A Review of "A Place to Die" [14]

A Place to Die: An Inspector Georg Büchner Mystery by Dorothy James
Xlibris Corporation, ISBN 978-1450082693
April 21, 2010, 436 pages

Here is your chance to get in on the first book in a series, and it looks like it will be a good one
Neither Eleanor or Franz Fabien are too thrilled to leave their home in New York to fly to Franz's home in Vienna to visit his mother. But she recently had to move into an assisted living facility and he feels it is his duty, even if they really do not get along and he tries to keep contact to a minimum. Haus im Wald seems like a pleasant enough place..well, until one of the residents, a rather dashing older man with an active social life, ends up bludgeoned to dead and police inspector Georg Buchner takes up temporary residence to solve the crime. But as even more people die both we and Buchner have to ask ourselves just how deep these mysteries may go.

There are a number of sub-plots that greatly add to the interest of the story. A number of the characters, not unusual considering the setting, spend a fair bit of time musing the subject of growing older. And again, considering the people involved and their age, the last generation that was alive during WWII and shortly after the war, the subject of living during the presence of the Nazi regime plays not a insignificant roll in the story.

But ultimately, this is a character driven book. This is not a cozy little mystery, full of sweet old people. No, the characters of A Place to Die are an interesting and complex group, with present day passions and secrets that reach back to the time of the Nazis. American Eleanor Fabian is at the center of the story and one of the few really likable people we meet. I think you will soon agree that she deserves a better life that being married to the quite annoying Franz. And then there is Inspector Buchner, who will make a great lead for a new series. He is smart and low key as he slowly and carefully untangles all the relationships and tries to make sense of each resident's version of what happen on the day the murder took place.

But each of the minor characters is great as well. We have the rather smarmy Dr. Hofer, a private physician to many of the residents, Frau Huber, the housekeeper, who, shall we say, like to take a hands on interest in seeing that everyone is satisfied with her care. We have the retired Lutheran religious sisters, Sister Agatha and Sister Barbara, who are the basis for more than a few rumors and, of course, Frau Hagen, a retired opera singer and the reason the murdered man had a Viagra prescription. These are just a few of a rather large cast, but each character is so well flesh out that the reader should have little problem keeping them all straight. And each is interesting in their own way..and a good suspect in the murder.
These folks may be old, but they are not dead yet.
Well..except for the ones that die.

Although the vast majority of the book takes place within the setting of the retirement home, that never seem to confine the story. Still short trips into the city are interesting and I hope we get to 'see' more of the area in the future. I am sure that can make for some fascinating backdrops for the next adventure with Georg Buchner. And I am happy to see, from reading an interview with the author, that Eleanor Fabian and her whiny husband will appear again in the next book.

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Check out other great reviews, interviews with the author Dorothy James and guest posts at Tribute Books Blog Tour!