This gritty police procedural, set in modern-day Hamburg, Germany, portrays a team of tough homicide detectives who delve into the city's grim underbelly in all its noirish glory. Thomas Ritter, a police officer with a mysterious past, transfers to Hamburg to take charge of a detective squad. He and his crew find themselves immersed in a murder with political overtones, when local official Mertens dies during an S&M game at a brothel. The investigation reveals ties to a well-connected crime boss, a dominatrix and her ex-con girlfriend, and a ruthless Albanian smuggler, whose stories come together in an explosive finish.

Sarda, an American living in Germany, brings Hamburg's seedy side to life, with black-humored dialog and descriptions well-suited to a dark and violent story. When Ritter notes that the prison looks old-fashioned compared to the one in Frankfurt, another officer says, "We’re more traditional here. Still got bullet holes in the back wall, next to the guillotine." A suicide comes across in stark, bleak prose: "The steam took the sting out of the first cut. She didn’t even feel the second…Let it flow. Let it all out." Sarda doesn't stint on graphic descriptions of sex and violence — this is vigorous prose appropriate to the milieu but not for the easily offended.

Ritter has a wounded psyche and his attempts to come to terms with who he has become thread through the book. Also well-limned is his partner Motz Beck, fighting his own inner demons and penchant for violence. Ritter and Motz's joint interrogation brilliantly shows how these two detectives, in spite of — or perhaps because of — their damaged characters, subtly break down a suspect. A pair of sex workers share a romance that elevates the characters far beyond tired stereotypes. With a well-defined cast, an intricate plot, and plenty of action, devotees of hardboiled police procedurals will find themselves breathless by the end

Takeaway: Fans of noir fiction will revel in this twisty story of tough cops, brutal gangsters and other denizens of Hamburg's underworld.

Great for fans of: James M. Cain, Dashiell Hammett, Jakob Arjouni.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: B+