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DEEP DARK BLUE by Seraina Kobler and Aleandra Roesch, trans. Pushkin Vertigo, December 2024 256 pages $16.95 ISBN: 178227958X

This is the first of a series that takes place in Switzerland. It is translated from the German. Rosa Zambrano is the first female police officer in Zurich's maritime police, where she is helping in the investigation surrounding a body found in Lake Zurich. When it turns out that the body is that of her own fertility doctor, she becomes further entrenched in the investigation, as well as concerned about what will happen to the eggs she just had frozen. The details of trying to solve a murder based on a body that has been submerged for a while mix with the scientific, political, and financial details of cryopreservation. Rosa is much more familiar and confident with underwater investigation than the science, to which she must apply her efforts in order to find the murderer.

Rosa, the main character, was well developed and I found her quite likeable. Other characters were less fully developed, but generally sufficiently so for their roles in the book. The plot started slowly as the characters were introduced. Kobler does not integrate the character development into the plot line seamlessly, which resulted in the slow pace and caused some confusion as the plot developed. By midway through the book, the reader knows the characters and the pace picks up.

The cultural and location descriptions were not sufficient for an American reader unfamiliar with Switzerland. The author assumes a familiarity with these aspects of the story, and she does not fill in much in terms of detail. It's clear that the author expects the reader to know the landmarks when Rosa encounters them in the course of the investigation, so Kobler does not provide descriptions that would help the setting come alive. I generally enjoy mysteries set in other locations because they transport me to, and educate me about, distant settings. This book was not transportative; rather, it was often just confusing. An understanding of the culture (especially the sex trade) is likewise assumed, leaving the uninitiated foreign reader somewhat disoriented. While the original author could hardly be expected to anticipate an audience unfamiliar with the setting, perhaps some attention might have been tactfully paid in the English version.

The book makes me think of Elly Griffiths and Ann Cleeves, although Kobler is not as immersive a writer as either of the British authors. However, I feel very hopeful that some of the shortcomings will be worked out in the next book in the series, so I will be on the lookout to follow this series for a bit.

§ Sharon Mensing, retired educational leader, lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors in Arizona.

Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, January 2025

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)

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