Read this exclusive guest post from Tracee de Hahn, then make sure you're signed in and comment below for a chance to win a copy of her latest Agnes Luthi Mystery, A Well-Timed Murder!
Yes, Virginia, there is crime in Switzerland.
Take a tour of the country and certain words come to mind: idyllic, peaceful, charming. In short, perfect. Add humans and crime arrives in the land of spectacular lakes and mountains.
But what kind of crime? Switzerland is like a small southern town in America—something I’m also very familiar with. There are big crimes and tiny, festering ones. In the American South, communities share memories of their part in the Trail of Tears or role in the Underground Railroad. There are family feuds so old that no one remembers why Great-Great Uncle Joe was shot on his front porch by his cousin.
The Second World War left a similar mark on the Swiss, and new debates continue to emerge. These are stories of spies and hoarded gold, borders closed and opened and closed again. Post-war Switzerland is a world of high-tech advances, secure investment, and luxury goods.
Watches have long been associated with the Swiss. Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in France brought family groups to an industrious agricultural country. This was a natural springboard for watch manufacturing on a small scale. Spring forward 300 hundred years, and family lines remain unbroken. Various Swiss inventors increased the precision and beauty in tandem with manufacturing developments. By the end of the Second World War, Switzerland controlled the luxury watch market. For a writer, this is a springboard for “what if?”
What if watches were at the heart of murder? With this in mind, I revisited the watchmaking region of Switzerland, visiting friends in their workshops and ending at Baselworld, the world’s premier watch and jewelry show held annually in Basel. Five buildings spread across a large convention center filled with loose, high-quality, precious stones, magnificent jewelry, and watches made for a few snatch-and-grab jokes. Of course, this is Switzerland, where every tenth person is a policeman. Probably not a snatch-and-grab job. But what about industrial espionage? Clearly a possibility.
Industrial espionage is such a serious threat that a conversation about watchmaking that began in an atelier in the watchmaking town of Biel never carries over to lunch in a restaurant. Particularly when most of the tables are occupied by the legions of Omega employees.
Similarly, small luxury watchmakers who share an entry foyer will barely say a polite good morning upon seeing one another. (These are the same people who greet one another effusively upon entering and leaving a café. Hello, welcome, have a nice weekend, thank you, goodbye—repeated until the customer isn’t sure they will ever be allowed to leave.)
Today, manufacturers such as The Swatch Group—which is the parent company of nearly 20 watch and jewelry brands, including Breguet, Harry Winston, Blancpain, and Omega—have worldwide instant name recognition. However, there is another realm of luxury watchmakers who don’t compete in terms of quantity but certainly do in terms of quality.
An example of this continuing tradition is Philippe Dufour. Approaching 70, he is a legend often referred to as “the pope of watchmaking” or “the greatest living watchmaker.” The waiting list for one of his watches hovers near 200 names. Since the watches often take months to create, many on the list are nervous about their chances of acquiring one (he has been known to spend over two years on a single piece).
Each timepiece that leaves his atelier is a masterpiece inside and out, on every level of creation and design. That made it all the worse when, several years ago, his workshop was burglarized. Items were stolen, including one of his famous Simplicity watches. Sometime later, a collector noted its sale on eBay out of Romania. In this storybook ending, the collector bought the watch and returned it to Dufour as a gift.
In writing A Well-Timed Murder, I wanted to play on crime at both levels in Switzerland. The small manufacturer and what is at stake for these families with the advent of globalization and modern manufacturing techniques countered with the global nature of cyber theft. For me, these are Swiss crimes. Global and very human at the same time. A world that operates like a village.
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A Well-Timed Murder Comment Sweepstakes: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 years or older as of the date of entry. To enter, complete the “Post a Comment” entry at https://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2018/01/the-perfect-time-how-the-world-of-swiss-watchmaking-made-for-the-perfect-setting-for-a-murder-mystery-comment-sweepstakes beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) January 29, 2018. Sweepstakes ends 2:59 p.m. ET February 13, 2018. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Macmillan, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010.
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Tracee de Hahn completed degrees in architecture and European history at the University of Kentucky and then lived in Europe, including several years in Switzerland. She currently lives in Virginia with her husband, a Swiss architect, and their Jack Russell Terriers. This is her second novel, following Swiss Vendetta.
As my sister has lived in Switzerland for over 30 years, I always jump at titles set there. Looks to be a good mystery…
Seriously intriguing premise, and just in time! (Ha!)
Fascinating! I would love to own great watches–but it seems like the ultimate luxury–very expensive, and not really necessary. And then if I wore it, what if I got mugged? I guess I’d have to stick to living under high security in Monaco, me and my watch collection!
This sounds like a good book. Thank you for the giveaway!
Sounds like fun. Would love to win the book
Sounds like fun. Would love to win the book
Tick…
I would love to read the book.
Mine, please!
This could be very interesting
It’s time to read this. My Swiss cousins would approve.
I’d love to win.
Yes, please enter me.
Thanks!
Very much enjoyed the first title–glad to see Agnes Luthi back in a second mystery.
Sounds great!
Sounds like a great read.
Mon Dieu – I think you’re on to something! I would love to read, “A Well-Timed Murder” and receiving a free copy could only add a jewel to my watch’s crown. Merci pour les Chance!
Mon Dieu – I think you’re on to something! I would love to read, “A Well-Timed Murder” and receiving a free copy could only add a jewel to my watch’s crown. Merci pour les Chance!
Fascinating, something different.
I’m intrigued!
I like the time-line in this book. Would love to read it.
I have never read a murder mystery that takes place in Switzerland and so I am looking forward to enjoying this tale.
Sounds very interesting!
I’m excited about a book about watchmaking…Thanks/
Sounds intersting!
Sounds intersting!
Thank you for the chance to win .
Who doesn’t love a good murder mystery?
Sounds like a great read with alot of history to it! Love to win it!! A real book would be nice!
I did a touristy tour of watchmakers in Switzerland long ago, and the importance of timing in good mystery and suspense novels is not lost on me. I’ll have to watch out for this book so I can tick it off my list.
how interesting
Fascinating and captivating.
Great mystery and locale.
I’ll make time for this one!
Enjoyed the first in this series–can’t wait to read this title.
I love a good murder mystery!
A different premise. It sounds promising.
This book sounds not only like one that I would love to read, but one that I could get my science fiction-addicted husband to read! keeping my fingers crossed!
Love the title as it relates to watch making….
This is a great location and subject for an intriguing mystery. This book is on my list of books to read.
I’d love to read this book…looks so good.
Looks good, I’m looking forward to it.
Haven’t thought much about watchmaking, but I do think a Swiss murder would have to be a step by step thing. Precision killing, as it were.
It’s time I read a good book. Maybe this one.
Count me in, please!
This book looks interesting.
I have time for this book! Yes!
would love to win!! i pass along books to my friends!!
would love to win!! i pass along books to my friends!!
thanks for chance
Been to Switzerland an grew up in the south. Not a lot in common.
sounds like a book I would like to read
sounds like a book I would like to read
Love the setting for this book. Would like to read. Thanks for the post.
great setting for a mystery
[b]I haven’t been to Switzerland for a LONG TIME–since 1964. Would love a chance to read this mystery![/b]
Hope this is a well-timed entry.
Hope this is a well-timed entry.
Such an interesting idea for a mystery, color me intrigued.
It sounds intriguing! I can’t wait to read it!
Sounds very interesting! Would be nice to win! Thanks!
I just love watches!
I just love watches!
Fingers Crossed!!!!
I always like to learn something new when I read a mystery and this book would surely fill that bill.
Having been to Switzerland, this book sounds like just the perfect reading for cold winter day.
I’d make time to read this one…
always like a mystery
I enjoy a good international mystery and yours looks like it would be a good one. Thanks for the opportunity to win “A Well-Timed Murder”.
Thanks for the contest!
So tempting.
Timing is everything, I guess