Sunday, July 8, 2012

Kemal Kayankaya: A summer Frankfurter everyone can enjoy

My review of the mystery novels of Jakob Arjouni, from the July 2012 issue of the Marina Times:

BOOK NOTES
Kemal Kayankaya: A summer Frankfurter everyone can enjoy
By John Zipperer

Mystery novels about Germany that show up on our shores tend to be either reprints of World War II-era books or new novels set in that time. It’s an interesting milieu, but it’s unimaginative. Jakob Arjouni escaped those confines by writing mysteries set in modern-day Germany, dealing with very modern problems and featuring a refreshingly different kind of protagonist.

Kemal Kayankaya is a German private eye, mostly working the underside of Frankfurt. He can be found dealing with the prostitutes, local mobsters, two-bit thugs, and other lowlifes among whom Kayankaya generally finds his life, his customers and his friends.

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