Time Heals No Wounds (A Baltic Sea Crime Novel, 1)

Solid debut. Interesting characters. Easy read without any complex character developments. However, this might be series to keep an eye on.

A woman's body washes up on an isolated patch of beach, and it turns out her hair's been dyed and a series of numbers tattooed onto her arm. Newly-minted detective Hannes Niehaus and his veteran partner Fritz are assigned the case. What happened to the pharmaceutical executive and why? As they search for clues and answers, their colleagues are looking for a missing young woman -- whom we, the audience, knows has been kidnapped.

As Hannes and Fritz investigate, they uncover ties dating back to Nazi Germany and secrets one family has been hiding for generations. But will they kill to keep it?

I liked the main story line and the main characters, and enjoyed how the book focused not just on Hannes' investigation but also on his quest to find new friends and make his place in the world. The secondary characters added a modern flair that saved the book from feeling dated (which so many current books with roots in the 1930s and 1940s seem to feel these days).. Plus I like Hannes and his friends -- a lot. Time Heals No Wounds is fun, quick, and weaves a compelling tale.

Not a bad story. It kept me reading, so that was good. But some events will make you shake your head in wonder. The willing suspension of disbelief is one thing, but some events and characters' decisions are just not credible. The real problem for me was the writing. It was stilted and amateurish. Which made me wonder if the problem was with the author or the translator. I would be interested to read this book in a different translation.

This book starts out pretty slow but I found the crime and the mystery surrounding it very compelling. While the case seemed to move along at a realistic pace, Hannes just bugged me because he seemed like such an incompetent cop, not following any of the basic protocol required of detectives like not sharing details of the case with suspects!

It was an interesting crime novel but there were a few things that felt off with the book, so only 3 stars from me.

Great story!

This novel is one of the best books that I have read recently; excellent plot and characters made this book extremely readable. Twist and turns kept me interested and I had no idea whodunit; the book deserves kudos and readers.