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.

Not normally my type of novel

I have to say I struggled with this one, not because it was bad (it is really, really good), but because it was just too much in some parts of the novel. It caused a wide range of emotions because of how truly horrible some can be and how it was so very accurate based upon my own knowledge of history and how people were treated. It is a well rounded and well written novel.

How can a whole German city be so unlikeable?

The book's opening scene starts out strong and the narrator does an excellent job making it more vivid and giving it more depth. Unfortunately even he cannot prevent the story from becoming tiresome and shallow. The author has done many things right: interesting likeable protagonist, (which is not the hangman's daughter but the hangman himself) and an interesting setting. But many side characters (and there are A LOT) are just tediously one-dimensional. They remind me of townspeople of Belle's village in Disney's Beauty and the Beast but instead of yelling "Kill the Beast," it's "Kill the witch". And they do come across as cartoony.
Also, the author's favourite suspense device is to keep things in the dark. You get glimpses of the villains' thoughts but it's repetitive and almost clumsily done. It's a shame. The book could have been much better.

Good Mystery

Any additional comments?

This was a fairly entertaining mystery book that focuses on some rough stuff at times, like the torture of prisoners to get confessions, even though the Hangman knows the person to be innocent.

this is really good

this is a mystery written in simple, plain language. It is engaging from the word go and while it certainly is a bit gruesome at times it is never gross. Also, and I was rather schocked by this, while the plot is fictional the ' world...." the details of what an executioner's life was like in 1600's germany are supposed to be historically acurate. I say supposed to be because how the heck would I know... but it rings true.

I contrast this with another book I downloaded at the same time that launched into a complicated explaination of the political structure of the world using affected language .... turned me off totally. This is a story well told and you do come to understand the politics of the place as things happen. Its a good story.

was recommended by a friend

so glad I followed through, everything about this book was awesome. I'm usually not terribly into murder/suspense/mystery but this one had me by the gut from chapter one.

Hangman daughter

I can read this book over gas over.....I went through the series...in two-week...
What a wonderful writer.

appealing to readers of many genres

There are some graphic scenes in this book, but well researched & written. Enjoyable overall.

Graphic and interesting

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I enjoyed the book, though I feel that the title is not adequate for the story line. The story held my interest and I will read more from this author.

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

Yes

Poor Translation, IMO

The story is compelling, mysterious & even a bit terrifying. However, I cannot help but feel lost in translation. The character building concerning "the hangman" was great, but not so great concerning the other characters.

Awful narration!

I’m not finished with this book yet, but whoa. The narration is awful. Seeing as how the book is set in old Eastern Europe, couldn’t they at least have gotten someone who can do accents….ANY accents???? The guy reading this is all-American who doesn’t even attempt to make the dialogue sound believable. Just his flat, boring man-voice. Ugh. Horrible.