A heads up for all crime fans who can get to Norwich next weekend! I’ll be chairing the following event with Simone Buchholz and Antti Tuomainen next Saturday at the Noirwich Crime Writing Festival.
‘Dissecting Euro Noir’, Dragon Hall, Norwich, 5pm (get your tickets here!)
Simone Buchholz and Antti Tuomainen are two pillars of the Euro Noir community, penning some of the darkest, grittiest and most riveting crime thrillers of recent years. We are delighted to welcome Simone from Germany and Antti from Finland to dissect their latest novels in translation, their use of grisly detail and dark humour, and why they think European crime fiction is one of the most electrifying and successful genres in the world.
As part of my prep, I’ve had my nose in Beton Rouge and Little Siberia all this week, and both have been an absolute delight.
Simone’s Beton Rouge is the second in the ‘Chastity Riley’ series to be published in English – a stylish Hamburg take on hard-boiled noir, which opens with a grim discovery outside the offices of a magazine. Antti’s Little Siberia is a hilarious yet poignant noir romp, triggered by a meteorite crashing onto a car in a remote town in eastern Finland. In both cases, translators Rachel Ward and David Hackston communicate the humour and noirness of the originals with aplomb.
If you can get to Norwich for this event next Saturday – by plane, train, car or mule – then please do come along. Both of these authors are wonderfully engaging speakers, and there’ll be plenty of Euro noir chat and laughter – guaranteed!
And…as an exclusive extra today, courtesy of Orenda Books, here’s the cover reveal for Simone’s new book, Mexico Street, which is out in March next year.
Love it. And here’s a sneak preview of Chastity Riley’s third case…
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…
Mrs. Peabody Investigates 
Looks wonderful, Mrs. P.! I wish I could be there. I know you’ll do a brilliant job, and I hope you’ll de-brief us!
I wish you could be there too, Margot! I reckon it’ll be a good one – Simone and Antti are both super-interesting and entertaining 🙂 De-brief to follow! x
I was so tempted by this, but cannot justify going to Norwich two weekends in a row (have just been there for UEA Open Day).
Ah, that’s a shame. Love UEA – spent a very happy week there on a translation summer school a couple of years ago.
Oops, pressed post before I’d finished. Wishing you and the lovely two authors the very best!
Thanks, Marina Sofia! x
Planning a long weekend in Hamburg this December so I think I need to read both of Simone Buchholz’s novels asap. And I’m always happy to read anything interesting coming out of Finland, so that’s the latest Tuomainen on my list of “get hold of a copy soon” books. Thanks for the recommendations and it sounds like a really interesting event too. Unfortunately I’ll be in Germany somewhere on the Rhine that day.
You’re welcome, Stella – I *really* enjoyed both of them, and I hope you do too. We will wave to you on the Rhine! Viel Spass.
Viel Spass indeed! Thanks for the link.
I’ve managed to locate one of the Buchholz’s novels, but am coming up blank on “Beton Rouge”. Any suggestions as to where I might find it?
Hello Stella – the best place to look is on the Orenda Books webpage, which has links to all manner of booksellers: https://orendabooks.co.uk/book/beton-rouge/
Have a wonderful time in Hamburg! Simone’s novels have a fantastic sense of place – in particular the harbour area and St Pauli (which is traditionally thought of as the red light district, but has a very special character of its own).
Hello Mrs P.
I’ve tracked down Blue Night and Beton Rouge on Amazon. Mexico Street and Little Siberia may take a while longer. They sound really interesting and just what I need for my winter reading.
Hope the Noirwich festival goes well. Love the name 😁.
Good to hear, Kathy! If you fancy a taster of Antii’s work, then I can thoroughly recommend The Man Who Died (if you haven’t read it yet that is!).
Thanks for the good wishes. Fab name, isn’t it?!