As a BzzAgent, I was provided a copy of both The Hangman's Daughter and The Dark Monk by Oliver Pötzsch free of charge. I checked my kindle every day (okay...it may have been more frequent than that..) until I saw that the books had downloaded! I was so excited to start reading that I forgot which book came first (so I took a visit to amazon and Bzzagent to figure it out). I'll do a little background info about the books that I've learned before I talk too much about them. This author really loves his characters because they are based on real people in his heritage. How awesome is that! At the end of each book, the author connects with his readers and talks about his family and how stories were passed down. After The Dark Monk, he even goes through the area where the story is set (it's a real location!) and gives his readers a traveler's guide (I really want to visit Bavaria now!). I really appreciate that this author approaches his readers as if they were friends come to visit. It's really nice to find an author who is so personable that I feel almost as if he had sat down and verbally told me his story (because of how he addresses and responds to the readers when he's writing as himself). Now, the characters are based on true historical people, but their adventures are fictional. The author tells us these tales that he has constructed of these people in his family so he can share his heritage with us, but also so he can entertain us!
The Hangman's Daughter is the first book in the series. Amazon has the book description as follows:
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. So begins The Hangman's Daughter--the chillingly detailed, fast-paced historical thriller from German television screenwriter, Oliver Pötzsch--a descendent of the Kuisls, a famous Bavarian executioner clan.
(I'm trying to be really delicate because I struggle with giving too many spoilers away if I don't pay attention because I want to discuss every detail of books >.>) I am personally very new to murder mystery type books. For some reason, it was a genre that I had always avoided. On a whim, I had read Maids of Misfortune and really enjoyed it. That's part of the reason I was excited for these books. I adore historical fiction and the thriller/murder side of it all was still really new to me. The Hangman's Daughter does a really good job of setting up the characters (you really begin to fall in love with them) as well as keeping a good, strong, intriguing story going. It's one of those books where you feel torn because you love the characters so dearly that you want to see more development in them, but you are so deeply pulled into what is going on around them, that you are hanging by your toes (so to speak) in anticipation. When the story reached that point where all the small threads were being woven together to finish the ribbon (I like to speak in analogies...sorry >.>), I couldn't stop reading. That was one night I stayed up waaaaaaay too late reading. It was one of those books that you wish didn't have to end. Thankfully, I had the sequel waiting patiently for me!
The Dark Monk is the sequel to The Hangman's Daughter. Amazon has the book description as follows:
1660: Winter has settled thick over a sleepy village in the Bavarian Alps, ensuring every farmer and servant is indoors on the night a parish priest discovers he's been poisoned. As numbness creeps up his body, he summons the last of his strength to scratch a cryptic sign in the frost.
Following a trail of riddles, hangman Jakob Kuisl; his headstrong daughter, Magdalena; and the town physician’s son team up with the priest’s aristocratic sister to investigate. What they uncover will lead them back to the Crusades, unlocking a troubled history of internal church politics and sending them on a chase for a treasure of the Knights Templar.
But they’re not the only ones after the legendary fortune. A team of dangerous and mysterious monks is always close behind, tracking their every move, speaking Latin in the shadows, giving off a strange, intoxicating scent. And to throw the hangman off their trail, they have ensured he is tasked with capturing a band of thieves roving the countryside attacking solitary travelers and spreading panic.
Delivering on the promise of his international best seller The Hangman’s Daughter, Oliver Pötzsch takes us on a whirlwind tour--once again based on prodigious historical research into his own family tree--through the occult hiding places of Bavaria’s ancient monasteries, bringing to life an unforgettable hangman and his tenacious daughter, painting a robust tableau of 17th-century Bavaria as it navigates the lasting impacts of war, and quickening our pulses with a gripping, mesmerizing mystery.
It was slightly difficult to transition into this book immediately after reading the last since the very first chapter was written entirely about an individual whom was not mentioned in the first book. (This might have been partially from the intense attachment I had formed previously with the characters that made me eager to read about them once more.) Overall, The Dark Monk had a slower pace to it (at least for me) compared to the previous book. I think part of what gave me this feeling was that my favorite character (Magdalena, the hangman's daughter) didn't play as pivotal a role this time. My love for the characters was also slightly offended by some of the cliche relationship happenings. It seemed that this book really delved into Simon's character. I just wish that the torn between two lovers/possible lovers hadn't played such a big role in his development. (Now, I advise you take that with a grain of salt folks. It's completely my opinion and I am an utter romantic. I want to see people fall in love, struggle, but stay true and triumph so these types of encounters are viewed much more harshly by me than most people I know.) With all that said, I really did enjoy the book. The Dark Monk was more thriller and less murder mystery (the first was a bit more the other way around). The twists and turns in the story were amazing and kept me captivated and guessing. I was shocked and stunned by one of the ending twists to the point where I am considering re reading the story with that knowledge just to see if it feels any different. This book was a very good read and I would (and possibly may) read it again.
Let me sum it up this way folks, since the time I was about half way through the first book, I have been recommending these books to my close friends. I haven't stopped. This is a really good read that will leaving you stalking Amazon for the release of the next book. (I already am.) I'm going to have my husband read them (he's not a big reader so I try to be really selective with what I suggest to him so he doesn't become less of a reader) because I think they are that enthralling and addictive. This author gets two big thumbs up in my book of books! (For the record, if you want to check out any of the books I've mentioned, just click on their name in the post :) I've made them all links to make it easy!)
The Hangman's Daughter is the first book in the series. Amazon has the book description as follows:
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. So begins The Hangman's Daughter--the chillingly detailed, fast-paced historical thriller from German television screenwriter, Oliver Pötzsch--a descendent of the Kuisls, a famous Bavarian executioner clan.
(I'm trying to be really delicate because I struggle with giving too many spoilers away if I don't pay attention because I want to discuss every detail of books >.>) I am personally very new to murder mystery type books. For some reason, it was a genre that I had always avoided. On a whim, I had read Maids of Misfortune and really enjoyed it. That's part of the reason I was excited for these books. I adore historical fiction and the thriller/murder side of it all was still really new to me. The Hangman's Daughter does a really good job of setting up the characters (you really begin to fall in love with them) as well as keeping a good, strong, intriguing story going. It's one of those books where you feel torn because you love the characters so dearly that you want to see more development in them, but you are so deeply pulled into what is going on around them, that you are hanging by your toes (so to speak) in anticipation. When the story reached that point where all the small threads were being woven together to finish the ribbon (I like to speak in analogies...sorry >.>), I couldn't stop reading. That was one night I stayed up waaaaaaay too late reading. It was one of those books that you wish didn't have to end. Thankfully, I had the sequel waiting patiently for me!
The Dark Monk is the sequel to The Hangman's Daughter. Amazon has the book description as follows:
1660: Winter has settled thick over a sleepy village in the Bavarian Alps, ensuring every farmer and servant is indoors on the night a parish priest discovers he's been poisoned. As numbness creeps up his body, he summons the last of his strength to scratch a cryptic sign in the frost.
Following a trail of riddles, hangman Jakob Kuisl; his headstrong daughter, Magdalena; and the town physician’s son team up with the priest’s aristocratic sister to investigate. What they uncover will lead them back to the Crusades, unlocking a troubled history of internal church politics and sending them on a chase for a treasure of the Knights Templar.
But they’re not the only ones after the legendary fortune. A team of dangerous and mysterious monks is always close behind, tracking their every move, speaking Latin in the shadows, giving off a strange, intoxicating scent. And to throw the hangman off their trail, they have ensured he is tasked with capturing a band of thieves roving the countryside attacking solitary travelers and spreading panic.
Delivering on the promise of his international best seller The Hangman’s Daughter, Oliver Pötzsch takes us on a whirlwind tour--once again based on prodigious historical research into his own family tree--through the occult hiding places of Bavaria’s ancient monasteries, bringing to life an unforgettable hangman and his tenacious daughter, painting a robust tableau of 17th-century Bavaria as it navigates the lasting impacts of war, and quickening our pulses with a gripping, mesmerizing mystery.
It was slightly difficult to transition into this book immediately after reading the last since the very first chapter was written entirely about an individual whom was not mentioned in the first book. (This might have been partially from the intense attachment I had formed previously with the characters that made me eager to read about them once more.) Overall, The Dark Monk had a slower pace to it (at least for me) compared to the previous book. I think part of what gave me this feeling was that my favorite character (Magdalena, the hangman's daughter) didn't play as pivotal a role this time. My love for the characters was also slightly offended by some of the cliche relationship happenings. It seemed that this book really delved into Simon's character. I just wish that the torn between two lovers/possible lovers hadn't played such a big role in his development. (Now, I advise you take that with a grain of salt folks. It's completely my opinion and I am an utter romantic. I want to see people fall in love, struggle, but stay true and triumph so these types of encounters are viewed much more harshly by me than most people I know.) With all that said, I really did enjoy the book. The Dark Monk was more thriller and less murder mystery (the first was a bit more the other way around). The twists and turns in the story were amazing and kept me captivated and guessing. I was shocked and stunned by one of the ending twists to the point where I am considering re reading the story with that knowledge just to see if it feels any different. This book was a very good read and I would (and possibly may) read it again.
Let me sum it up this way folks, since the time I was about half way through the first book, I have been recommending these books to my close friends. I haven't stopped. This is a really good read that will leaving you stalking Amazon for the release of the next book. (I already am.) I'm going to have my husband read them (he's not a big reader so I try to be really selective with what I suggest to him so he doesn't become less of a reader) because I think they are that enthralling and addictive. This author gets two big thumbs up in my book of books! (For the record, if you want to check out any of the books I've mentioned, just click on their name in the post :) I've made them all links to make it easy!)
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