This was a slow and steady read that I enjoyed from beginning to end. I enjoyed it a lot, and can recommend it to anyone who likes a good read.

'Death In Summer' was first published in German back in 2006 and this is the first time that one of Swiss author Michael Theurillat's books have been published in the English language. He has been named as one of Switzerland's most commercially successful crime writers. This is the first novel in the internationally bestselling Inspector Eschenbach series which follow the investigations of Kommissar Eschenbach, an investigator with the Zurich police.

When prominent Swiss banker Philipp Bettlach is shot dead by a sniper in Zurich whilst enjoying a game of golf, Eschenbach is called in to investigate the murder. The case is a puzzling one as he can't seem to find anyone with a bad word to say about the victim who appeared to have been a well-liked and affable guy and with no witnesses to the crime and no obvious motive, experienced investigator Eschenbach realises that this is going to be a difficult one to solve. A second death in Basle follows shortly after the first and there seems to be a link between the two victims.

There are so many secrets, lies and red herrings that take you down the wrong road many times in this book. A vast part of the story is dedicated to uncovering the banker's secret life but somewhat surprisingly there are few revelations after this. Although it states that Eschenbach is an experienced investigator he certainly seems to have missed some clues that he really should have found. He comes across slightly as though he has gotten in too deep and is unsure of his abilities. This is a slow read that is probably more suited to Swiss readership due to the cultural references bandied about here, but I did enjoy learning about the Swiss way of life. The second half of the book was much more gripping than the first and I appreciated the twists and surprises that appeared at the very end. I must also mention the translation as there were some moments I found myself laughing out loud at the clunky language used that was completely out of place. Both the writing style and translation made it quite difficult to get into. At least I got a real good laugh out of it!

Many thanks to Zaffre for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

‘Death in Summer’ first appeared in its original German in 2006 and it has taken some time for this successful Swiss author to make it into English translation. Which is a shame, for there is a lot to commend this first book in the series – although, because of the time lag, some of the references are a little dated (at some point one of the characters mentions playing guitar on a Phil Collins record!).

Inspector Eschenbach, head of Zurich CID, investigates the murder of a prominent Swiss banker shot dead on a golf course. A second death in Basle follows and seems connected. Given that this is a crime novel I won’t go too heavily into plot or suspects but suffice to say the book deals with some weighty issues that are not always comfortable to deal with, but they are generally handled well by Theurillat, and complicated family relationships become central to the plot. If you are looking for a fast-paced, high-octane thriller then this is not the book for you; instead it is quite slow paced as the investigation grinds along through the hot Zurich summer. At times I was a bit bemused as to how little the investigation revealed – on several occasions a character would mention a fact that the Inspector did not know but actually, given some basic police work, he should have (for example, some time well into the investigation, the narrative goes: ‘it occurred to Eschenbach that he knew nothing about the family’ of the victim; surely this is the first thing you investigate?).

But, I’m quibbling, because actually I did enjoy the book with its twists and turns. The location of Zurich is an interesting new addition (for me at least) to the crime novel setting and allowed the author to discuss aspects of Switzerland, and the Swiss, that gave an interesting perspective from those reading in the UK, for example. The central character of Eschenbach (do we ever get to know his first name? I can’t actually remember coming across it) is a likeable hero: an espresso-drinking, cigarillo-smoking, happily-married family man (thank God we don’t get another psychologically scarred, alcohol-dependent loner, oft the way in crime novels). Doing some research Theurillat seems to have written 4 books so I hope that we can look forward to more being translated and published soon, if this one is a success. Much in the style of, say, Camilleri’s Montalbano, this looks a promising series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bonnier Zafre for an advance copy of Death in Summer, the first novel to feature Inspector Eschenbach, head of the Zurich CID.

When banker, Philipp Bettlach, is shot by a sniper on the golf course it is a puzzle for Eschenbach as the victim is apparently a very likeable, convivial man. As he digs deeper he finds he discovers a darkness to the victim and more family secrets than he bargains for.

Death in Summer is an interesting read for the view it offers on the Swiss way of life but it didn't appeal to me as a crime novel and didn't really hold my attention. It is a slow read with Eschenbach running the investigation almost singly handedly so not much happens until a rush of reveals at the end which offer some unbelievable twists and highlight the Swiss reputation for secrecy and need to keep up appearances. This may have more resonance with the original Swiss readership than it did with me who just found it hard to swallow.

I would like to mention the translation which does not add to the read. "Gay as a maypole", to pick one example. What does that even mean? The translator struggles with idiomatic English, especially when bad language is involved, and the words chosen seem glaringly out of place and context.

I did, however enjoy Eschenbach's character. He is a nice man with a stable home life and the smarts to be able to think through his cases. He makes a big mistake in this investigation, taking certain things at face value and going for the obvious, but as this so out of character when he so thoroughly investigates everything else it can be viewed as a plot device, a rather unconvincing one at that for seasoned crime fiction readers.

Death in Summer is the first book in a crime series based in Switzerland and it is a well written and interesting story.

It starts with the shooting of a man on a golf course and then there are a number of twists and turns and some red herrings until a final twist or three at the end.

The book has a pace of its own which isn't high adrenaline or 100 miles an hour but it does suit the style and location of the story.

The main characters are well formed and interesting but do leave scope to be developed further in future books.

It took me a while to get used to the style of writing by the author, Michael Theurillat, but it is worth sticking at as this is a good read and I look forward to future books in the series.

Recommended.

Interesting read with a bit of a twist in the tale just when you think the crime is solved. Look forward to read others by this author