It’s an #Orentober #CoverReveal: Hotel Cartagena by Simone Buchholz

Hi and welcome to the cover reveal of Hotel Cartagena!

Hotel Cartagena will be the latest instalment in the Chastity Riley series by Simone Buchholz, translated by Rachel Ward and it is my absolute honour to reveal its gorgeous cover here today!

Let’s start with a look at the blurb:

Twenty floors above the shimmering lights of the Hamburg docks, Public Prosecutor Chastity Riley is celebrating a birthday with friends in a hotel bar when twelve heavily armed men pull out guns, and take everyone hostage. Among the hostages is Konrad Hoogsmart, the hotel owner, who is being targeted by a young man whose life – and family – have been destroyed by Hoogsmart’s actions.
With the police looking on from outside – their colleagues’ lives at stake – and Chastity on the inside, increasingly ill from an unexpected case of sepsis, the stage is set for a dramatic confrontation … and a devastating outcome for the team … all live streamed in a terrifying bid for revenge.
Crackling with energy and populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, Hotel Cartagena is a searing, relevant thriller that will leave you breathless.

I am feeling the familiar bookish itch already, and I’m sure you are too!

So! Are you ready for the reveal???

I’m not sure you are, actually… Shall I share some lovely quotes first, praising our Queen of Krimi?

‘Simone Buchholz writes with real authority and a pungent, noir-is sense of time and space … a palpable hit’ Independent

‘Reading Buchholz is like walking on firecrackers … a truly unique voice in crime fiction’ Graeme Macrae Burnet

‘If Philip Marlowe and Bernie Gunther had a literary love child, it might just explain Chastity Riley – Simone Buchholz’s tough, acerbic, utterly engaging central character’ William Ryan

‘Caustic, incisive prose. A street-smart, gutsy heroine. A timely and staggeringly stylish thriller’ Will Carver

‘With plenty of dry humour and a good old dash of despair, Simone Buchholz is an unconventional, refreshing new voice’ Crime Fiction Lover

‘Lyrical and pithy’ Sunday Times 

‘With brief, pacy chapters and fizzling dialogue, this almost feels like American procedural noir and not a translation’ Maxim Jakubowski, Crime Time

Okay, I have nothing more to tell you, only something to show you, haven’t I! Ready?

No lingering doubts? You really want to see?

Alright, alright, enough with the suspense!

Tadaaaaa:

Beautiful, isn’t it! I love the pinkish purplish neon glow, it’s another kid-ethic masterpiece and I can’t wait to get stuck in! Hotel Cartagena is out on 4 March, you can pre-order here. Note that indie bookshop Bert’s Books has announced an Orenda Books Subscription plan: each month you’ll get the newest Orenda books sent straight to you, and if those are part of a series, Bert will check with you first and send you the first book in the series instead, if that’s what you prefer, check it out here.

Thanks for joining me today! Find out more about Blue Night and Beton Rouge here, and about Mexico Street here and here. Check out my Q&A with translator Rachel Ward here.