A fantastic crime fiction with such a unique voice – I highly recommend Hotel Cartagena by Simone Buchholz.
The plot:
Twenty floors above the shimmering lights of the Hamburg docks, Public Prosecutor Chastity Riley is celebrating a birthday with friends in a hotel bar when twelve heavily armed men pull out guns, and take everyone hostage. Among the hostages is Konrad Hoogsmart, the hotel owner, who is being targeted by a young man whose life and family have been destroyed by Hoogsmart’s actions.
With the police looking on from outside, their colleagues’ lives at stake and Chastity on the inside, increasingly ill from an unexpected case of sepsis, the stage is set for a dramatic confrontation and a devastating outcome for the team all live streamed in a terrifying bid for revenge.
It hit every one of my expectations and more
This is probably the best book to read as a stand-alone in the series. If you’ve read the previous books, you’re immediately reminded of the fantastic character that is Chastity Riley, but it doesn’t provide spoilers – good if you want to see what all the praise is about!
Chastity isn’t the real focus of Hotel Cartagena, which has definitely left me wanting another book asap. Despite not being the centre of the story, you still get a real image of her humour (love) and the way she thinks (double love). I really enjoyed how deeply built other characters are, especially looking through thick skin and their flaws.
The whole book is done incredibly well, but there’s a part (no spoilers!) which reflected Chastity at that particular point and oh my god – obsessed. It’s so lyrical and illustrates the point incredibly well – this really just put me in the room with the characters, as it’s easy with such talented writing to imagine everything.
On the writing, I’ve found before that these books are quite hard to get into once you first start off, but something just clicked for me when I picked up Hotel Cartagena (and then couldn’t put it back down again until I finished). It’s addictive, whilst allowing the reader to analyse and just enjoy the uniqueness.
I’ve said in previous reviews of Buchholz’s writings that I needed more, and this book delivered. It hit every one of my expectations and more, offering an unforgettable noir crime fiction.
With dual- timeline and -characters, and shorty, snappy sentences, this 214 page book was over before I knew it (booooooooooo), and I wish I savoured it now as I’m impatiently waiting for another to come along.
There’s so much to read deeper into, all based around a thrilling plot which is expertly exploring flawed pasts, mixing in a hostage situation and the fantastic, climatic and powerful ending I’ve been waiting for!
I think there were some parts which could’ve played a bigger part, like the live stream, and perhaps timings; the synopsis also tells you the majority of the book, so not one for a shocker.
This is the 4th book in the Chastity Riley series which is published in English – I’ve read three, with each book increasing in star-rating every year I read them, making Hotel Cartagena 5-stars.
Hotel Cartagena, Simone Buchholz, RRP £8.99 (paperback); Amazon
Pages: 214
Publisher: Orenda Books
Translated by Rachel Ward
Genre: Crime Fiction (but quirky!)
Review for Beton Rouge (Book 2) and Mexico City (Book 3) (UK publication)
