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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
I enjoyed this sequel with all the mystery, murder, and historical fiction. Multiple storylines converging into one are easy to follow and keep the entire story moving at a quick pace.
Fantastic series
I love these books! So much detail of the life of Jakob Kuisl and his family. Plenty of action in this finely woven tale. I will continue on to the next book. Worth a read!
I love these books! So much detail of the life of Jakob Kuisl and his family. Plenty of action in this finely woven tale. I will continue on to the next book. Worth a read!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another bit of interesting historical fiction, letting US explore a Europe long gone where mystery abounded.
Still, the title character is not the most important or developed, which annoys me a bit.
Still, the title character is not the most important or developed, which annoys me a bit.
It took me a while, but I finally finished this book. I really enjoyed the first one in the series but it took me almost two years of picking this book up every now and then to get halfway through it. I was able to finish up the second half in the last few days and while I enjoyed it, it wasn't quite the same level of enjoyment as I had for The Hangman's Daughter. There were characters that felt pretty one sided and I was constantly frustrated with Simon, who takes on the main role in this book.
Like other reviewers have said, the writing style seems more modern and also aimed at a younger age group than the first book. These aren't bad things, but it was sometimes hard to read these characters in a different way than I had before. I wish we would have seen more moments between the hangman and his daughter, I wish Magdalena had a moment with her mother once she got home after being gone for a while (without giving away spoilers), and I wish Simon hadn't become so entranced with Benedikta, who I felt suspicious of from the beginning. That being said, the world building was interesting and I enjoyed following the different characters around as they tried to solve a long lost mystery. All in all, not a bad book by any means, but not something to rave about.
Like other reviewers have said, the writing style seems more modern and also aimed at a younger age group than the first book. These aren't bad things, but it was sometimes hard to read these characters in a different way than I had before. I wish we would have seen more moments between the hangman and his daughter, I wish Magdalena had a moment with her mother once she got home after being gone for a while (without giving away spoilers), and I wish Simon hadn't become so entranced with Benedikta, who I felt suspicious of from the beginning. That being said, the world building was interesting and I enjoyed following the different characters around as they tried to solve a long lost mystery. All in all, not a bad book by any means, but not something to rave about.
If I'd judge this book based on how much I didn't enjoy it, it would be 2* out of 5. The book does have some redeeming qualities, particularly the description of 17th century "medicine" is riveting. So it's a 3*, but only barely.
This books suffers the same problem as the first: it's too long for the contents on display. We enter the story just as a priest is being poisoned. The hangman Jakob Quisl immediately realizes this, but the town magistrate doesn't want to hear it and sends him on a wild chase after some highway robbers instead.
The local doctor's son Simon has long been in love with the hangman's daughter Magdalena. In this book however, he becomes ensnared with the dead priest's sister Benedikta. I am not entirely sure what Magdalena sees in Simon anyway. He might be bright and curious, but he is also insufferably vain. Simon and Benedikta fall in on a trail involving obscure cues and a possible lost Templar's treasure in the end.
Magdelena on the other hand, after having had spat with Simon over Benedikta, sets off to buy some herbs from a neighboring town. While she's at the pharmacy, she encounters one of the monks she's seen in her town Schongau after the priest's death and who is buying poison. She decides to follow him an invariably gets into trouble.
The books is quite predictable and there weren't any shocks and surprises along the way. There were meant to be ones, but I sensed them hundred of pages in advance. As a historical novel it works well, but as a thriller and a murder-mystery it definitely has flaws. If I decide to pick up the next book in the series and there is no improvement, then that will be that - I'll have dropped Oliver Pötsch from my list of readable authors. There's still some hope.
This books suffers the same problem as the first: it's too long for the contents on display. We enter the story just as a priest is being poisoned. The hangman Jakob Quisl immediately realizes this, but the town magistrate doesn't want to hear it and sends him on a wild chase after some highway robbers instead.
The local doctor's son Simon has long been in love with the hangman's daughter Magdalena. In this book however, he becomes ensnared with the dead priest's sister Benedikta. I am not entirely sure what Magdalena sees in Simon anyway. He might be bright and curious, but he is also insufferably vain. Simon and Benedikta fall in on a trail involving obscure cues and a possible lost Templar's treasure in the end.
Magdelena on the other hand, after having had spat with Simon over Benedikta, sets off to buy some herbs from a neighboring town. While she's at the pharmacy, she encounters one of the monks she's seen in her town Schongau after the priest's death and who is buying poison. She decides to follow him an invariably gets into trouble.
The books is quite predictable and there weren't any shocks and surprises along the way. There were meant to be ones, but I sensed them hundred of pages in advance. As a historical novel it works well, but as a thriller and a murder-mystery it definitely has flaws. If I decide to pick up the next book in the series and there is no improvement, then that will be that - I'll have dropped Oliver Pötsch from my list of readable authors. There's still some hope.
