Review: Splintered Justice: A Linder and Donatelli Mystery by Kim Hays

 

Splintered Justice: A Linder and Donatelli Mystery by Kim Hays is the latest read in this complicated police procedural series that began with Pesticide. Set in Bern, Switzerland, social issues have always been a part of the series as they impact the crimes in the books in one way or another. That happens here as the events in Croatia in the 90s has a significant impact on one of the two primary storyline police cases. So too does a long-ago case that may or may not have led to a wrong conclusion.

 

The church known as the Bern Münster Cathedral of St. Vincent is a historic and special place. Many years ago, a death happened there that may or may not have been a suicide. The incident was not deeply investigated and most folks accepted the ruling of suicide and have moved on.

 

In the here and now, Detective Renzo Donatelli has had a rough afternoon at the dentist. Finally free from the chair and feeling the aftereffects of work in his mouth, he is walking adjacent to the Bern Münster Cathedral in Bern, Switzerland, and headed back to work. He’s thinking about having a coffee as well as case that Detective Giuliana Linder has and that he is assisting on, when a young boy crashes into him. The sight of Renzo’s service weapon makes the kid panic and he scrambles to his feet and flees.

 

Detective Renzo gives chase and soon loses him in the traffic and pedestrians. Thinking about how much the sight of his weapon terrified the kid, he checks in with dispatch to see if there are any reports of a crime that has been committed in the nearby vicinity. While dispatch does not have any reports of a crime, they do have a report that somebody shook the scaffolding at the nearby Bern Münster Cathedral of St. Vincent and a worker was hurt in the incident.

 

He returns to church and goes inside to find another officer as well as Denis Kellenberger who has been injured. He is an apprentice glassmaker and was high up in the church working on a window that is hundreds of years old. Hew says somebody started shaking the scaffolding and screaming that he was a murderer. He fell off the scaffolding and now has a broken wrist and other injuries.

 

Some of the other people in the church at the time he fell have a lot of harsh things to say about the victim. Then there are their accounts of what happened to consider. Clearly, this was not a prank with unintended consequences. The person that shook the scaffold did it with malicious intent and is lucky the apprentice glassmaker is not dead.

 

Detective Renzo Donatelli has a lot of reasons to investigate this case as a serious crime and does. His doing so means that he has far less time to assist with a case that Detective Giuliana Linder had drop in her lap a few days earlier when the detective handling it had to suddenly take a leave.

 

Tamara Hofstetter is sure that her father was murdered and her step mother did it. Her brother, Sebestian Allemann, does not seem to be as sure and is just going along with his sister who is clearly on a warpath. For Detective Giuliana Linder, this new case that has been thrust upon her is the death of their stepfather a few months earlier. The adult children believe that their stepmother, Ruth Seiler, murdered their father, Werner Allemann.

 

The man had been suffering dementia for some time and had gotten much worse in the months preceding his death this past February. Sometime in the fall, they realized that their dad was very sick and urgently needed help. They are very upset that they were not told earlier and that his illness was hid from them. As soon as they found out how bad things truly were, they wanted him admitted to a specialized nursing home. Such a place would have been incredibly expensive. That financial cost and the impact to their savings was why their stepmother did not want it to happen.

 

But, it was finally going to happen over her objections. Then he suddenly died.

 

It is the daughter’s belief that their stepmother deliberately poisoned their 82-year-old father with insulin in the short time before he was to be admitted in order to keep her half of the inheritance. The stepmother, Ruth, has already admitted to giving him the insulin and has been arrested and charged.

 

As the case proceeds in the legal system, it is now Detective Guilianna Linder’s job to go over the previous detective’s work, and the case as a whole, verify everything, add context and background, and stand ready to assist the prosecution in court. Tamara wants everyone involved, his doctor and others, as well as her stepmother fully prosecuted and in jail. The case is complicated and troubling which is part of the reason Detective Renzo Donatelli is involved.

 

Those two cases drive the police procedural side of the book. As always, the family lives of Linder and Donatelli are their own major storylines. Their evolving family life stories arc through the series and this read. Change is coming and not always in the way either one would like it to happen. Things there, as well as in the cases, develop slowly, and the very complicated read gradually works towards a conclusion that works completely.

 

A series that should be read in order, Splintered Justice: A Linder and Donatelli Mystery from Seventh Street Books is another solidly good read. Author Kim Hays continues to craft books that are highly entertaining and educational and are very much worth your time.

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fV0tyU

 

My reading copy came in digital format through the Hoopla App and the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

FFB Review: Pesticide: A Polizi Bern Novel

  

With my review of the latest book in the series, Splintered Justice, appearing here on the blog this Sunday, it seemed like a good time to dip into the massive archive and remind you how it all began. This is a series that builds as it goes and should be read in order.

 

Pesticide: A Polizi Bern Novel by Kim Hayes is the first book in the series. Billed as the opening book in the Linder and Donatelli Mysteries, the read takes readers to Bern, Switzerland. It is summer and the street party the night before went out of control and resulted in at least one death.

Detective Giuliana Linder is assigned to the case by her boss, Rolf Straub. A young man is dead on the plaza where the rave was being held and descended into chaos. It appears initially that he died because he was hit over the head with a police baton wielded by Officer Jonas Pauli. Detective Linder knows the young officer and the idea that he bashed in the head of anyone and killed the man is unthinkable to her. He swears he only hit him once and not that hard.

The fact that her daughter was out in that same violent and out of control crowd before she later was arrested, does not escape her attention. A lot is going on with her and she could have been killed or injured in the chaos. It doesn’t help that her husband, Ueli, is not seeing her job as she does or everything else she does. Police brutality is an issue in the book and Ueli has significant concerns about what the police are doing on a daily basis. While his wife, Giuliana, is not part of the problem of abusive police, she works in a group that is, as he sees the world. Coupled with a disagreement regarding parenting styles and the fact that he has to step in when the job takes her away, as it does frequently, and the family dynamic is going through some things.

As if things are not complicated enough, soon it become clear that her case and a case being run by Investigator Renzo Donatelli have clear links. A farmer, François Schwab, was killed and his body was hosed down with pesticide. A fervent organic farmer, he had his enemies as well as numerous friends who thought he was a bit eccentric and overly supportive of organics, but generally liked him. Was he killed over his desire to protect his land and keep things organic? Or was it something else?

Before long, the two cases come together with the identity of the Linder’s victim becoming clear, they discover that both victims knew each other. The fact that they died just hours apart may actually mean something and not random chance as things first appeared. As Linder and Donatelli and their investigative teams join forces, it becomes clear to all involved that the killings are not over. Not even the police are safe.

Part police procedural, part possible romance as Linder and Donatelli have unexpressed feelings for each other, and entirely a rich and complex multilayered mystery, a tremendous amount is going on in this atmospheric and detailed read. The cases are complicated as are the personal lives of Detective Linder, Investigator Donatelli, and others. Much like real life, chaos at home and work to varying levels, is always present. As in real life, at times, the mind imagines a lot of worst-case scenarios with loved ones are involved.

A complicated read and one that holds your attention while also dispensing a lot of education regarding history and culture, Pesticide: A Polizi Bern Novel by Kim Hayes is a very good read well worth your time. Very much recommend.

Make sure you check out Aubrey’s review from March 2023.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4muAocZ

Publicist Wiley Saichek sent me a copy of the book, with no expectation of a review, after Aubrey’s review ran on the blog.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023, 2025

Review: A Fondness for Truth: A Polizei Bern Novel by Kim Hays

 

Following Pesticide and Sons and Brothers, A Fondness for Truth: A Polizei Bern Novel by Kim Hays is the third read in the Linder and Doratelli Mystery series set in Bern, Switzerland. While billed as mysteries, and they are, these are also police procedurals with plenty of family and other off the job elements. They are also very good reads.

 

As the novel begins, Andi Eberhart is headed home on a cold and icy March night. It is late and she is on her bicycle as that is how she gets around town. Her helmet has vanished and she has no idea what happened to it. Not that it probably matters when she is deliberately hit by a car and sent flying to an impact that killed her.

 

Initially Homicide Detective Giuliana Linder, though marginally aware of the case, is not assigned to it. But, as things happen, because she is in the station while the lead detective is out in the field, she is the first point of contact for Nisha Pragasam, Andi’s partner. Her family are refugees from Sri Lanka and the civil war decades ago and Nishi is a member of the Swiss Tamils community. This means there are issues of societal caste, assimilation, and more in the background of the case. Then there is the fact that her and Andi were not legally married, even though the two women were partners, lived together, and were raising a baby. Nisha is devastated by what has happened. She is also sure that the crash was no accident.

 

For several years now, Andi has been receiving horrible hate mail. The homophobic screeds have gotten worse since their baby girl was born a few weeks ago. Andi was also recently promoted Skip on her curling team and at least one teammate was vehemently and very publicly upset and causing issues over the promotion and being passed over. Then there is the fact that she was an advocate on social issues and did so as well in her job as an advisor to people drafted into Switzerland’s civil service. Andi was a strong-willed woman with a clear sense of right and wrong and rubbed some folks the wrong way.

 

She had a lot going on in her job and elsewhere so there are many suspects. Friends, family, coworkers, and others all must be investigated and ruled out as the police have little to go on. The only clue is the fact it was a red car that did it and fled the scene.

 

The case is being handled by others, for now, so Giuliana can focus on her current assignment. She is to meet with Manfred Kissling in prison where he awaits trial and get some sort of confession that would explain the horrible act he did a two months ago. Others have tried with no success and now the powers that be want Giuliana to have a crack at him.

 

On a Sunday in January, he picked up his daughters, Mia and Lea, three and five years old, for visitation. He drove over an hour from their house where they lived with their mother who had primary custody, and took them to an outing at a cliff in the Jura mountains. He parked at an overlook, took them to the edge of the cliff, and threw them to their deaths fifteen-hundred-foot below. He then got back in his car and went to where he lived. He was still there when the coops came to arrest him days later.

 

The prosecution easily prove he did it. The evidence is not disputable. He did it. But, nobody, including his ex-wife, knows why he did it, Manfred Kissling has refused all requests to explain. The prosecution does not want to get sandbagged with a surprise at trial so they want Giuliana to go to the prison and interview him. The hope is that she can get him to talk. To do so, she has to make the hour-long plus trip each way and deeply immerse herself in the case so that she can, hopefully, get him to open up and explain to her why he did what he did.

 

As she works that case, it isn’t long before she is drawn into the murder of Andi Eberhart. She, Detective Renzo Donatelli, and others work the increasingly complicated murder case. Along the way they learn quite a lot about the people who have moved here from Sri Lanka, how they are seen back home as well in and outside of the community in Switzerland, racism, assimilation, and more.

 

This goes on while both Giuliana Linder and Detective Renzo Donatelli deal with a lot of stuff going on in their respective families. There are marital strains, a health crisis, and a lot of life stuff going on as both juggle home and their work. Both struggle trying to do it all.

                                  

A Fondness for Truth: A Polizei Bern Novel by Kim Hays is a very complicated mystery/police procedural read. The main characters as well as many of the secondary characters at home and work continue to evolve as life happens. The concept of family, and the many different forms it can take, has always been present in this series and even more so in this read.

 

A series that absolutely should be read in order, A Fondness for Truth: A Polizei Bern Novel is a mighty good read. Strongly recommended.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3Z68F8B

 

 

For more reading about this author and the book, go to Sunday Spotlight—Kim Hays at Lesa’s Book Critiques.

 

My review of Pesticide can be found here. Aubrey reviewed Pesticide here (which got me reading the series) and Sons and Brothers here on the blog. I thought I had also reviewed it, but I can’t find it now and I don’t seem to have a record of it.

 

 

Publicist Wiley Saichek sent me a copy of this book, with no expectation of a review, over a year ago.

 

Kevin R. Tipple©2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: KEVIN’S CORNER ANNEX – PESTICIDE BY KIM HAYS

 Lesa's Book Critiques: KEVIN’S CORNER ANNEX – PESTICIDE BY KIM HAYS

Review: Pesticide: A Polizi Bern Novel by Kim Hays

Pesticide: A Polizi Bern Novel by Kim Hayes is the first book in the series. Billed as the opening book in the Linder and Donatelli Mysteries, the read takes readers to Bern, Switzerland. It is summer and the street party the night before went out of control and resulted in at least one death.

Detective Giuliana Linder is assigned to the case by her boss, Rolf Straub. A young man is dead on the plaza where the rave was being held and descended into chaos. It appears initially that he died because he was hit over the head with a police baton wielded by Officer Jonas Pauli. Detective Linder knows the young officer and the idea that he bashed in the head of anyone and killed the man is unthinkable to her. He swears he only hit him once and not that hard.

The fact that her daughter was out in that same violent and out of control crowd before she later was arrested, does not escape her attention. A lot is going on with her and she could have been killed or injured in the chaos. It doesn’t help that her husband, Ueli, is not seeing her job as she does or everything else she does. Police brutality is an issue in the book and Ueli has significant concerns about what the police are doing on a daily basis. While his wife, Giuliana, is not part of the problem of abusive police, she works in a group that is, as he sees the world. Coupled with a disagreement regarding parenting styles and the fact that he has to step in when the job takes her away, as it does frequently, and the family dynamic is going through some things.

As if things are not complicated enough, soon it become clear that her case and a case being run by Investigator Renzo Donatelli have clear links. A farmer, François Schwab, was killed and his body was hosed down with pesticide. A fervent organic farmer, he had his enemies as well as numerous friends who thought he was a bit eccentric and overly supportive of organics, but generally liked him. Was he killed over his desire to protect his land and keep things organic? Or was it something else?

Before long, the two cases come together with the identity of the Linder’s victim becoming clear, they discover that both victims knew each other. The fact that they died just hours apart may actually mean something and not random chance as things first appeared. As Linder and Donatelli and their investigative teams join forces, it becomes clear to all involved that the killings are not over. Not even the police are safe.

Part police procedural, part possible romance as Linder and Donatelli have unexpressed feelings for each other, and entirely a rich and complex multilayered mystery, a tremendous amount is going on in this atmospheric and detailed read. The cases are complicated as are the personal lives of Detective Linder, Investigator Donatelli, and others. Much like real life, chaos at home and work to varying levels, is always present. As in real life, at times, the mind imagines a lot of worst-case scenarios with loved ones are involved.

A complicated read and one that holds your attention while also dispensing a lot of education regarding history and culture, Pesticide: A Polizi Bern Novel by Kim Hayes is a very good read well worth your time. Very much recommend.

Make sure you check out Aubrey’s review from earlier this year.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4muAocZ

Publicist Wiley Saichek sent me a copy of the book, with no expectation of a review, after Aubrey’s review ran on the blog.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

Patti Abbott: Short Story Wednesday: From The Best American Short Stories of 2021: Switzerland, Nicole Krauss

Patti Abbott: Short Story Wednesday: From The Best American Short Stories of 2021: Switzerland, Nicole Krauss