Devi Nair
ARC provided by: NetGalley 📱📖 Read on Kindle 📃 448 pages ⏱ Duration: 5 hours 🏷️ Publisher: Soho Crime Expected Publishing: August 4, 2026 Genre: Cozy Mystery
With a title like My Inner Child wants to Kill, you'd never guess this is cozy, but oh, it absolutely is. Cozy in the chaos, maybe like, sipping herbal tea while hiding a body. This is one of the most genuinely funny, unexpectedly insightful books I've read in a long time. Karsten Dusse's humor translates brillantly into English, thanks to Florian Duijsens. I laughed out loud more times that I could count, and yes, this is definitely not a book to read in public unless you enjoy confused stares from strangers.
Björn Diemel’s mindfullness journey hits deeper this time. His therapist introducs the concept of inner-child healing, and Dusse manages to mix psychoanalysis, absurd comedy, and crime into something unexpectedly heartwarming. I'm still processing the fact that a dark comedy about a lawyer-turned-accidental-mafia-boss gave me actual, usable inner child therapy exercises. I did those exercises, people. I felt things. Somehow, the book doubles as a crime caper and a surprisingly effective self-help manual.
The distinction Björn makes between childish (an adult throwing a tantrum) and childlike (a child responding with age-appropriate clarity and creativity) hit differently than I expected. His inner child isn't a punchline. It's actually the most emotionally intelligent character in the book, and that's both hilarious and surprisingly moving. Björn trying very hard to not kill anyone while also absolutely killing everyone is a premise that shouldn't work this well, and yet here we are.
My biggest regret is not having read Book One first. I jumped in mid-series and while this absolutely holds up as a standalone read, I could feel the shadow of backstory I was missing. The kind that makes you want to sprint to Book One immediately and then binge the Netflix series at 1 am. The pacing is sharp, the supporting cast (yes, Sasha, you!) is wild in the best way, and the mindfulness chapter openers are equal part satirical and strangely soothing. Between mob meetings and meditation classes, Björn redefines what personal growth looks like, sometimes with hilarious collateral damage.
Would I recommend it? This book is proof that translated fiction is doing things English-language publishing hasn't caught up to yet. It delivers both humor and heart with surgical precision. If you love dark comedy, cozy-adjascent crime, or anything that makes you think while making you wheeze-laugh, this is your next read. My Inner Child Wants to Kill is clever, chaotic, and oddly healing. This one is a true gem.
Originally posted at viewsshewrites.com.
ARC provided by: NetGalley 📱📖 Read on Kindle 📃 448 pages ⏱ Duration: 5 hours 🏷️ Publisher: Soho Crime Expected Publishing: August 4, 2026 Genre: Cozy Mystery
With a title like My Inner Child wants to Kill, you'd never guess this is cozy, but oh, it absolutely is. Cozy in the chaos, maybe like, sipping herbal tea while hiding a body. This is one of the most genuinely funny, unexpectedly insightful books I've read in a long time. Karsten Dusse's humor translates brillantly into English, thanks to Florian Duijsens. I laughed out loud more times that I could count, and yes, this is definitely not a book to read in public unless you enjoy confused stares from strangers.
Björn Diemel’s mindfullness journey hits deeper this time. His therapist introducs the concept of inner-child healing, and Dusse manages to mix psychoanalysis, absurd comedy, and crime into something unexpectedly heartwarming. I'm still processing the fact that a dark comedy about a lawyer-turned-accidental-mafia-boss gave me actual, usable inner child therapy exercises. I did those exercises, people. I felt things. Somehow, the book doubles as a crime caper and a surprisingly effective self-help manual.
The distinction Björn makes between childish (an adult throwing a tantrum) and childlike (a child responding with age-appropriate clarity and creativity) hit differently than I expected. His inner child isn't a punchline. It's actually the most emotionally intelligent character in the book, and that's both hilarious and surprisingly moving. Björn trying very hard to not kill anyone while also absolutely killing everyone is a premise that shouldn't work this well, and yet here we are.
My biggest regret is not having read Book One first. I jumped in mid-series and while this absolutely holds up as a standalone read, I could feel the shadow of backstory I was missing. The kind that makes you want to sprint to Book One immediately and then binge the Netflix series at 1 am. The pacing is sharp, the supporting cast (yes, Sasha, you!) is wild in the best way, and the mindfulness chapter openers are equal part satirical and strangely soothing. Between mob meetings and meditation classes, Björn redefines what personal growth looks like, sometimes with hilarious collateral damage.
Would I recommend it? This book is proof that translated fiction is doing things English-language publishing hasn't caught up to yet. It delivers both humor and heart with surgical precision. If you love dark comedy, cozy-adjascent crime, or anything that makes you think while making you wheeze-laugh, this is your next read. My Inner Child Wants to Kill is clever, chaotic, and oddly healing. This one is a true gem.
Originally posted at viewsshewrites.com.