Chastity Riley is a state prosecutor who no longer is trusted by her bosses. She convicted a superior for corruption and then off a gangster's crown jewels. They can't fire her, so they do the next best thing.

They transferred her to the Witness Protection department, where her job will be little more than baby-sitting.

But that was before she was charged with overseeing an anonymous man found with almost every bone in his body broken, a finger missing, and he refuses to speak to anyone. He is under police guard and Chastity senses something much more.

Does this man have something to do with the lethal synthetic drugs that have become prevalent on the streets? Is it something to do with her colleagues trying to bring down the Albanian Mafia? Or is Chastity trying to connect cases that have nothing to do with the man she is protecting?

Chastity does what Chastity does best ... jump in with both feet without thinking about her own safety. This time, the danger out there may be her downfall.

I confess it took me a while to get into the story. But as I kept reading, the pacing evened out. The suspense ratcheted up and riveting until the explosive ending. Simone Buchholz is a German crime fiction author and her translator, Rachel Ward, did an excellent job.

Chastity is an amazing character, well defined, especially when it comes to moral qualities, ethical standards, and principals. She's bright and determined and is fearless in her quest for justice. I look forward to seeing more of her adventures in the future.

Many thanks to the author / translator / Trafalgar Square Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this unique German crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Chastity Riley is an interesting new character to the pantheon of tough female prosecutors. Set largely in Hamburg, it's also very atmospheric German noir with a topical plot line. Note that this has an unusual structure which you will quickly adapt to as it moves the story quite well. The German criminal justice system is also (surprise) different from the US and UK so you might find yourself double-checking things. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a fairly short novel so there's room for more character development in the next books- which I hope will also be translated into English and published in the US.

Thank you so much for allowing me to review this book. This was definitely a really good book. It reminded me of a lot of cop shows which is a guilty pleasure of mine. This book was one of the ones that got me out of a reading slump. Wonderful. Thank you

Thank you NetGalley, Orenda Books, and Trafalgar Square Publishing for this ARC.

This is a real gem of a book. Set in Germany, it's character-driven throughout the entire story. With each chapter, you find out just a little bit more about each person and how they eventually connect.

It's one of those suspense novels that keep you turning the pages. I found myself limiting myself to just a few chapters a night as I wanted to make it last as long as possible.

The main character is Detective Chasity Riley. Apparently in prior books (unfortunately not translated to English yet but if you read German you're in for a treat) she got into a bit of trouble and is now working in victim witness protection as a result. A rather dull job really. Lots of handholding and not much else. But somehow her victim turns out to be someone who doesn't need much handholding rather is more likely to cost her one of her hand holding hands.

As with all the characters, he is fleshed out with paragraphs of prior years. It is hard to say who is the bad guy and who is the good guy as they seem to take turns. There is a very satisfying ending that wraps the story quite nicely.

Oh I do hope there is more Chastity Riley and friends in my future. Even if I have to learn German to make it happen.