Mortimer's Deep by Simon Taylor & The Collini Case by Ferdinand von Schirach

August 2014

Mortimer's Deep by Simon Taylor

To the medieval island priory of Inchcolm, in the early middle ages, comes Martin, seeking the truth about the magnetic, dangerous Simon de Quincy. His machiavellian story is unfolded to Martin by Simon's former lover, Brother Michael, now blind and disfigured.

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most people enjoyed it, amazing when you think of the distances travelled by the monks from Scotland to Rome.  Interesting story obviously based on true events  It got complicated trying to work out who everyone was, which did make reading a bit slower.

The Collini Case by Ferdinand von Schirach

From one of Europe's bestselling writers comes a spellbinding and utterly compelling court room drama, which will stay with you for a long time. Ferdinand von Schirach's The Collini Case has been at the top of the German charts since publication and will be loved by all fans of Bernhard Schlink and John le Carré.

A murder. A murderer. No motif.

For thirty-four years Fabrizio Collini has worked diligently for Mercedes Benz. He is a quiet and respectable person until the day he visits one of Berlin's most luxurious hotels and kills an innocent man.

Young attorney Caspar Leinen takes the case. Getting Collini a not-guilty verdict would make his name. But too late he discovers that Collini's victim - an industrialist of some renown - is known to him.

Now Leinen is caught in a professional and personal dilemma. Collini admits the murder but won't say why he did it, forcing Leinen to defend a man who won't put up a defence. And worse, a close friend and relation of the victim insists that he give up the case. His reputation, his career and this friendship are all at risk.

Then he makes a discovery that goes way beyond his own petty concerns and exposes a terrible and deadly truth at the heart of German justice . . .

The Collini Case is a masterful court room drama that will have readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

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A quick read.  Some said the ending was predictable, but I disagree.  Certainly worth reading.