Book Review

Title: Self’s Murder

Author: Bernhard Schlink

Translator: Peter Constantine

Year: 2009

Number of Pages: 262

Genre: Crime/Mystery

ISBN: 978-0-375-70909-8

Reviewed by: Tessa Perkins (Vancouver)

This is the third book in a detective series by the author of The Reader, and its protagonist is not who you would typically expect to be solving a murder. Gerhard Self is old, slow, and his health is not what it used to be, but he still has a successful detective agency and he gets the job done in his own quirky way. He is an endearing character that will lead you on an investigative adventure, and even he has no idea how things will turn out in the end.

The story begins with Self taking up a case about the Weller and Welker Bank. They hire him to figure out who the “silent partner” was; they are afraid he may come looking for his share of the bank’s success. The case seems simple enough at first – a matter of digging through archives and interviewing people formerly involved with the bank, but things begin to look suspicious when a man comes by his office, hands him a briefcase full of money and then drives into a tree and dies instantly.

Self begins to think that the “silent partner” is just a front for the real reason the bank has hired him, and what he uncovers is shocking. The plot never gets dull, and Self is constantly re-evaluating the situation as he discovers new pieces of information and tries to put the puzzle together. The characters that help him through this case are also very well constructed, including his girlfriend Brigitte, his wannabe son Karl-Heinz Ubrich, and retired police officer friend Nägelsbach.

While he is sometimes slow at realizing things, and is going through a period of uncertainty in both his work and home life, Self is a detective that will not give up until he feels he has resolved a case to its fullest extent and satisfied not only his client, but also his own conscience. This is a wonderfully captivating story, and I was so impressed with this character and the style of the writing that I plan to read the first two books in the series as well.

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