Murder Mindfully is the first book in a darkly comic, tongue-in-cheek crime series by German author Karsten Dusse (translated by Florian Duijsens). The series, called Achstam Mordern in German, now runs to five volumes. Murder Mindfully is the English translation of the first of these but it is likely that translations of the others will follow.
Bjorn is a lawyer who does the dirty work for his firm, representing and facilitating the work of an underworld crime boss. But the work is affecting his chances of promotion, his life, his marriage and his relationship with his young daughter. So Bjorn reluctantly agrees to see a mindfulness expert. Reticent at first, Bjorn starts to use the advice and techniques that he is taught to declutter his thoughts and finds that his new outlook has a positive impact on his relationships. When his crimelord client tries to interfere with Bjorn’s planned weekend away with his daughter while also fleeing from the police, Bjorn lets the rules of mindfulness guide his actions and kills the man. Thus begins Bjorn’s takeover of the man’s criminal organisation, guided by the tenets of mindfulness, which does not necessarily argue against a little more killing.
Dusse uses Bjorn’s focus on mindfulness to walk the difficult highwire act of delivering a pacey, tense crime thriller in a humorous, satiric vein. This is exemplified most by Bjorn’s use of his criminal gang to take over a day care centre so that he can ensure a place for his daughter. But in doing so Bjorn finds that the offer of day care places is an excellent form of soft power.
While Bjorn manages to tie up a few loose ends by the end of Murder Mindfully there are still plenty of hurdles looming on his horizon. English readers will have to wait for the next book to come out in translation to find out what happens next. For those who cannot wait, there is always the Netflix adaptation of this book with a second series expected in late 2025.
Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse
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