Sára Saudek and her detective novel Rain

The book Rain will suck you in, entertain you, you will not want to put it down and you will not even remember that it was written by a woman, which you know as a smiling beauty in romantic summer dresses. And when you sometimes realise it as you go, you will shake your head.

Oldřiška - a woman with a thick skin

The main character in the book is Oldřiška, a vigorous investigator, with quite a sharp tongue, who drinks beer with gusto of a true Czech ´guy´. Her subordinates like and respect her. The men that she encounters in her personal life are terrified of her, but some are on the contrary attracted like a magnet.

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Sarah Saudek has excellent ability to portray the characters so that you can imagine them all. However, there may be a problem with Oldřiška. It seems that she is such an unusual combination of characteristics that it is not possible for someone like that to really exist. Is it possible for an attractive, smart man to be excited by a vulgar woman, acting as rough as a guy, moreover without a modicum of empathy or emotion, who on top of that walks around in torn boots? The author so much wanted to show that Oldřiška is a sharp one, that she overdid it a little.

A classic corpse to be found, a classic resolution of the case

Detective and criminal novels cannot really be about anything else. Sarah Saudek wrote a very good quality detective novel which fulfilled its task - to get readers to read and not wish to put the book down - excellently. Who is the murderer may be guessed at before you finish the book (unlike in Kepler´s novels; I consider the latter to be the master of crime story writing, since to the last page you have no idea who the murderer is), but even so, the book is very thrilling indeed.

A corpse is found in Modřany ravine. The young beautiful blond had to suffer a lot before her death and Oldřiška deploys her squad to resolve the case. The book does not lack a certain dose of humour and the erotic, making it a page turner. Attentive readers will note original turn of phrase created by Sarah Saudková herself, lending the book an extra dose of interest and readability.

Book extract

"...Yes, she suffered from the syndrome of lack of fear, predetermining her for the role of a brutal, stubborn and intolerable investigator. Every case unleashed in her a bulldog-like passion, as if indicating obsession. With every case she slept poorly, drunk too much, leaving out of her life anything that would bear a stamp of a healthy regimen. Every case was as if killing her while lending her a huge amount of energy. With such a nature it was easier for Oldřiška to accept that her private life will be on the brink of extinction, as potted tomatoes on a balcony."

"...When they came to the shaft encircled by concrete, Misery had its feast day. Between the syringes, torn plastic bags with old clothing and hardened cement lingered smell of rot, awakened by rain."