Regarding to the book market, it is mostly on book critics to decide on the success of a book. But are they really the right people to evaluate a book? Facing this question, PIPER one of Germany's largest book publishers was looking for an unseen special kind of review to promote their latest crime novel. 

When publishers want to promote a new book, they need the help of critics. But those reviews tell people only about typical literary treatments and not if the story itself is reliable or not. Therefore, it needed a new kind of reviews.

We asked an ex-criminal and convicted murderer to review the murder case of a crime novel, in order to create a completely new kind and perspective of book reviews.

Henry-Oliver Jakobs, a convicted murderer who spent 19 years in prison, was asked to review the new book of Jørn Lier Horst ('Wisting und der Tag der Vermissten') and its core story of a murder case with all its facets. The review was published by PIPER on their website, on all relevant social media platforms and gained widespread publicity in the classic and digital book trade. 

Within in just seven days after the initiative, 'Wisting und der Tag der Vermissten' became a bestseller, ranking in the Top 20 SPIEGEL bestseller list. Furthermore, Criminal Reviews started a divisive discussion on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram proving, that this new kind of review gives readers the most realistic view on a crime novel they could ever get.