This is the fourth book in the Dr. Hoffmann mystery series to be translated from the German and published by Amazon Crossing which specializes in bringing books from around the world to the attention of American readers. I was pleased with the first of the series, The Russian Donation. I did not find this book, The Fourth Day, to be quite as entertaining, although it is still a good read. This book involves a hostage drama that takes place inside the ICU of a major Berlin hospital where Dr. Hoffmann works. He finds himself trapped, along with a few of his colleagues and three patients, in the ICU by an armed gunman who seems to be blind. He is wearing dark glasses and a yellow arm band with three black dots worn by some people in Germany to identify the blind. He also has at his side a very imposing German Shepard. It is up to Dr. Hoffmann to discover why this man has picked this hospital and specifically this iCU to hold hostage. The story is very slow to unravel. There is very little action or violence in this book. The touches of humor I found entertaining in the first book of the series is for the most part missing in this book. The book is entertaining as Dr. Hoffmann tries to find a solution the hostage taker’s demands and get everyone safely out of this situation, but in a very low key way. Book provided for review by Amazon Vine. ( )

“This gun is loaded!”

It is a first sentence that certainly grabs your attention. “The Fourth Day” starts out right at the beginning of a hostage situation and the reader is put in the same position as the hostages as s/he tries to determine the Who, What and Why of the unfolding action.

While there certainly is dramatic tension throughout the rest of the book, it lags or almost falls apart at times because of the snarky tone and near-constant sarcasm and disdain of the main character, Felix Hoffman.

Despite the fact that Hoffman is being held at gunpoint and is then placed in further danger, he just doesn’t seem to be all that worried. At times, he seems to feel SOME fear and concern for his/others wellbeing – but even then it is weak. More often than not, he is busy maintaining an internal commentary on office politics, bathroom issues, procedural hoops in the medical system, his dislike of/jealously of his boss…

Hoffman thinks things like, “OK, I didn’t explain with suitable precision when I said the cardiac arrest alarm goes off when the patient’s heart’s no longer doing its job. What I should have said is that it goes off when the monitor can no longer detect cardiac activity.” In the context of the situation he’s in – this comes across like he is a snarky teenager. One saying to his/her parents – “OK – fine – if you have to be picky about it…”

Still, the action moves along relatively well – with a few bits of well-placed social commentary. “Today, even hospitals like the venerable Charite, which dates back to 1710, are feeling the stress of competition and aren’t above a little shameless self-promotion. I’m sure Dr. Joachim really is one of their leading liver specialists, but like I said, he’s also one of their most mediagenic. I think the day will come when hospitals will hire actors for TV appearances such as this one. Or send the doctors to acting school.” Since we have actors who tout their credibility on a certain subject because “I’m not a doctor but I played one on TV” – Hoffman’s prediction seems more than possible. (Plus, I like that word – mediagenic.)

As with any translated work, there are a few flaws. Most are small bumps in the prose – but one really stood out. At one point, there is a conversation about whether another character committed suicide. Hoffman uses the word “autodefenestrated” which was eyebrow raising vocab – especially, again, in the middle of a hostage situation. It is used correctly (definition: the act of hurling oneself from a window) but it sure knocked me out of the scene for a bit.

“The Fourth Day” was a good enough thriller – but as a series – I think the character of Felix Hoffman would be incredibly irritating and off-putting. ( )