Komm, süßer Tod

Komm, süßer Tod follows Simon Brenner, a former police detective now working as a paramedic in Vienna's competitive ambulance service industry. When he notices suspicious patterns in patient deaths, his investigative instincts kick in despite his attempts to leave police work behind. The novel takes place during a sweltering Vienna summer, with the city's two rival emergency medical services locked in an aggressive battle for territory and patients. The tension between the organizations creates a pressure cooker environment as Brenner pursues his unofficial investigation. The story integrates dark humor with a hard-boiled crime narrative, using Vienna's medical emergency response system as its backdrop. The title references Bach's composition "Komm, süßer Tod" (Come, Sweet Death), which provides an ironic counterpoint to the story's themes. This entry in the Brenner series examines the thin line between helping and harming, while questioning the corporatization of emergency services and the true nature of mercy.

Readers note the dark humor and unique narrative voice as standout elements. Several reviews highlight detective Brenner's flawed but endearing character, with one reader calling him "a refreshingly imperfect protagonist." What readers liked: - Fast-paced plot involving Vienna's ambulance service - Integration of Austrian dialect and culture - Offbeat perspective of the unnamed narrator - Blend of crime fiction with social commentary What readers disliked: - Unconventional writing style can be difficult to follow - Some found the dialogue confusing - Translation loses some Austrian-specific references - Plot becomes convoluted in places Ratings: Goodreads: 3.8/5 (274 ratings) Amazon.de: 4.3/5 (112 ratings) LibraryThing: 3.7/5 (21 ratings) One German reader noted: "The stream-of-consciousness style takes getting used to, but perfectly matches the chaotic world of emergency services." Several reviewers mentioned struggling with the first few chapters before becoming absorbed in the story.

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🔍 The novel's title "Komm, süßer Tod" ("Come, Sweet Death") is taken from a famous Bach cantata (BWV 478) traditionally performed at funerals 🎬 The book was successfully adapted into a film in 2000, becoming one of Austria's most successful crime movie productions 🏆 Wolf Haas's Brenner series, of which this is a part, has won multiple German Crime Fiction Awards (Deutscher Krimi Preis) 🏛️ Vienna's competing ambulance services depicted in the novel reflect a real historical tension between private and municipal emergency services in Austrian cities 📚 The book represents a significant departure from traditional German-language crime fiction by incorporating dark humor and a distinctive narrative voice that directly addresses the reader