Snow White Must Die

By: Nele Neuhaus

Narrated by: Robert Fass

Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

On a rainy November day, police detectives Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein are summoned to a mysterious traffic accident: a woman has fallen from a pedestrian bridge onto a car driving underneath. According to a witness, the woman may have been pushed. The investigation leads Pia and Oliver to a small village, and the home of the victim, Rita Cramer.

On a September evening eleven years earlier, two seventeen-year-old girls vanished from the village without a trace. In a trial based only on circumstantial evidence, twenty-year-old Tobias Sartorius, Rita Cramer's son, was sentenced to ten years in prison. Bodenstein and Kirchhoff discover that Tobias, after serving his sentence, has now returned to his home town. Did the attack on his mother have something to do with his return? In the village, Pia and Oliver encounter a wall of silence. When another young girl disappears, the events of the past seem to be repeating themselves in a disastrous manner. The investigation turns into a race against time, because for the villagers it is soon clear who the perpetrator is - and this time they are determined to take matters into their own hands.

©2010 Nele Neuhaus (P)2012 AudioGO, Ltd.

Worth it!!

Pretty good story and narrator does a great job keeping you enthralled!! Check it out!! It'll definitely be worth it!!

Good.

Any additional comments?

I listened to this and I liked it a lot. Unusual to have a book set in present-day Germany about something unrelated to WWII/Holocaust/Cold War.

Die she must!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. Excellent listen.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot kept me guessing. There was so many suspects to choose from, it was hard to pick just one or two or three...

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene in the diner when one of the conspirators decides they must act and takes it upon himself to...

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

je nais se pas

Any additional comments?

non

Excellently written

I loved this book from start to finish because it constantly kept me guessing. The characters are great and it depicts real life events. Great book.

Good plot

I thought this was a good mystery. Some of the writing was a bit corny with the character dialog. It would be difficult to explain without giving away the story. Still, it didn't take away from the quality of the plot. Worth the read.

A great new series

This is the first Nele Neuhaus book I've listened to. I got it during a 2/1 credit sale and was surprised to find myself totally engulfed with the story. Neuhaus did a great job of creating well rounded characters that you really grow to like. I have already purchased and downloaded the next in the series. If you enjoy police procedurals, then this book is for you.

Snow White and the Seven Red Herrings

You could pick worse...some comfortable hallmarks of an entertaining mystery: nice atmospheric setting, good diverse collection of townsfolk (Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Prof. Plum, Norman Bates...), plenty of motives and secrets, and a likable, handsome, much maligned central character, Tobias...the only character you know is innocent. After a slightly slow beginning, the story builds a bit, but ultimately breaks off into too many irrelevant splinter stories to gain forward momentum; I would get one subplot straight and here would come another, than another, and another--like herding cats. I wouldn't say this is a winner, nor a loser--more of a strong stand in the middle of the moving herd. (And it's a read without too much violence or strong language.)

In fairness ...
Neuhaus is a German writer known for her crime novels. This version of Snow White Must Die is translated into English from the author's native German language, and is the 4th of 6 books in the *Bodenstein/Kirchoff series* (a He and She team of police inspectors). So, we have a translated book, lifted out of choronlogical order. I'm no polyglot, only roughly bilingual, but I have read a few books in both the original language and the translated version, and it's true--sometimes things are lost in translation. I probably will read the next translated book in this series--with the hope that the publishers didn't lift this volume (SWMD) out of order because it was the strongest of the six.

Great narrator, unbelievable, never-ending story

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. I found myself wishing the book would JUST end. It was interminable. When the book got to nearing the end of the first part, at that point I wasn't able to conceive how it would continue another 7 or so hours. Unlikeable characters, truly ridiculous story. Just when the author makes one think it's solved, he throws in another wrench and I found myself saying, "Just stop." I can suspend some disbelief, but this book went way beyond that. Semi-SPOILER: So really, an entire town is corrupt and evil? No one in the town has a conscience or moral compass? And is the reader really supposed to believe that the crimes were all forgotten and that the numerous people involved all kept these secrets for 11 years?

What do you think your next listen will be?

"14" by Peter Clines

What does Robert Fass bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He really was wonderful and if it hadn't been for him I wouldn't have finished it at all.

Did Snow White Must Die inspire you to do anything?

Not read/listen to, another book by this author.

Any additional comments?

I guess just this is a case of "to each his own." Obviously many, many people enjoyed this book, but I'm not one of them. I enjoy Michael Connelly, Lee Child (not A Wanted Man), John Connolly, Don Winslow, Lincoln Child and John Sanford - maybe if you're reading this and you love those authors too, you will feel the same about this book as I do.

Must read for mystery lovers!!

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!!!

Time Capsule

Is there anything you would change about this book?

In the dialogue of some characters hyperbolic statements are made, like, "You are the only person who could have prevented..., so you are completely responsible for ...", when in fact that person is NOT the only person who could have prevented whatever. This happens more than once and it is usually in police interrogations. Maybe it is meant as a tactic, but it comes of as loose writing.

Would you be willing to try another book from Nele Neuhaus? Why or why not?

I don't think so. The writer is German, but this is a generic mystery - could have happened anywhere. I like mysteries where the geography is important to the plot or the main characters.

What does Robert Fass bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He pronounces the German names (for people and towns and streets) really well - not that I would actually know.

Do you think Snow White Must Die needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. It really ran its course. Possibly another book in a series about the police detectives, but this story can go no further.