Book Synopsis:
For Inspector Hunkeler the New Year begins with a most unwelcome phone call. He is summoned back to Basel from his holiday to unravel a gruesome killing in a gardening allotment on the city’s outskirts. An old man known as Anton Flockiger has been shot in the head and found hanging from a butcher’s hook from the roof of his garden shed – like butchers hang the carcasses of dead animals. Hunkeler must deal not only with the quarrelsome tenants of the allotment but with the challenges of investigating a murder that has taken place outside his jurisdiction, across the French border in Alsace. The case becomes increasingly mystifying when Hunkeler stumbles upon a sinister Second World War connection. What exactly happened in the Alsatian village of Ballersdorf in February 1943? And how are those events connected to the case?
My Review:
The Murder Of Anton Livius is a gripping, twisty read from a new author for me.
Firstly I really like Hunkeler who came across as a hard working, likeable character that was easy to get behind. I liked that he didn’t just take the obvious answer to his investigation and instead probes deeper until he discovers the whole truth behind the murder. He’s also a very funny guy and some of his interactions with his colleagues were hilarious to read about. They helped break up the tension at times, which was needed as some parts of the book get very intense.
The book is told in the present day but part of the investigation involves events that happened in world war two when French men were forced to enlist in the German army. I hadn’t read much about this so found it very interesting to learn more. It must have been such a hard thing to do and heartbreaking to fight for a cause you didn’t believe in.
This book had a great pace to it and I soon found myself absorbed into the story. The author does a great job of building up the tension and atmosphere in the book so it quickly becomes hard to put the book down. I liked how Hunkeler methodically works out the clues and the dead ends are slowly whittled down until the truth is revealed.
This is actually the third book in the series but it can easily be read as a standalone, like I have done, as anything you need to know is explained.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Hansjörg Schneider lives in Basel and began his professional career as a journalist and essayist.
He is the author of a number of highly acclaimed plays and of the bestselling Hunkeler crime series, now with ten titles published.
About The Translator:
Astrid Freuler lives in Lidney, Gloucestershire. She is a young translator from German and has published translations of non-fiction and fiction, including the crime thriller A Shadow Falls by Andreas Pflüger.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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