Splintered Justice - (A Linder and Donatelli Mystery) by Kim Hays (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Homicide. Suicide. Attempted murder in a Swiss cathedral . . . Fans of cops pursuing justice against the odds will love the new Linder and Donatelli book.

Sometimes, a murder stays hidden in plain sight. When it isn't clear if a crime has been committed, how do you get justice for the victim?

Swiss homicide detective Giuliana Linder of the Bern Police and her investigating partner Renzo Donatelli are facing cases that may not be what they appear. Renzo is on the scene near the Bern cathedral when a young man repairing a medieval window is injured by falling from a scaffold--a fall deliberately caused by a teenage boy.

Finding evidence that the boy's attack on the glassworker is linked to his mother's suicide fifteen years earlier, Renzo decides to reexamine the woman's death, hoping his work on the case will help get him promoted to homicide detective. He learns that the apparent suicide still haunts the injured glassworker, although he was a child of ten when the boy's mother died.

Now that Renzo has left his wife, Giuliana knows she has to choose what she wants from their future together. Frustrated by her own case, which may or may not be a mercy killing, Giuliana can't help getting involved in Renzo's investigation, even against her better judgment.

Review Quotes

. . . Hays's mystery novel [is] exciting enough to be a page-turner, but can also be enjoyed slowly, like a delicious Swiss chocolate.--Kirkus

Hays's fourth Linder and Donatelli mystery . . . [is a] twisty, humane procedural bringing the urgent darkness of Scandinavian noir to Bern . . .The suspense is richly layered . . . [and], for all the novel's heft, Hays keeps the pages turning with urgent personal stakes, twists that make logical sense, and a deep humanity.--BookLife Reviews

About the Author

Kim Hays, a citizen of Switzerland and the United States, has written four Polizei Bern books featuring Swiss homicide detectives Linder and Donatelli. She moved to Bern, her Swiss husband's hometown, thirty-seven years ago, after growing up in San Juan and Vancouver and studying at Harvard and Berkeley. In Switzerland, she worked as a cross-cultural coach for multinational companies before becoming a mystery writer. The first Linder and Donatelli book, Pesticide (2022), was a finalist for the Crime Writers' Association's Debut Dagger Award and the Silver Falchion Award for Best Mystery. It was followed by Sons and Brothers (2023), A Fondness for Truth (2024), which was a BookLife Editor's Pick, and now, Splintered Justice.