Black Ice by
Hans Werner Kettenbach
pbk out February 05
(Bitter Lemon Press)
at £8.99
There is much gossip at the funeral of Erika Wallman, pulled dead from the
lake near the handsome lakeside property owned by her husband, a
prominent local businessman. But did she fall, or did she commit suicide?
Jupp Scholten, a long-term employee of Kurt Wallman's engineeering firm,
has no doubts. She was murdered and, though the local police believe it was
an accident, Jupp sets about proving his suspicions with a view to exposing
his boss.
Thus begins this engrossing novel, another German gem from Bitter
Lemon, a book that is both detective story and absorbing character study.
Jupp Scholten appears in every scene; we follow his every action. It is clear,
for instance, from the start that he is not a particularly admirable character. He
has an ailing , if waspish wife (at the funeral we catch him hoping to wangle,
before his return home, half an hour or so at the local brothel), is often bad
tempered, and just what was his relationship with the dead woman?
Nevertheless, we watch with bated breath and not a little admiration as, with a
setback or two, he gradually pieces together just how he imagines the murder
was carried out, and how its perpetrator may have obtained an alibi.
Throughout this process, interest and tension is admirably sustained. But
as Scholten reaches his conclusions, just what should he do with them? It's at
this point that the book takes a totally unexpected turn, subtly tweaking our
knowledge of Scholten and in the process converting an already unusual
crime novel into something much more powerful. This was Kettenbach's
second novel (of four), first published in 1982 at the age of 54, his career
mainly in radio and TV scriptwriting , journalism and, latterly, newspaper editor.
Anthea Bell's subtly updated translation scarcely puts a foot wrong. The cover
cites Simenon and Highsmith in comparison. I'll not quibble with that.
(
Bob Cornwell
)
New Books by Hans Werner Kettenbach at Amazon.co.uk
Black Ice by
Hans Werner Kettenbach
