The Hangman's Daughter

A Hangman's Daughter Tale, Book 1

By: Oliver Pötzsch, Lee Chadeayne - translator

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Germany, 1660: When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play in his small Bavarian town. Whispers and dark memories of witch trials and the women burned at the stake just seventy years earlier still haunt the streets of Schongau. When more children disappear and an orphan boy is found dead - marked by the same tattoo - the mounting hysteria threatens to erupt into chaos.

Before the unrest forces him to torture and execute the very woman who aided in the birth of his children, Jakob must unravel the truth. With the help of his clever daughter, Magdelena, and Simon, the university-educated son of the town’s physician, Jakob discovers that a devil is indeed loose in Schongau. But it may be too late to prevent bloodshed.

A brilliantly detailed, fast-paced historical thriller, The Hangman’s Daughter is the first novel from German television screenwriter Oliver Pötzsch, a descendent of the Kuisls, a famous Bavarian executioner clan.

©2011 Oliver Pötzsch, Lee Chadeayne (translation) (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

The storyline dragged out unnecessary

The author seem to push the storyline unnecessary trying to build suspense dragging it out!

great book

loved this book. The narrator had a soothing voice that kept you interested. the book was well written and easy to follow.

Not what I expected

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

Yes, but only to the right friend

What other book might you compare The Hangman's Daughter to and why?

I cannot think of a book to compare this one with.

What about Grover Gardner’s performance did you like?

Gardner's performance was magnificent. He did well with the German pronunciation of names and places.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

I did not realize that this was historical fiction nor dealt with "witchcraft" I was pleasantly surprise by how much I enjoyed this book. I chose it on a sale because it sounded interestingly. I love it when I am presently surprised by books.

Enjoyable

Excellent story. Interesting characters and plot, am definitely looking forward to reading the next book!

Engaged

Stepping back in time is always a fun read for me. Learning how people interacted with other people. It continues to revolts me when
people so trivially treat fellow human beings as if they waste upon their shoe.The really great book. Looking forward to the next book.

Interesting main character

I found this book to be a bit difficult to get into, but the time period and setting kept me interested. The duties of a hangman in 17th century Bavaria are not what I would have imagined I'd enjoy, but I did. I found the reader to be a little too much like a newscaster, but I still listened for long stretches at a time. I will probably listen to the next book in the series.

Historical fiction of author's ancestors

I love historical fiction, and especially enjoyed that it is the author's ancestors. The narration & pronunciation of people's names was interesting. So were the characters and social rankings of the times. It was descriptive that I could picture the story happening as I listened to it.

great story, very engaging

the story itself was very engaging. Kind of a potboiler but more smart. Really liked the narrator. he did a good job of telling the story and distinguishing voices without making the voices cartoonish.

Narrator is not great

Narrator sounds like he's in a rush the whole time, never giving his words gravity and often giving them the wrong tone.

The story was good abd in an interesting setting but really gets dragged out.

Painful

It was difficult to see the redeeming qualities amidst all the torture, murder, and evil, disgusting characters. A vivid description of what witch trial were like - but not enjoyable in the least.