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clairereviews's review
3.0
Received this book via Real Readers, so it's not one I would have personally picked, but it is of the crime genre that I tend to favour. Although it is the fifth in a series of books featuring private detective Kemal Kayankaya, it promised to be a stand alone book with no need for prior knowledge of the character.
At the beginning of the book, and up to the first half, I did not particularly like Kemal Kayankaya as a character, although I got that he is supposed to have a sarcastic sense of humour which is something I usually like in a character. I just didn't find him credible or likeable - perhaps something was lost in the translation for me, as i found that the sentences did not flow very well and it was quite hard going.
After the first half, with the introduction of Katja, I found the dialogue between her and Kayankaya much easier to read, and i found humour in Kayankaya's character. I especially liked the scenes between these two characters. I found the second half of the book much easier to read, and i wanted to continue reading to find out what happened next.
The story ended with a surprise that i was not expecting, which was good. I liked the unpredictability of the second half and ending much more than the first half, which i really struggled with. I think that this was perhaps due to the fact that I had not read Arjouni before, and found his style of writing more challenging than my usual read.
Although I would not deliberately seek out the other books in the series, If i came across them I would probably purchase them to read in the order they were meant. This would be my preferred way of reading this series, and I feel that my review would have been more favourable had i read the previous four books before this fifth one.
At the beginning of the book, and up to the first half, I did not particularly like Kemal Kayankaya as a character, although I got that he is supposed to have a sarcastic sense of humour which is something I usually like in a character. I just didn't find him credible or likeable - perhaps something was lost in the translation for me, as i found that the sentences did not flow very well and it was quite hard going.
After the first half, with the introduction of Katja, I found the dialogue between her and Kayankaya much easier to read, and i found humour in Kayankaya's character. I especially liked the scenes between these two characters. I found the second half of the book much easier to read, and i wanted to continue reading to find out what happened next.
The story ended with a surprise that i was not expecting, which was good. I liked the unpredictability of the second half and ending much more than the first half, which i really struggled with. I think that this was perhaps due to the fact that I had not read Arjouni before, and found his style of writing more challenging than my usual read.
Although I would not deliberately seek out the other books in the series, If i came across them I would probably purchase them to read in the order they were meant. This would be my preferred way of reading this series, and I feel that my review would have been more favourable had i read the previous four books before this fifth one.
raven88's review
5.0
I’m sure, like many crime fiction fans, the announcement of the tragically early death of Jakob Arjouni this year was a source of sadness to us all. I have derived a great deal of reading pleasure from Arjouni’s wonderful Kemal Kayankaya series, featuring this unconventional, straight-talking and supremely witty Turkish private investigator, formed from the same clay as the stalwarts of the hard-boiled crime tradition. So it is now with some sadness that I now review the last of the series, Brother Kemal…
Tasked with finding the errant daughter of femme fatale Valerie de Chavannes, Kayankaya is drawn into a devilish plot of murder, rape and abduction, which places our hero under the gaze of the police as a murderer himself. Kayankaya is also hired to offer protection to an author under the threat of religious fanatics at the Frankfurt Book Fair, and sure enough his two cases become entwined with dangerous results. Although a slim read, I found the linking of the plots a balanced affair, with the build-up of tension lightened by Kayankaya’s involvement with the publishing fraternity and the humour this produces, a good counterbalance to the sinister and murderous abduction plot at the opening of the book. In the grand tradition of hardboiled noir, Kayankaya presents himself in the same world weary sense as some of the most recognisable protagonists from the pages of Chandler and Hammett, and I adore Arjouni’s depiction of him absorbing and dealing succinctly with the casual racism that his Turkish heritage raises in others. Once again, the book is suffused with some brilliant comical interludes, and speaking as someone who is not a fan of ‘comic’; crime per se, I would draw comparisons with the dark sardonic wit of the late, great Pascal Garnier in some of the moments of levity which to me lost nothing in translation. Also having some personal knowledge of the publishing world myself, I found the depiction of this within the book fair setting, particularly knowing and pitch perfect in its rendition. If you have not encountered this brilliant series before, I would urge you to seek them out, and experience the wonderful world of Kayankaya for yourselves in these perfect little packages of exceptional crime writing.
Tasked with finding the errant daughter of femme fatale Valerie de Chavannes, Kayankaya is drawn into a devilish plot of murder, rape and abduction, which places our hero under the gaze of the police as a murderer himself. Kayankaya is also hired to offer protection to an author under the threat of religious fanatics at the Frankfurt Book Fair, and sure enough his two cases become entwined with dangerous results. Although a slim read, I found the linking of the plots a balanced affair, with the build-up of tension lightened by Kayankaya’s involvement with the publishing fraternity and the humour this produces, a good counterbalance to the sinister and murderous abduction plot at the opening of the book. In the grand tradition of hardboiled noir, Kayankaya presents himself in the same world weary sense as some of the most recognisable protagonists from the pages of Chandler and Hammett, and I adore Arjouni’s depiction of him absorbing and dealing succinctly with the casual racism that his Turkish heritage raises in others. Once again, the book is suffused with some brilliant comical interludes, and speaking as someone who is not a fan of ‘comic’; crime per se, I would draw comparisons with the dark sardonic wit of the late, great Pascal Garnier in some of the moments of levity which to me lost nothing in translation. Also having some personal knowledge of the publishing world myself, I found the depiction of this within the book fair setting, particularly knowing and pitch perfect in its rendition. If you have not encountered this brilliant series before, I would urge you to seek them out, and experience the wonderful world of Kayankaya for yourselves in these perfect little packages of exceptional crime writing.
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