I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! Murder Mindfully is a riot of dark humour, masterful storytelling and ingenious murder, which will have you in stiches one minute before jumping out of your seat in anticipation the next. The beautiful combination of themes such as mindfulness and self help enrich this gloriously witty crime thriller like nothing I have ever read before and add an extra dimension to a sensationally clever drama which simply begs to be made into a series all of its own! Bjorn's life is heading in a downward spiral. Forty two years old and his wife, Katharina is threatening to leave him and take there daughter with her unless Bjorn can find a balance between his stressful work and home life. But being a lawyer to a brutal gangster and ruthless crime boss, Dragan Sergowicz brings its own problems and Bjorn's future looks increasingly bleak until his wife makes him attend mindfulness classes and Bjorn's newfound calm and search for serenity lead him down a road of murder and mayhem and where the path to inner peace may leave a steadily rising body count in its wake. Murder Mindfully is a triumph. Weaving a stellar story and richly populated cast of characters into a dark tale of murder and violence, whilst entwining stand out moments of pitch perfect comedy which propel this story onto a whole other level and one that kept me not only engaged but obsessed by every twist and fantastic game changing moment. This translation from German writer Karsten Dusse is truly exceptional and is a stand out example of crime writing at its very best with the added touches of mindfulness teachings and are increasing fascination for self help books bringing a wonderful depth to this outrageous masterpiece and had me clapping my hands with joy from one page to the next. A dark, witty, entertaining and mind blowing thriller and Murder Mindfully will have everyone taking a breath before diving in for a full scale riot of a thriller, which like a rollercoaster ride has so many ups and downs it will certainly open your eyes and mind to what a really fantastic thriller should be like!

Please read this, it is laugh out loud funny. When Lawyer Bjorn is sent on a mindfulness course by his wife, he has no idea what direction it would send his life in. Every day he has to deal with Dragan, his scumbag client. Because of this, he has never made partner at the firm because he deals with him so well. His wife is fed up with the constant demands from the client and gives Bjorn an ultimatum. Using his new mindful approach, Bjorn finds inventive ways to deal with his problems and spend quality time with his little girl, Emily. Very, very funny.

I must say, I think Björn Diemel really got his money's worth out of those therapy sessions on using mindfulness to better balance work/life balance and make things easier and simple to solve. lol This was a hoot to read and I laughed my way through the way Björn, as a criminal lawyer to a very bad man, dealt with his major stress and complicated life by being mindful, in the moment, and if it created a few dead bodies, that too was solvable! He got the work he wanted, he got to spend more time with his adorable daughter (including making sure she got into preschool) and his headache of a client who blamed him for everything and expected Björn to fix it was out of the picture. And yes, I know that this wasn't quite realistic, it is nice to read about how therapy can really change a person's life for the better! A fast paced story with characters that feel real and fully fleshed so you can relate with them and it kept my interest the whole time. This is a lighthearted tale about how therapy can change your life and if it includes a few dead bodies, it is alright because your work/life balance is good and things will work out in the end. I applaud Björn and maybe I too will go to therapy so I can find my own happiness in work and life. lol I am so glad I got the chance to read this and that it was translated so even more people can enjoy the interesting mindset of Björn Diemel!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. What a great book, a pleasure to read from start to finish. Bjorn is a great character, I love his narrative voice, there is a good supporting cast, a lot of humour and a great ending. And of course there are all the mindfulness tips a lot of which seem to work. I loved the way this cynical career lawyer embraced mindfulness so thoroughly in his attempt to deal with all his work stresses and gangland clients and I particularly liked how, at times of stress, he would hurry off to the bathroom with his book to check the advice in it! No plot spoilers, suffice to say that I found it all quite believable. I would just say that having each chapter headed with the tips which would prove relevant to the action spoiled the surprise a tiny bit, but that is just a minor niggle. The whole thing is a joy from start to finish and I thoroughly recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book! Mindfulness and gangsters shouldn't work but it really does! I thought this was a really funny dark comedy and some of the mindfulness bits were actually quite good. I do think the only main female ancillary character (Bjorn's wife Katharina) could have been a bit more fleshed out as she just came across as a cow, but all of the gangsters were great. The plot was good and very well paced. The ending made me laugh. What more could you want? The only thing that drove me mad (after I realised it would happen A LOT) was the repetition in the book of the mindfulness book that opened the chapters.