Friederike Andermann, kurz Fred, gilt als eine erfahrene Konsulin. Doch in Uruguay wird der deutschen Botschafterin eine vermisste Bloggerin zum Verhängnis. Deshalb wird sie ins politisch aufgeheizte Istanbul versetzt, ihrer bisher größte Herausforderung…

„Die Diplomatin“ ist ein Roman von Lucy Fricke.

Meine Meinung:
Die Handlung spielt in Montevideo, Istanbul und Hamburg. Entsprechend besteht der Roman aus drei Teilen unterschiedlicher Länge, die wiederum etliche Kapitel umfassen. Die Geschichte erstreckt sich über mehrere Jahre. Der Aufbau ist plausibel und funktioniert gut.

In sprachlicher Hinsicht hat mich der Roman absolut überzeugt. Der dialoglastige Schreibstil wirkt zunächst schnörkellos. Er konnte mich aber schnell mit seiner dichten Atmosphäre, gelungenen Sprachbildern und den teils lakonischen Zwischentönen begeistern. Erzählt wird in der Ich-Perspektive aus der Sicht von Fred.

Die Protagonistin ist schon alleine aufgrund ihres Berufs ein interessanter Charakter. Mir gefällt gut, dass sie als authentische, eher reifere Person mit psychologischer Tiefe dargestellt wird. Auch die übrigen Figuren kommen glaubwürdig rüber.

Besonders gereizt hat mich das kreative Thema, die Geschichte einer Botschafterin zu erzählen. Die Umsetzung zeugt von einer fundierten Recherche. Ich habe nicht nur gerne mehr über den Arbeitsalltag einer Diplomatin erfahren, sondern mochte auch die feministischen Aspekte, die in der Geschichte gut herausgearbeitet werden. Auch die vielen aktuellen Anknüpfungspunkte bezüglich der Politik sprechen für den Roman.

Auf rund 250 Seiten kommt keinerlei Langeweile auf. Die Handlung wartet mit Verwicklungen und Hindernissen auf, ohne in punkto Dramatik über das Ziel hinauszuschießen.

Das moderne, kunstvoll gestaltete Cover trifft genau meinen Geschmack, obwohl der inhaltliche Bezug nicht direkt gegeben ist. Der prägnante Titel passt hervorragend.

Mein Fazit:
Mit „Die Diplomatin“ hat Lucy Fricke einen empfehlenswerten Roman geschrieben, der sowohl auf der inhaltlichen als auch auf der sprachlichen Ebene keine Schwächen aufweist. Ein Buch, das Lust darauf macht, weitere Werke der Autorin zu entdecken.

Lila is laid off from the local newspaper then lands a job at a literary agency where on her first day she is confronted with a body of a man who was chased out of the agency within an hour of Lila's arrival at the agency. Was it murder or something else?

I liked Lila. The agency has a cast of characters working at it. Their descriptions give a good picture of what each is like. Lila wants to know who the man is and who/what killed him so she decides to investigate no matter the cost to her. She also has a few possible romance partners. Her mother is a hoot and her son should have had a good spanking once or twice in his childhood so he wouldn't be so spoiled.

The story line was interesting. I liked how Lila works to solve the murder. She's wrong at times but keeps at it until she finds the answer. The world building is good. I look forward to more of the series.

Order by Blair Babylon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Audiobook Review: Order (Billionaires in Disguise: Maxence #2) by: Blair Babylon, Narrated by Lucy Rivers & Shane East


Action. Adventure. Heartbreak. Intrigue. Prepare to go on the run with another unpredictable romance. Order is an edge of the seat kind of ride. It's hard to catch your breath when danger steals it at ever turn.



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Rogue by Blair Babylon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Complicated equals compelling. Babylon refuses to make loving her characters easy. Flaws are the driving force behind the heartache that shines through the drama. From bad boys to good girls and steamy romance, Rogue is a minefield. Max is every bad choice we hope not to make and maybe that's what makes him so alluring. East and Rivers take a walk on the wild side with haunting delivery, sassy dialogue and spicy romance. Look out for some seriously dangerous curves.



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Lucy Foley takes readers to a remote mountain stay, where friends gather but one of them is about to be murdered:

During the Christmas/New Year break a group of friends from Oxford takes a break to an isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands, an old hunting lodge that has been converted into a luxury stay. The only people on grounds this time of year are the manager and the game keeper, both who has secrets and something they are running from. On December 30 a huge blizzard hits the lodge stopping all in and out travel, the guest and workers are snowed in and may be for some time, however, they have been assured they have enough food in order to wait till the storm passes. Two days later, on New Years day, one of them is dead. There is a murderer amoung those who are at the lodge, and all of them seemingly have a reason to commit such an act.

This book does a lot of things right but I think where Foley really excelled in the format that she chose to write this book in. There are multiple points of views, not just the guest but the manager and games keeper as well. This offers a well rounded story, most of the characters backstories as well as their feelings about the others. There is not just one opinion of a person but many. This helps the reader feel as if they are part of the group staying at the lodge and start to form their own opinions about the characters.

I felt that Foley was able to keep the suspense throughout the book, as you know a murder is going to occur as this is how the book starts out but you don't know who is going to be murdered or who the murderer so it is a fun ride to see how these events play out. The multiple points of views keeps you guessing about who will be murdered and who the murderer is likely to be and you will probably change your mind a few points along the way.

This book really explores how much people change over time and how some people want nothing to change while others just want to move on and love the person that they have become. Sometimes it is hard to keep those friends you have had forever as people take different life paths, no matter how hard you try to hold on to them. This is probably the most common theme throughout the book.

This is the first book I have read by Foley and I really enjoyed it. I look forward to reading another one of her novels.

Enjoy!!!