This is the first book of German author, Nele Neuhaus, to be translated into English. She's a bestselling author in Europe, and destined to be bestselling in USA also, if this book is any indication of her story telling ability. All the things that make for the best mysteries are within this one book, plus many more intricacies and red herrings that make this a superior mystery!

In a small German town, a young man returns home after serving his ten year sentence for murdering two girls, whose bodies were never found. The townspeople want nothing more than to have him leave again as soon as possible. They have already ruined his parent's business and his parents have separated. Thankfully, a wealthy businessman and a woman who made it big in acting, have believed in him and helped him and his family to scrape by. But shortly after his return home, bones are found in an old oil tank in a military base, sending police to report that one girls bones have been found. Things go from bad to worse.

What makes this police procedural so terrific is the interaction of the personal lives of the police team with the intricately involved lives of long time families within the small town of the murdered girls. Nothing is as it seems at first, second or fifth glance. One of the big city policewomen comes to believe that the wrong person may very well have been convicted of these crimes, but no one within her police devision or in the small town are buying her doubts.

I read lots of mysteries and usually enjoy them greatly even though I can usually figure them out way before the 'revelation' scenes. One of the best parts of this book is that the 'reveals' happened over and over again because they were all so convincing, but were all so wrong. There were thrilling scenes upon thrilling scenes. The interactions between the townspeople combined with the personal interactions of the police personnel and their families made for great characterizations much above the normal mystery. A wonderful new find for the English speaking audience!! If I spoke German, I would order all her books from Germany NOW, and not be waiting anxiously for the next translated Nele Neuhaus book!!!

Too many story lines are not interesting if they don't tie together into one coherent story. I almost stopped listening halfway through when it became obvious the writer was reaching for intricate and coming up only with ridiculous and irrelevant.

The narration was awful, making this bad book even worse with exaggerated emotions and plodding tones.

I want my credit back, as for my time I've no one to blame but myself, I should have stopped listening.

Overrated and oversold by the blurbs. Awkward translation. Melodramatic reading. Really a waste of money.

Hire a better translator.

No.

I have never been a believer in the "if it saves one life" reasoning but if I can save just one person from suffering through this book, this review will have been worth my time. As this is the author’s US debut, I spent much of my time wondering if the author thinks we call prison in the United States "the slammer" or if that is a term they use over there. I can overlook quite a bit in the spirit of entertainment but there isn't a single worthwhile character (or motivation) in this book. I finally decided that there was no conceivable ending that could justify finishing…I gave up with about an hour and a half to go.

What a wonderful story. Well written, well told and it holds the reader in suspense to the last. Of course it has a happy ending, but could easily have a sequel. Highly recommended and I am happy I found a new author.

After all the awards and write-ups I thought this was going to be very good -- it wasn't. Very slow paced and dull. Too many people, too much detail. I kept wishing a good editor would red line most of it. Don't waste your time or money on this.

He added identifiable personality to his characters. This really helps with the enjoyment of an audiobook

I was blow away by the complexity of the story. It had me guessing from the first page to the last. The plot twists and characters were so well developed and slowly exposed throughout the book. It was suspenseful and difficult to turn off. One of the best suspense/mystery novels I've listened to in a long time. It had the same gritty/original feel as, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

I very much enjoyed my first Nele Neuhaus book and I hope to soon find more of her novels available in english. In the begining I was tempted by the name of the book but once I started listening I found myself deeply entertained and I wound up sitting and listening much longer than I had expected. It is a little different than my usual reads but it is probably even more entertaining (there's that word again!). I refuse to talk much about the story because I will probably destroy some of the beautifully woven pieces, so I will only say that, for me, it would be worth twice the credits that it cost. I say that because I think Nele must of spent a great amount of time weaving this novel and I don't mind paying more to experience it's beauty.
Thank's for reading my thoughts on "Snow White Must Die". P.S.: For those that want to know, there is not much bad language or graphic violence to be found. Sure there are murders and such but Nele included them just how this father of two kids prefers, with taste and respect. "Snow White Must Die" is a bit of a throw back to the older mystery writer days that produced so many great writers, less junk and more quality! Good job Nele, I would let my older teen read it, and that's not too easy to say these days.

I would recommend this book to a friend. It is suspenseful and keeps you guessing up to the end. You think you have it figured out, and then the story takes another turn!

I didn't want to stop listening! I really hoped it wouldn't end.

There need to be more audibooks available by this author.