Mindfulness Meets Murder in Crime Thriller Debut

Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse

Karsten Dusse’s debut novel Murder Mindfully, translated from the German by Florian Duijsens, is a jet-black satirical comedy so zany this reviewer nearly fell out of bed guffawing while gulping it down in one evening. The author lampoons the wellness industry, unscrupulous criminal defense lawyers, and ultra-competitive parents of pre-schoolers, enveloping them all in an intricately plotted crime thriller.

Björn is a 42-year-old high-profile criminal defense attorney whose entire 10-year career has been devoted to successfully defending Dragan Sergowicz, a heinous crime boss and monstrous killer. Leader of the two largest organized crime rings in Berlin, Dragan is a thoroughly unscrupulous racketeer and drug lord. With his loud, abusive manner and the requirement that they be instantly available 24/7, even his most loyal henchmen loathe him. Björn’s other clients, wife and darling three-year-old daughter Emily consistently take a backseat in his priorities.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The impressive billable hours Bjorn has clocked have enriched the law firm and provided him with the outward trappings of success of a fine home, luxury company car, and expensive clothing, but have engendered not only personal frustration but also disharmony with his wife, and he feels underappreciated by all. The knowledge that partnership in the firm will never be forthcoming as long as he represents this scumbag, yet realizing it would be his funeral if he attempted to end this professional relationship, effectively and painfully rubs salt into his wounds.

His wife Katharina has delivered three ultimatums: to restore balance in his life by taking a mindfulness course to save their marriage, to never allow Dragan or his associates in the vicinity of their daughter, and to secure enrollment for their toddler, Emily, in a top pre-school. Enrollment is far from assured at the 31 best preschools, and they have already received multiple refusals due to Björn’s association with Dragan. If he fails to meet these demands, she will divorce him and move away with their daughter, fully supported by German courts, which consistently grant custody to the mother.

Björn, full of work excuses, is late for his first appointment with mindfulness practitioner Joschka Breitner but punctilious thereafter during the remaining three months of expensive consultations. Upon completion of this course, he is presented with a signed copy of Slowing Down in the Fast Lane: Mindfulness for Managers, which serves as his operations manual. According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts, mindfulness is defined as “Awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.” The premise is that individuals who are less reactive are often happier.

Meet the New Boss

Each chapter of Murder Mindfully begins with an inspirational quote from the fictional therapist Breitner, serving to calm Björn and allowing him to carefully plan strategies after the nearly accidental death of his client/nemesis Dragan and the disturbing fallout from his disappearance. It is presumed Dragan is in hiding and has provided Björn with discretionary powers in addition to his seal of approval: his thumbprint and initials on newsprint. Not easy, but the wily counselor had managed to obtain a reasonable facsimile. Rival crime boss Boris is most perturbed about the disappearance, demanding a meeting with him following the death of one of his assassins. However, most of Dragan’s henchmen are pleased with the reprieve from screaming tirades, physical abuse and threats, as Björn’s cooperative guidance replaces them. Seeking peaceful serenity and a more harmonious balance between work and family life, Björn must antithetically promote violence.

Therapeutic mindfulness offers many benefits that will be revealed in subsequent chapters. Finding a creative solution to Katharina’s concern about Emily’s acceptance into a quality pre-school is achieved by installing a new management team at the soon-to-be-renamed Little Fishes Preschool. The Head Investigator of the Homicide Department’s tiny tot is also promptly enrolled. And who could have guessed that Sasha Ivanov, Dragan’s former driver and enforcer, was also a trained pedagogue fully qualified to become the new managing director?

To the casual observer, Björn Diemel is a well-adjusted family man and problem-solver who successfully absorbed the lessons of stress reduction through mindfulness techniques. Karsten Dusse’s debut in fiction, Murder Mindfully, is equally outrageously hilarious and wickedly brilliant.