Book Review : “Brenner And God” by Wolf Haas

Brenner and God (Melville International Crime)

If you haven’t heard of the insanely talented and clever Wolf Haas, it’s probably because you speak English and live in America. One of the best selling crime fiction authors in Germany and other German speaking countries, as well as Europe, he is best known for his books featuring Simon Brenner – think of Brenner as the German Adrian Monk…sort of – three of which have been made into films ;Komm, süßer Tod (Come Sweet Death), Silentium! and Der Knochenmann (The Boneman). He has won several prizes for his works, including winning the German prize for crime fiction (Deutscher Krimipreis) three times.

Brenner and God is the seventh in the series and the first of his books translated into English. Haas’ protagonist, private-eye Simon Brenner, shows strong similarities to the lonely hero of the hard-boiled novel of Chandler and Hammett. Structurally, Haas also follows the model of the hard-boiled thriller. In contrast to the analytical detective story of Sherlock Holmes and the ‘cozy’ English  style of Agatha Christie,which emphasizes the power of logic and deduction, Brenner’s method of investigation involve him deeply into the criminal activities suggesting that crime is not the exception in society but rather the rule. The conjunctive relationship between crime and crime scene also emphasizes the novels’ critical agenda, and a satirical and cynical criticism of Austrian and German society is very much a part of the plot, just as Chandler, Hammett and the other great American hard-boiled writers had an indictment of our society at heart.

Read an excerpt

Open publication - Free publishing

Brenner and God finds Brenner, an ex-police investigator now a burned out shell of a man seeking a peaceful career as the personal chauffeur for two-year-old Helena, the daughter of a Munich construction giant and a Viennese abortion doctor. Brenner, who never thought of himself as a man who liked small children finds himself during the long commutes with Helena growing quite fond of her and even looking forward to, and cherishing his duty. Then one day, he finds himself, uncharacteristically unprepared for his simple job as Helena’s driver. He starts the long commute low on gas and with no treats for his charge.  At a gas station, while Brenner’s attention is diverted by the usual losers that hang out at gas stations and by picking out a chocolate bar for Helena (Brenner’s private, and as he sees it, harmless rebellion against the wishes of Helena’s parents. Helena is forbidden chocolate and sugary treats). The little girl gets snatched from the car – kidnapped. And with very few clues as to the kidnappers motive or identity. Her father is not the most popular man as he has made many enemies rising to the top of the construction and business world – environmentalists, competitors, bankers and politicians. Then again, Helena’s mother has drawn the ire of the anti-abortion crowd.

Now out of a job, Brenner decides to  investigate her disappearance on his own. Dreading his re-entrance into that world of investigating he thought he’d left behind, he has to come to grips with his own reluctance as well as the low-life’s and dangerous, mean streets he must walk. Unraveling both parents lives, and their myriad array of enemies, Brenner enters a world of high finance and religious zealotry. Along the way he encounters a dubious and quirky cast of  characters: there are Viennese politicians, bankers, and real estate magnates, anti-abortion protestors, angry landlords, cheating wives and husbands and enough spousal secrets to fill a cast in many soap operas and they are all implicated in the kidnapping.

Told in a playful and humorous style reminiscent of Fredric Brown in novels such The Screaming Mimi, where the story is told in a very droll, off-handed voice by an unidentified narrator who speaks with a wry sense of humor and in a detached, conversational way that has won the admiration of readers around the world and has thankfully now come to the American reader.

Haas writes with a dark humor that leaves no character, including Brenner, unscathed. Brenner, once respected as a top notch police investigator, struggles through the many noir-is motives, settings and characters and often wanders down dangerous dead-ends, which Haas uses to display the social issues of a now multi-ethnic ‘Euro-zone’. They are surprisingly, many of the same issues familiar to the American reader.

Melville House International Crime, who supplied this review copy, has done a wonderful job bringing the treasures of International crime writers to an American audience. Wolf Haas, along with fellow International super stars such as Manuel Vazquez Montalba, derek Raymond, Andrey Kurkov, Jakob Arjouni and Mukoma Wa Ngugi are much welcomed additions to the crime fiction reader and serve to show that crime, and the social issues that surround it are not an American exclusive.

• Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Melville International Crime; 1st edition (June 26, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1612191134 ISBN-13: 978-1612191133

Article first published as Book Review : Brenner And God by Wolf Haas on Blogcritics.

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