Vorab: Das ist KEIN Thriller, auch wenn "psychologischer Thriller" auf der Rückseite aus den Besprechungen zitiert wird - mehr Hinweise bietet die Auszeichnung mit dem Prix Goncourt, dem wichtigsten französischen Preis für LITERATUR. Der Titel "Dann schlaf auch du" klingt leider auch nach Spannungs-Massenware; das Original heißt "Chanson douce", sanftes oder Wiegenlied.

Das Ende ist vorhersehbar, die Erzählung macht daraus keinen Hehl. Hier bedarf es keines verräterischen Klappentextes, bereits der erste Satz lautet „Das Baby ist tot.“ S. 9
Autorin Leïla Slimani erzählt den einen Strang ihres Romans chronologisch, dazwischen streut sie Passagen ein wie mit eben diesem ersten Satz, die den Leser erinnern an das, was kommen wird, was längst gewesen ist. Unvermeidbar?

Das Situation ist eine, wie es sie vielfach gibt: Zwei Erwachsene, zwei Kinder, zwei Jobs – wer soll sich um die Kinder kümmern? Myriam und Paul finden für ihre beiden Kinder die perfekte Lösung: Louise. Vordergründig ist die Nanny notwendig, weil neben Musikproduzent Paul nun auch Myriam wieder zurück in ihren Beruf als Juristin möchte, aber Slimani macht auch für den Vater der beiden Kleinen klar: „Die Kinder, ihr Geruch, ihr Treiben, ihr Verlangen nach ihm, all das rührte ihn zwar unbeschreiblich. Und manchmal wollte er am liebsten mit ihnen Kind sein, sich auf Augenhöhe mit ihnen begeben, in die Kindheit eintauchen. Doch zugleich war etwas in ihm gestorben, und das war nicht nur die Jugend oder die Unbekümmertheit. Er war nicht mehr entbehrlich.“ S. 119

Wie gesagt, das Ende ist vorhersehbar. Was diesen Text besonders macht, ist die große sprachliche Kraft, die von ihm ausgeht, dieser Sog, diese absolut meisterliche Beherrschung der Sprache, ihrer Bilder. „Sie war in jene bleierne Betäubung gesunken, aus der man bedrückt, verwirrt und mit dem Gefühl unendlichen Leids wieder zu sich kommt. Ein so tiefer schwarzer Schlaf, dass man kurz geglaubt hat, man müsse sterben, man ist von eiskaltem Schweiß bedeckt und widersinnigerweise erschöpft.“ S. 133 Der Text bedrückt UND hält gleichzeitig im Bann.

Während mich sprachlich die Autorin vollständig überzeugt hat, war ich zum Thema zunächst etwas gespalten. Im Gegensatz zur Situation beispielsweise im Deutschland der 70er, 80er Jahre mit wenigen Scheidungskindern und planbaren (und vor allem noch meistens lebenslang sicheren) Jobs der Eltern hat sich die Situation doch reichlich verändert: eine Frau ohne Berufstätigkeit wird eine Frau ohne eigene Rente, fertig (ja, ich empfand den Fokus hier ungerechtfertigt zu sehr auf die Mutter gerichtet, einfach auch, weil das Unglück mit ihrer Berufsaufnahme seinen Lauf nahm). Eine Projizierung der Leserin, sicherlich. Eine Reaktion, wie sie die Autorin hervorzurufen vermag, noch mehr. Ein Buch, sicher perfekt für eine Leserunde.

Daneben wird sehr gekonnt die Unfähigkeit aller drei in der sozialen Interaktion dargestellt, der Eltern und von Louise. Ducken, ignorieren, verschieben – und gerne nicht ganz erwachsen werden, wenn möglich. Dargestellt ist das meisterhaft. Beruhigend ist das nicht, soll und kann es auch nicht, besonders die gewisse „Infantilisierung“ der Eltern, die sich ganz gerne auch „betüttern“ lassen, sie hatten schließlich einen anstrengenden Tag, während die Nanny „nur“ die lieben Kleinen genießen durfte. Man hat keine Vorurteile, aber die Nanny soll diesen entsprechen, dauernd verfügbar sein – wie, interessiert schon weniger. Eine Überprüfung? Nun, man wird sehen…

Kein Mitbringsel für junge Eltern mit dem Kind frisch bei Tagesmutter, Kindertagesstätte, Au Pair und Co., noch weniger für deren sich einmischende Schwiegermütter oder "beste Freundinnen".

Sehr starke 4 Sterne von 5

Ich habe das Original gelesen, "Grievous Sin" (wer übersetzte hier bloß die Titel???).
Achtung: von mir gibt es hier auch die Rezensionen der vorigen Bände der Reihe - es fehlt No 5, auf Lesejury da dieser wohl derzeit nicht bestellbar ist.

Big day for LAPD cop Pete Decker and wife Rina – they are in hospital for the birth of the new baby daughter, all along with Pete’s daughter Cindy from his first marriage and Rina’s two sons Sammy and Jake from her late first husband and her parents and Pete’s partner Marge Dunn. And as if that weren’t enough of a load, there is a serious issue with Rina and then all of a sudden, a young baby girl disappears, from the same nursery the Decker’s baby is in. Despite all of his worries and some serious lack of sleep, that hits too close to home for Pete. The nursery probably just was not simply understaffed but seriously neglecting any security procedure: 19-year-old Cindy who really took for her baby sister ended up being the only person on site with all of the babies, left there by nurse Darlene. As her dad puts it, p „She’s asking for a tragedy and a lawsuit.“ p 70 But did bossy nurse Marie kidnap the infant or was she indeed yet another victim?

Lots of Rina AND Marge Dunn, but also for the first time lots of Cindy. She feels guilty as the little girl disappeared while she had been left alone in the nursery and is very emotional about her little sister and how she might have been in danger, too. Unfortunately for Pete, the 19-year-old student of criminal science starts to flirt with the reality rather than the academic approach to crime investigation and gives her dad quite something to worry about. „But that was Dad. Worried that she wasn’t having enough fun. And then when she tried to have some fun, he’d worry for her safety.
It was an occupational hazard of his job, always seeing the world as a battlefield. That’s why she’d decided to study criminal science from an academic viewpoint. Still, it must be thrilling to be tossed in the thick of it.“ p 94 But then, her stubbornness and passion do not come from nowhere. Watch out, LAPD!

Again, as in most books, author Faye Kellerman sets something in the situation for the Deckers in contrast to something related with the investigation. That IS repetetive (I have complained about that in general for most series like this before), but I really appreciate that more and more with each Decker volume: Kellerman creates an issue and different approaches people might take or just simply different situations they are in when something really hits them. That quite often makes all the difference and gives the reader something to think about, if only for a while. It lifts the series beyond the „mere crime“ books. Most books of the series dwell upon a specific issue of Judaism, too (Rina is orthodox and Decker followed suit). This time, there is some really emotional discussion about God and how to carry on if misfortune strikes that should be more universal for most any religion: „We don’t understand Hashem’s ultimate design. But that doesn’t mean we can’t ask.“….„You may ask. You may not get, but you may ask.“ p 89 and some really wonderful remark from Rabbi Schulman, whom I have grown to like a lot in the series „Rina Miriam, you should do whatever you need to do to get you over this difficult time. … Judaism has a lot of rituals, a lot of non-negotiable behaviors. But we also allow for a great deal of personal freedom. Personal freedom and its sister trait, personal responsibility, are what make the religion so hard. But they are also what make the religion so satisfying.“ p 91. Kellerman manages to explain her religion in quite a great way.
A very solid 4 out of 5 stars – I found the ending somewhat repetetive, in particular compared to the book before – and some of the theme of it a bit too overly conventional. As this sequel does not have that many cross references to others in the series, readers should be capable to read it standalone.

Ich habe das englischsprachige Original gelesen, "Milk and Honey".

“ ‘You still mad at me?‘ Decker said.
Rina responded in a quiet voice, ‘Shalom bayis.“
Literally translated, it meant ‘peace in the house‘. But Decker knew it meant ‘I’m still pissed as hell, but I don’t want to spoil Shabbos.‘ “ p 234f
Peace in the house is somewhat at stake in this third case for cop Pete Decker and his wife-to-be Rina Lazarus. He wants her to finally come back from New York to Los Angeles to settle matters with him. Not only has she been evasive about their future, but as of late, she seems to be perturbed. And all the while, he tries to help an ex-army buddy accused of rape AND find out what happened with a little toddler he found at the dead of night wandering about on her own. The girl’s pajamas are soaked in blood, and when nobody reports her missing, Decker knows that something just does not smell good someplace, and most probably literally. Why else would any parent not look for their obviously well-cared for, not disturbed infant?

The book picks up about a year after the last one ended, with Rina both making a point of deciding for Peter AND leaving for New York, to take the pressure off both of them, the pressure that derived from her being an orthodox jew while he just started to discover Judaism for himself. The couple met first on a case in book #1, about two years ago. Each book may be read separately as author Faye Kellerman sums up what might be important, still leaving enough new details to be discovered along the way. “Milk and honey“ comes up with two cases to solve (well, and Rina’s issue) and has Pete and his colleagues delve deep into family matters, into love, hate, guilt. Unlike the first two books, this one does not dwell into a particular aspect of orthodox living, but rather into universal questions of morale, responsability and guilt – and how to cope with it and yourself, time and again. Fortunately, Pete has his Rabbi to discuss.

I liked the book better than number 2, but still less than the first – the tone is more positive than number 2 as for the near future, but still somewhat depressing about humanity in general – though not unrealistic, I have to admit. Some of the family structure of the Howards and the Darcys wore me out a little bit, but I liked how Pete’s partner Marge Dunn played a bigger part again. While so far Rina's attitude towards religion set very high standards and often discouraged Peter, I quite appreciated the development portrayed here: the situations in New York and in Los Angeles present the couple with challenges both to question their own beliefs and morale while at the same time finding new comfort along the way. I found that both encouraging and very human.

For those sensitive about it, no crime against children is being portrayed - and Kellerman is never overly graphic anyway; this is not the type of book where you read along while some ghastly crime happens.

Ich habe die englischsprachige Originalausgabe gelesen, "Sacred and Profane"

It is 1977(cf. page 132), christmas, and four months have passed since the end of the first book, “The Ritual Bath“. LAPD detective Pete Decker is still seeing his love-interest, orthodox jew Rina Lazarus, and so he goes camping with the young widow’s two sons, Sammy and Jake. When 8 ½ year-old Sammy strolls off on his own, he stumbles upon two burnt corpses – and thus, Decker into his next case. Forensic odontology will help to identify one of the young women as a teenager who went missing some three months ago, but what about the other body? What linked the two and what has happened to them? This is the second book in Faye Kellerman’s series around Decker and Lazarus and although the books might in general be read separately and on their own, this one starts off with an information that I consider a spoiler on Pete, as the first book would only reveal it at a later stage.

As in “The Ritual Bath“, Pete will have his colleagues Marge Dunn and Mike Hollander by his side and have to delve deep into the less affluent areas of his hometown Los Angeles. The series is a mystery story not a thriller, and you will accompany the detectives along rather than be capable to deduce the murderer from the information yourself. Same as Pete, of course, you may use your gut feeling… Kellerman does not write overly ‘graphic‘, but the cops will have to look at some explicit photos, hit upon some hints of snuff porn, see weapons put to usage, and discuss matters in between them in a language probably not suitable for their respective moms – for the lovers of the likes of Cody McFadyen, that’s kindergarten stuff, but we do not talk Agatha Christie here.

Again, the author links the crime story with the personal development between Pete and Rina, who fell in love during the first story, and the problems this causes concerning the fact Rina is living as an orthodox jew: neither would she simply start off an relationship, nor would she consider marriage to a husband not sharing her religious believes. Peter picks off where the first book ended, so he is still studying the Chumash, the Jewish bible, learning Hebrew and Yiddish; but more than once, this will bring him to his limits like when overly attentive friends try to ensure proper behaviour, when families will interfere, or when religious demands meet human desires. That is, as with the predecessor, highly insightful; so you may read your way through the traditional shabbos and really get to learn and understand the rituals. The book’s title derives from the end of the prayer to mark the conclusion of Sabbath “Baruch atah Adonai hamadvil beyn kodesh lechol =
Blessed art thou, Oh Lord, who hast made a distinction between sacred and profane“ p 130

In this book, the rituals, the high spiritual and personal demands, and the slow progress in the investigation will soon overexhaust the detective – and I admit that some of his frustration rubs off, especially when the case‘s end will somehow fade away in contrast to his love matters. I still like the non-kitsh love affair and how religious matters are being portrayed – solid 4 stars out of 5.

Ich habe die englische Original-Ausgabe von 2015 gelesen "Sweet Caress" als HC.

Strongwilled, photography-loving, impetuous, sardonic - Amory is born the first child of three.
Traumatized, absent, socially aware, alienated – after his World War I experiences, her father will try to kill her.
Photography-loving, fashionable, familial, similarly sardonic - her uncle will teach her how every person may be described with just four adjectives (sic!). He gives her the first camera. Many others will follow while Amory will ever strive to try and improve her art, while life – and love – sometimes rather just seem to happen. „Time is a racehorse, eating up the furlongs as it gallops towards the finish line.“ p 226



This fictional biography of this completely made-up woman will come with first-person narrator Amory, posing as a memoir written down by her in 1977/78, when she is in her early seventies. The majority of the story, though, will be historical, covering the ‘Great War‘ - traumatization of Amory‘s father, her start as photographer in London, still impeded by the fact that she is a woman, the Berlin nightlife in the Weimar-era, her transition to New York and back to London, twice, the next World War, Paris, Scotland, Vietnam,….
Author William Boyd manages to give ‘flesh“ to that personality, time and class, in a way that makes the reader end up checking whether Amory has really been invented only. The large number of pictures strewn in to portray what Amory did portray help this effect a great deal and make up a large part oft he book’s charm. The novel comes in “books“ to go along with the diary-type setup, the chapters will be named after the places.



“Sweet Caress“ of 2015 (German translation „Die Fotografin“ of 2016) is an easy read, rather a light summer novel than the Pulitzer Price maybe, without neglecting that it offers a nice number of pointed remarks, like when Amory decides about how to react to her lover’s future plans about the two of them: „Inertia is a very underrated state of mind. … If you feel you have to make a decision then decide not to make a decision. Let time pass. Do nothing.“ p 158 She noticably is a woman of her time and age, the Scottish author put a great deal of effort to this (I followed up on some interviews on how he does research for like two! years and accumulates often masses of books to be what he calls a realistic writer cf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byiBqMpcdSE )



Talking about literature prices, I found it compelling what a broad span of works Boyd comes along with: from Booker shortlisted to James Bond! Still, back to this one, there were some lengths in “Sweet Caress“ and some moments when, though I did still enjoy the style, did still like the characters and how realistic everything was – but wondered on the ‘why‘: What does Boyd want to tell us with this book, why is he going all that way, what does the book want to convey, apart from being a compelling read. The final part will give you something of a clue, something of the the ‘why‘, at least, for Amory herself, for sure – but then, there were still those lengthier moments before. A good solid 4 star – read for me!