Basic Law
A Mystery of Cold War Europe
Expat American journalist Sam Kramer is burned out: too many dead bodies, too many wars covered, too little meaning in it all. He’s got a dead-end job at the Daily European as the correspondent for Vienna, where nothing happens now that the Cold War is over. And that is exactly how Kramer likes it.
But his private neutral zone is shattered with news of the suicide of Reni Müller, a German left-wing firebrand and Kramer’s long-estranged ex-girlfriend. To his surprise, Kramer suddenly finds himself the executor of Reni’s literary estate-but the damning memoir named in her will is nowhere to be found. Tracking down the manuscript will lead Kramer to the unsettling truth of Reni’s death, drawing him back into the days of the Cold War and showing him the dark side of the woman he loved.
A perfect blend of thriller and whodunit, Basic Law provides an absorbing look at a perilous time. A yarn spun with skill and chills, moral absolutes and moral ambiguities, it challenges the reader from first to last page.
This is the second book I’ve read by this excellent author. The previous book, Ruin Value, had a meaning in the title and Basic Law also has a meaning as you come to realise, as you get involved in the book. A very good thriller, which keeps the storyline interesting and leaves you wanting more. Highly recommended.