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    The Collini Case
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    The Collini Case
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    The Collini Case
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Collini Case

    Written by Ferdinand von Schirach

    Narrated by Steven Crossley

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The internationally bestselling courtroom drama centering on a young German lawyer and a case involving World War II

    A bestseller in Germany since its 2011 release-with rights sold in seventeen countries-The Collini Case combines the classic courtroom procedural with modern European history in a legal thriller worthy of John Grisham and Scott Turow.

    Fabrizio Collini is recently retired. He's a quiet, unassuming man with no indications that he's capable of hurting anyone. And yet he brutally murders a prominent industrialist in one of Berlin's most exclusive hotels.

    Collini ends up in the charge of Caspar Leinen, a rookie defense lawyer eager to launch his career with a not-guilty verdict. Complications soon arise when Collini admits to the murder but refuses to give his motive, much less speak to anyone. As Leinen searches for clues he discovers a personal connection to the victim and unearths a terrible truth at the heart of Germany's legal system that stretches back to World War II. But how much is he willing to sacrifice to expose the truth?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateAug 1, 2013
    ISBN9781101620342
    Unavailable
    The Collini Case

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    Reviews for The Collini Case

    4/5

    169 ratings18 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Fabrizio Collini enters a hotel room in downtown Munich and commits a foul act namely the brutal murder of well known and respected industrialist Hans Meyer. Why should an elderly man with no previous record of assault select at random a victim and deal with in the most horrendous way. Young, newly qualified, attorney Caspar Leinen is assigned the case and he must attempt the impossible defend a man who seemingly has no defence as he happily admits to implementing the murder. This is a short read instantly grabbing the reader's attention with crisp, precise prose and a most unexpected yet perfectly executed conclusion. To say much more would spoil the delights that wait the intuitive reader as we try to unravel the legislation pertaining to a seemingly random crime. Highly recommended
    • 3/5
      This novel rather sold me the dummy. It opened very well with a concise description of the murder in 2002 of Hans Meyer, an elderly German business magnate, in his suite in the prestigious Hotel Adlon in Berlin. After shooting Meyer four times the murderer placidly goes downstairs to Reception and asks the person behind the counter to call the police. He then sits quietly in the lounge until the officers arrive, and then gives himself up. Apart from identifying himself as Fabrizio Collini, an Italian who has lived in Germany for the last thirty-five years, he tells the officers nothingNewly qualified advocate Caspar Leinen happens to be the duty lawyer for legal aid defence work when the case is called in, and duly attends the initial arraignment. However, once the legal process is set in motion Leinen is in for a shock as he realises he knew the victim very well, though not under that forename, and had been close to the Meyer family for his whole life. His client doesn't help at all as he steadfastly refuses to explain why he had murdered the old man.Leinen starts digging, trying to find out what might have prompted his cleint to commit the murder, and what connection he might have ahd with the victim. Upt to this point the novel has been very well constructed, written in a spare but compelling tone, and von Shirach succeeds in building the tension. However, as soon as Leinen starts digging into the past the novel plummets into predictability. It also seems to race to a close, as though the writer had been set an immovable deadline, and had to bring the book to a close as quickly as possible.I am glad I read it, and was impressed by the writer's style, though I feel that the plaudits scattered all over the cover were wholly removed from my own experience of the book.
    • 2/5
      Not sure what all the hype is about this?

      A solid story of a criminal lawyer defending a murder case, but nothing spectacular.
    • 3/5
      I hadn't been that excited about this ARC when I ordered it, but I was quickly sucked into the story and there were some nice touches alone the way. It had been quite a while since I have read a true page-turner, it's thrilling at times.
    • 4/5
      An elegant novella, written with great economy (it's a three-hour, single sitting read) yet with vivid description and characters with depth. The premise is a newly-qualified lawyer seeking to defend the undefendable; but that's not what the book is about. It's about the law, its formation and its consequences. Actually, the work is a polemic cleverly disguised as a crime thriller - which, as the appendix shows, achieved the author's goals in the real world. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Compelling story that's a why-dunnit, rather than a who dunnit. Collini is an elderly man who kills another elderly man, in this case a very wealthy German industrialist, but Collini quietly turns himself in and won't say why he did it. Leiner, the newly minted lawyer, takes on the case, and digs into the history of both men, gradually uncovering the back story and presenting it in court...
    • 4/5
      This story begins with the murder of a man in a hotel room. The man (Collini) who killed him reports the shooting, then waits to be arrested. The case is assigned to a brand new attorney as his first case, and it seems that the story must end there because Collini admitted to the crime, but refuses to say why he did it or anything at all. However, through the tenacious investigation by this young attorney, it comes out that the murder is related to the German occupation of Italy during World War II, and the story goes on from there. This is a quick read, well done, and the author tells a compelling story, with characters that each seem sympathetic until the story is told.
    • 4/5
      Well written court room drama in which skeletons in the cupboard emerge.
    • 5/5
      The Collini Case is, much like Pia Juul's The Murder of Halland, a novel based on the commission of a crime yet really isn't crime fiction per se. There is a murder, but the focus of this novel is more on what lies beneath the decision of a retired Mercedes-Benz toolmaker to walk into a man's hotel room, shoot him, and then brutally kick him -- breaking all of the bones in his head while grinding his shoe into the man's face. Unlike many crime novels, this book is not meant to be entertaining; on the contrary, it is a story designed with a specific purpose in mind. If you're looking for the typical whodunit kind of read, pass on this one; it's not a staggering legal thriller, nor is it meant to be. In an interview at BBC Radio 4, Von Schirach notes that when he writes about crime, the whodunit is not important to him, but rather it is the motive behind criminal acts that he finds interesting. This is certainly the case in his novel, where Fabrizio Collini, a long-time worker at Mercedes Benz, makes an appointment with a wealthy industrialist at his hotel in Berlin. Posing as a journalist, Collini is welcomed into the man's room, where he promptly proceeds to put four bullets into the man's head, and repeatedly grind his shoe into the dead man's face. When the act is finished, he goes downstairs, asks the woman at the front desk to inform the police that the man in room 400 is dead, then quietly waits to be arrested. It isn't long before he is taken into custody, but when his lawyer, Caspar Leinen, arrives, Collini provides only minimal answers. Yet he will not answer the crucial question as to why he killed the man. Leinen, a new defense attorney, knows he's going to have his work cut out for him; but little does he understand the ramifications of taking on Collini's defense. The Collini Case is difficult to summarize without ruining it for prospective readers, but even in its spare, understated tone, this slow-paced story is powerful and gets to the thematic issue of guilt as determined by a person's circumstances. Also present throughout the story is the idea of justice in the present world where the past still has a strong foothold within a system that may have very well failed at its own mission. While these themes are writ large, there's also a side trip into the reflections of one's own life in the light of revelations of family secrets. You may think as you read that you know what's coming down the pike, but trust me, that's not really the case.Ferdinand von Schirach is himself a criminal attorney with a past not unlike that of some of the characters in The Collini Case. While some readers found it "predictable," "pedestrian," and found that the core issue may have been better served in a pamphlet or magazine article, I have to disagree. It is an all-too human story about the consequences that evolve out of fundamental wrongs within the system that somehow everyone overlooked, with devastating results all around. I think people started into the book with expectations of a legal thriller and the fact that it came out to be something entirely different may have proved disappointing, but that's certainly not the fault of the author.While true blue mystery/crime fiction fans may not find what they're looking for in this book, to me it was an eye-opening story with a punch. Perhaps a crime-fiction audience isn't the best market for this novel, but it's quite an engaging read that I finished in one sitting. Now I'm going to pull out my copies of his other books Crime and Guilt which have been collecting dust on my shelves; I can't wait to read what else this man has written. Definitely recommended.
    • 3/5
      An interesting story with well drawn characters. It relies heavily on the mystery of why the murder at the start of the novel has been committed but, by the time we get to the flashback to the true motive for the murder, it has become fairly obvious and immediately deflates the dramatic tension.
      One of the interesting points is a factual anomaly in the law in Germany in the 1960s concerning the prosecution of war criminals.
    • 3/5
      Von Schirach wrote a great book of short stories about odd legal cases he had worked on. Now he has a novella to add to the ouevre. In some respects this is a straightforward narrative of a fictional murder case involving an oddity in German law. At another level it has provoked a change at the highest level of lawmaking in Germany. Easy to read. Enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      Such a short book to read and yet it holds you good and tight all the way complete with several odd and surprising moments that either are not explained or simply never need to be because the story carries on and on oil the finial word ~ an excellent read.
    • 5/5
      Caspar Leinen has just established his own law office and has volunteered as assigned counsel. It is his first independent case in front of a jury. There is no question that the accused is guilty. But there seems to be no motive and the accused will not talk about it. And too late to back out, Caspar Leinen learns that the dead man is none other than the grandfather of his childhood friend, who played a large role in his own life.

      Ferdinand von Schirach introduces us to the people involved in the trial, what brought them to this point in their life. As in his essays in Guilt and Crime, he shows us the moral and the legal side of justice that don't always fit together easily. More than in his short fiction, he ponders the role of the defense attorney and the impact that role can have on the life of a person. The writing style is sparse and unsentimental, but the story hits all the right spots.
    • 4/5
      This author generally writes short stories, and I wondered if in this case he had been persuaded to pad one out which, if printed in a big enough typeface, could be fat enough to be priced as a novel. Certainly the autopsy scene seemed to be taking place in real time, but taught me a thing or two, and my ageing eyes appreciated the big, big print, but if I'd paid £7.99 instead of picking it up second hand, I might have felt a bit short changed.The story concerns a murder case, in which a young lawyer is facing an uphill task defending his client who apparently shot a man in cold blood in a hotel room, and then popped downstairs and told reception what had happened before waiting for the police to show up. Whilst it was never quite clear to me - even once the plot had been played out - why Collini took so long to explain his actions, the story is entirely readable, clear and concise with the requisite twists and turns, and informative as to specific areas of German law. It's too short to get lost in, but you emerge with food for thought.
    • 5/5
      Ein zutiefst beeindruckendes Buch über einen jungen Anwalt, der als ersten Fall die Verteidigung eines geständigen Mörders übernimmt. Das Mordopfer, ein älterer Industrieller, ist dem Anwalt ein väterlicher Freund gewesen. Der Täter, ein mittlerweile verrenteter italienischer Gastarbeiter schweigt und es lässt sich einfach kein Motiv finden. Doch plötzlich findet der Anwalt eine Spur.Das Buch ist ausgezeichnet geschrieben und in seiner ruhigen Sprache ungeheur wuchtig. Es ist nicht nur als literarisches Werk, sondern auch politisch höchst bedeutsam. Ich konnte kaum noch aufhören zu lesen.
    • 3/5
      “The Collini Case” by Ferdinand Von SchirachI just finished reading this book and I sit here stunned. When I picked this book up, I thought it looked interesting and different. I wasn’t wrong, but in no way was I prepared for the reason behind the murder of a socially prominent man—Hans Meyer.Fabrizio Collini walks into a hotel, brutally kills a man with a gun and finishes the scene by stamping the victim’s face almost beyond recognition. Collini then proceeds to the lobby and tells them the man in room 400 is dead and sits, waiting patiently for his arrest. Was he crazy? Was this something personal? This horrific crime was about more than just personal revenge, it was about so much more.Caspar Leinen has been assigned Collini’s case. Even after he finds out he grew up with the victim’s family, he still represents him, arguing vigorously for his client’s defense. And when Collini refuses to give his motive, Leinin goes on the hunt and learns the truth.Von Schirach uses his own expertise as a defense lawyer to pen a novel that raises awareness of violent cruelty and what one would go through for retribution and just law.Powerfully written, this novel’s conclusion left me spellbound.
    • 5/5

      Irgendwann wird es einem das Guten zuviel, zumal wenn man sich gerade in einem Kriminalroman aufhält wo das Gute stets das Schlechte ist, das Elend, die Trogödie, die schiere Depression…

      Apropos ausblenden. Würde man all das, was gute deutsche Kriminalromane des Jahres 2013 ausmachte, ganz einfach ignorieren , stünde er tatsächliche da: der Krimi. Ein Mord, ein(e) Ermittler(in), Verdächtige, falsche Alibis, viel Kombination, ein wenig Aktion, Rätsel, Rätsel, Rätsel, … und am Ende alles klar und alles gut. Keine “Literaturâ€. Keine Abgründe. Keine Wirklichkeit. Keine enttäutschten Erwartungen? Dafür ein paar Stunden harmlosester Unterhaltung? Wiederspruch? Warum denn?? Ordnung! Aber eigentlich…bin ich noch froh, dass ich auch 2013 wieder einmal nicht wissen, was Krimi ist, was nicht, was er darf und was keinesfalls. lol.

      Vom Anfang bis zum Ende des Buches dieses Romans stand ich unter Schock. Grausamkeit auf jeder Seite. Oftmals an die Grenzen des Erträglichen konnte ich dennoch das Buch kaum aus der Hand legen. Selten habe ich so viel Mitleid mit einem Angeklagten empfunden. Doch wie lange kann ein Mensch rechtliche Ungerechtigkeit ertragen und das auch noch immer im Namen des Volkes. Ist es nicht vom menschlichen Standpunkt her nachvollziehbar, dass sich Opfer – und als solches muss Collini gesehen werden – irgendwann zum Täter wandeln, wenn ihnen der Justizapparat Gerechtigkeit und Sühne verwehrt?

      Erzählweise machen das Buch Der Fall Collini" zu einem des besten Bücher 2013.

      Auch das Weiterdenken nach dem Buch ist garantiert und in unserer Gesellschaft durchaus vonnöten."
    • 3/5
      To call this an easy read seems almost superfluous. It's an extended short- story which uses the tropes of courtroom drama to ask fascinating questions about recent German history and the effects that changing public attitudes can/should have on public prosecution. I don't feel i'm a particularly fast reader, but i read this in under two hours. The narrative focuses on Nazi war crimes, but as I was reading it, we currently have a range of public figures here in the UK potentially facing charges for events which took place in a different world: the 70s. It will be fascinating to see whether, as the Collini Case aska, it is the law or society who wins. I gave this three stars because SPOILER ALERT it felt to me that once the author had exhausted the legal question at the heart of the case he took the easy way out narratively. In a story where issues of right and wrong hang in the balance I felt each character should have been pushed to the limits of the consequences of FC's actions. I was left feeling dissatisfied, as though everyone was let off the hook...including me, the reader.