Honesty isn't always the best policy in Kim Hays' third Linder and Donatelli Mystery novel . . .
Andi Eberhart is riding her bicycle home on an icy winter night when she is killed in a hit-and-run. Her devastated partner, Nisha, is convinced the death was no accident. Andi had been receiving homophobic hate mail for several years, and the letters grew uglier after the couple’s baby was born.
Bern homicide Detective Giuliana Linder is assigned to investigate what happened to Andi. As she pieces together the details of Andi and Nisha’s lives, her assistant Renzo Donatelli looks into Andi’s job advising young men drafted into Switzerland’s civilian service. Working closely together, Giuliana and Renzo are again tempted to become more than just friendly colleagues.
As both detectives dig into Andi’s life, one thing becomes clear: Andi’s friends and family may have loved her for her honesty, but her outspokenness threatened others—perhaps enough to get rid of her.
“A Fondness for Truth feels fresh as it engages with societal conflicts that resonate . . . Hays’s empathetic, entertaining, smartly plotted mystery will keep readers guessing . . . [in this] stellar series procedural with compelling detectives. ”
—BookLife
“With [Giuliana Linder and Renzo Donatelli’s] powers of deduction once again on impressive display, this third outing is a fine addition to the series, with Hays remaining consistently focused on current affairs, international cultures, and hot topics. . . A brisk, smoothly written police procedural from an author engaged with contemporary social issues. ”
—Kirkus
“If you thought Switzerland was all mountains, clocks, and bankers, Kim Hays will make you think again. In the venerable tradition of the police procedural, and in precise, evocative prose, A Fondness for Truth pulls back the scenery curtain to reveal the reality: people are complex, darkness is as universal as light, and crime is everywhere. ”
—SJ Rozan, bestselling author of The Mayors of New York
“For aficionados of fine police detection and procedure, it doesn't get better than Kim Hays's LInder and Donatelli series. Puzzling mysteries, artful prose, and engaging characters abound in these Swiss-based treats for mystery fans of all tastes. ”
—George Easter, Editor, Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine
Kim Hays is a dual citizen of Switzerland and the US who lives in Bern with her Swiss husband. Before her marriage, she lived in San Juan, Vancouver, and Stockholm, as well as the States. Since her teens, Hays has worked in a variety of jobs, from forewoman in a truck-engine factory to lecturer in sociology to cross-cultural trainer for multinational firms. She found a publisher for Pesticide after it was shortlisted for the 2020 Debut Dagger award by the Crime Writers’ Association. Hays has a BA from Harvard and a PhD from the University of California-Berkeley.