Elsa Dix

Review includes spoilers for book 1!

The protagonists and amateur sleuths of these novels are Viktoria Berg, the daughter of a wealthy family who, despite her father's wishes, works as a teacher, and Christian Hinrichs, a journalist. The novel is set in 1913 and the two meet again on the island of Norderney where they spend the summer season - as they did last year, when they fell in love but had to separate because as a teacher, Viktoria is not allowed to marry. She did not want to give up her occupation and broke up with Christian who was not sympathetic to her wish for independence. Of course, now that they inevitably run into each other on the small island, the flames are rekindled, and once again, they find themselves trying to solve a case together.

A cavalry captain is found dead in the dunes during a horse race. In addition, a child goes missing from the seaside hospital where Viktoria visits one of her pupils. It seems that the two incidents are linked, and because all the real policemen are needed elsewhere to guard the celebrations of Emperor Wilhelm II's Silver Jubilee, Christian is promoted to being a supporting policeman.

I enjoyed this novel much more than the first one because the case was so exciting. The atmosphere of the jubilee celebrations on Norderney as well as the holiday season on the island are described so well and this made me escape this grey and dreary February weather. The love story is shallow and especially Viktoria's actions made me shake my head from time to time, but all the other characters seemed very real to me and the story kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.… (mais)

This novel was not as good as I had expected, but it was still enjoyable and something to get lost in. It takes place on Norderney in 1912, where the upper class take their holidays by the sea to enjoy a fresh breeze and beach walks while residing in luxury hotels and having all the amenities they need. The two main characters are Viktoria Berg, daughter of a rich attorney general, and Christian Hinrichs, a journalist. While Viktoria escaped to Norderney to enjoy a few happy weeks of summer before starting her job as a teacher - a very unusual choice for a woman of her social standing - it's Christian's job to write a magazine article about the summer holidays spent on Norderney by the rich and famous. The two young people meet when a body is washed up on the beach. Viktoria recognizes the dead woman because the deceased used to work in her household years before.
The police soon decide that it was suicide, but Viktoria cannot believe this and she and Christian start investigating.
A few aspects just didn't sit right with this crime novel: Viktoria is altogether too modern and too emancipated for the time she lives in, the language is not realistic, the romance is too quick and too superficial, and the story itself feels shallow at times. On the other hand, the case gets more and more exciting towards the end and all the characters are lively and described very well. What I liked most was that obviously, the author has done a ton of research. I knew next to nothing about the summer holidays on Norderney in 1912 and these past times truly came to life before my eyes. I learned a lot of things and I liked how the author includes many details as well as historic events such as the sinking of the Titanic.
Although it has its flaws it was a good escapist read and I am looking forward to reading the next book.… (mais)