the return of old sparring partner Jager, a Stasi Colonel who seems to have a finger in every pie, one particular individual from a previous case provides the reader with an unique insight on events.

The author keeps the chapters short and the pace intense as the story moves towards its explosive conclusion. And the end of the book includes a teaser for where the story might go next.  A sign, I hope, now that I’ve discovered the series, that there will be another case for Karin Müller before very long.

Stasi Winter is a skilfully constructed and gripping crime thriller with a real sense of period atmosphere.  I received a review copy courtesy of Zaffre and Readers First.

In three words: Tense, compelling, assured

Try something similar: Zoo Station by David Downing

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CityCrime 2014 DY PhotoAbout the Author

East Yorkshire-born David Young began his East German-set crime series on a creative writing MA at London’s City University when Stasi Child – his debut – won the course prize. The novel went on to win the 2016 CWA Historical Dagger, and both it and the 2017 follow-up, Stasi Wolf, were longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. His novels have been sold in eleven territories round the world.

Before becoming a full-time author, David was a senior journalist with the BBC’s international radio and TV newsrooms for more than 25 years. He divides his time – and his writing – between Twickenham in the UK and the Cyclades islands in Greece. (Photo credit: author website)

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#BookReview The Conviction of Cora Burns by Carolyn Kirby

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Earlier this year I was thrilled to take part in the blog tour to mark the publication of The Conviction of Cora Burns by Carolyn Kirby. You can read my review below.

If it tempts you to read the book for yourself (which I hope it does) then I have good news! The ebook is currently available for 99p until 10th November and a new paperback edition will be published on Thursday 24th October and is available for pre-order now at a discount (see links below).

Praise for The Conviction of Cora Burns

  • ‘Downton Abbey meets Elizabeth Gaskell’ – GJ Minett, author of Lie In Wait and Anything For Her
  • ‘The Conviction of Cora Burns is a striking debut. Rich in gothic darkness and period detail, the brutality of Victorian Britain is exquisitely drawn. A beautifully-written story which enveloped me from first page to last’ – Amanda Jennings, author of The Cliff House and In Her Wake
  • ‘Kirby’s talent shines through her deft prose… I think this is a fantastic novel from an incredibly exciting new voice. I think fans of Sarah Waters would love this bold debut’ – Emily Elgar, author of If You Knew Her
  • ‘A gripping historical thriller with a compelling protagonist. I loved the period detail and can’t wait to read more from Carolyn Kirby’ – Sarah Ward, author of the DC Childs novels

The Conviction of Cora BurnsAbout the Book

Cora was born in a prison. But is this where she belongs?

Birmingham, 1885. Born in a gaol and raised in a workhouse, Cora Burns has always struggled to control the violence inside her.

Haunted by memories of a terrible crime, she seeks a new life working as a servant in the house of scientist Thomas Jerwood.  Here, Cora befriends a young girl, Violet, who seems to be the subject of a living experiment. But is Jerwood also secretly studying Cora…?

Format: Paperback, ebook (352 pp.)  Publisher: No Exit Press
Published: 24th October 2019             Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime

Pre-order/Purchase Links*
Publisher | Amazon.co.uk
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Conviction of Cora Burns on Goodreads

My Review

In her debut novel, Carolyn Kirby has set herself the ambitious task of handling multiple timelines and introducing the reader to a central character, Cora Burns, who at times exhibits both the best and worst aspects of human nature.   However, to my mind, the author meets this challenge ably.  True, the narrative, frequently shifting back and forth in time over the space of twenty years or so, requires some concentration from the reader but this effort will be amply repaid in my opinion.

The mystery surrounding Cora’s early life and the nature of her crime also demands a willingness on the part of the reader to allow themselves, as it were, to collect all the disparate pieces of the jigsaw and exercise patience for the final picture to be revealed.  To continue my analogy a little further, expect to find you have some of the pieces in entirely the wrong place or to discover they belong in a completely different jigsaw altogether!

I mentioned earlier that Cora’s character involves both light and dark – at times, very dark.  There are examples of tenderness, such as her patient creation of a doll’s gown, or her attempts at friendship with Violet, the young girl growing up in the Jerwood household.   But there is also very dark, such as Cora’s frequent imaginings of violence against others (and sometimes not just imaginings) and her guilt about the terrible crime she fears she may have committed, an act so horrific she has purged it from her memory.  Despite this, the reader (well, this one at least) can’t help rooting for the clever, feisty and spirited Cora, hoping she might be able to move on from her troubled past and make a happier life for herself.  I think the author’s skill is always to make us believe this is a possibility without making us completely sure.

The exploration of the debate between nature versus nurture is a key theme of the book.  There are those, like Thomas Jerwood, who hold fixed views on the matter and whose certainty in the rightness of their position and the ends to which they are prepared to go to prove it are positively frightening and seemingly have no regard for the wellbeing – mental or physical – of others.  The power of social position, financial clout and primitive views about the treatment of prisoners and those suffering with mental illness mean they can get away with just about anything.  On the other hand, there are those, thankfully, who hold more enlightened views.

So we have light and dark again and I was struck by how much duality plays a part in the book.  For example, key to the plot is the use of photography in which negatives are transformed into positives.  And, in a neat touch by the author, the taking of a photograph bookends the novel.

I could go on talking about the themes explored in the book because, aside from the intriguing mystery concerning Cora’s past, The Conviction of Cora Burns has so many other layers. Oh, and you can throw in a few Gothic elements as well.  (Did Mrs. Dix make anyone else think of Grace Poole in Jane Eyre?) It all adds up to an impressive debut and an intensely satisfying read that I can  wholeheartedly recommend to readers who like their historical fiction to have real depth.

I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, No Exit Press.

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In three words: Clever, compelling, absorbing

Try something similar…The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (read my review here)

Carolyn Kirby Author PicAbout the Author

Originally from Sunderland, Carolyn Kirby studied history at St Hilda’s College, Oxford before working for social housing and then as a teacher of English as a foreign language.

Her novel The Conviction of Cora Burns was begun in 2013 on a writing course at Faber Academy in London. The novel has achieved success in several competitions including as finalist in the 2017 Mslexia Novel Competition and as winner of the inaugural Bluepencilagency Award.

Carolyn has two grown-up daughters and lives with her husband in rural Oxfordshire.

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