The Dark Monk - Oliver Potzsch

   2009 (German) and 2012 (English); 448 pages.  Translator: Lee Chadeayne.  New Author? : No.  Book 2 (out of 7) in the “Hangman’s Daughter” series.  Genres : Murder-Mystery; Historical Fiction; Thriller, German Literature.  Overall Rating: 9*/10.

 

    Eating too many donuts can shorten your lifespan.  That was true even way back in 1660 AD.  Just ask Pastor Andreas Koppmeyer, the parish priest at St. Lawrence Church, in the tiny hamlet of Schongau, Bavaria.  Well, he can't answer you.  He died shortly after eating a couple of donuts.

 

    If you want to get technical about it though, it wasn't the donuts that killed him, it was the honey coating on the donuts.  And if you want to get technical about that, it wasn’t the honey that did him in, it was the hemlock poison that someone spiked the honey with that was responsible for Pastor Koppmeyer’s demise.

 

    Who would want to kill some small-time priest in a backwater town like Schongau?  And why?

 

    There are a bunch of people who want to find out, and several are more than willing to take part in the investigation.

 

What’s To Like...

    The Dark Monk is the follow-up to the eponymous first book in this series, which I read in 2016 and is reviewed here.  That book's three main characters – Simon, Jakob (the Hangman), and Magdalena (the Hangman’s Daughter), are back, joined this time by Benedikta, the slain priest’s sister.

 

    Once again, Oliver Potzsch weaves a pleasant blend of Historical Fiction and Murder-Mystery into a fascinating tale.  The plot threads flit among the four sleuths' POV as they conduct their investigations, sometimes solo, sometimes as teams.  There's a nice “feel” of 17^th century Germany as the Bavarian populace struggle against a raging plague and murderous robbers harassing anyone daring enough to venture out beyond the city walls.

 

    For lovers of intrigue there are riddles to solve (think Da Vinci Code), treasure to find, tombs to search, and relics to desecrate.  For those who like Romance in their novels, there’s a love triangle involving three of our protagonists.  For enthusiasts of blood and gore, there are robbers to find and fight, public torture exhibitions, and wrongdoers to hang.  And for foreign language fans, there’s lots of Latin, German, and French phrases, including several colorful expletives.

 

    All our heroes brave the lawless countryside to visit nearby towns in search of clues.  There’s a map of the area in the front if you’re a stickler for geographic accuracy, plus a Cast of Characters which I found to be very useful.  In the back, there are sections called “A Few Words in Conclusion” which is well worth your time, and “A Travel Guide Through The Priests’ Corner” which will be worthwhile if you ever plan to vacation in Bavaria.

 

    The ending is exciting and has several nice twists to it.  The mysteries are solved, the bad guys are dispatched, and the heroes can rest up for the next adventure, The Beggar King, which resides on my Kindle.  All the plot threads are tied up save one, which is left as a “Natural or Supernatural?” conundrum for the reader to muse upon.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.4*/5, based on 2,643 ratings and 2,038 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.87*/5, based on 21,375 ratings and 1,590 reviews

 

Excerpts...

    Only now did Simon notice that the corpse lay directly over a tombstone with a relief of a woman who looked like the Virgin Mary.  The words of an inscription circled her head like a halo.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

    “Thus passes the glory of the world…” Simon mumbled.  “So true.”  He had often seen this inscription on gravestones.  As far back as early Rome, it was the custom for a slave to whisper these words to a victorious general on his triumphal march through the city.  Nothing of this world lasts forever…  (loc. 264)

 

    “I’m telling you, Benedikta is a slut!”

    “Aha!  A slut?”  Simon lost his patience now, and his voice took on an icy tone.  “This…slut has more decency and education than you’ll ever have in three lifetimes.  She knows how to behave, she speaks proper German without stammering and stuttering, and she can even speak French!”  (loc. 1773)

 

Kindle Details…

    The Dark Monk presently sells for $6.49 at Amazon, with the rest of the books in the series ranging in price from $5.49 to $6.99.  Oliver Potzsch has another half-dozen or so e-novels in English; they will run you anywhere from $4.99 to $13.99.

 

“Fat, effeminate moneybags! Even the Swedes wouldn’t have accepted them as hostages.  (loc. 1126)

    There’s not much to quibble about in The Dark Monk.  The cussing is sparse - just 15 instances in the first 20%, and I don’t remember any of the violence being graphic.

 

    For me, the riddle-solving seemed obscure and forced.  Even when I read The Da Vinci Code many years ago, I couldn’t help but wonder the why anyone would hide something incredibly valuable, but then leave a trail of riddles behind.  And here, if you’re hoping to solve the riddles before our heroes do, all I can do is wish you “good luck”. 

 

    There were a couple of all-too-convenient twists to the murder-mystery aspect.  The poisoned honey only came into play because the parish cook ran out of good honey that day.  Are you telling me the baddies carry around toxic honey “just in case” such a mishap occurs?  Similarly, the Ultimate Baddie (and titular “Dark Monk”), is ever so careful in everything he does, yet leaves a strong odor of violets behind him wherever he goes, due to his heavy use of perfume.

 

    But I quibble.  The violets and lethal honey contribute to the page-turning tale, and I enjoyed watching our heroes solve those obtuse riddles, much to the consternation of the baddies who were also trying to solve them.  The Dark Monk was every bit as entertaining as The Hangman’s Daughter, and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

 

    9 Stars.  We’ll close with a Latin phrase which plays a crucial role in The Dark Monk:  “Deus le vult”, which translates into “God wills it”, and which was used down through the ages to justify all sorts of reprehensible acts in the name of religion.

The Hangman's Daughter - Oliver Potzsch

   2011; 431 pages.  New Author? : No.  Book One (out of five and soon to be six) of the series “The Hangman’s Daughter”.  Translator : Lee Chadeayne.  Genre : Historical Fiction; Murder-Mystery.  Overall Rating : 8½*/10.

    Poor little 12-year-old Peter Grimmer is dead.  It looks like he drowned in the river, but perhaps it wasn’t an accident.  Say, didn’t he hang out with those orphan kids down at that midwife’s house?  I never liked her anyway, so maybe she killed him.  And she uses strange herbs to heal people, so I bet she’s a witch.  Yeah, that’s why she killed little Peter.  Witchcraft is afoot!

    Let's lock her up and call for the Hangman.  We can’t burn her at the stake until she confesses, and torture is part of the Hangman’s job.

    But what if she’s innocent?

    Really, it’s better that the midwife confesses quickly and is burned at the stake immediately thereafter.  Otherwise the town will work itself into a witch-hunting frenzy, and all sorts fingers will get pointed at all sorts of townspeople.  And who knows how many innocent people will die then?

    So, Hangman, your job isn’t to determine whether or not she’s a witch.  Your job is to get a confession out of her, the sooner the better.

What’s To Like...

    The Hangman’s Daughter is a pleasant combination of historical fiction and murder-mystery.  The setting is a small (and real) town in southern Germany ("Bavaria", back then) called Schongau in the 1600’s, when witch-hunting was rife in both Europe and the colonies in America.  I’ve always wondered how such craziness could flourish, and Oliver Potzsch certainly presents a plausible mindset for it.

    The historical aspect – life in Bavaria in medieval times – is well done.  The descriptions set the scene nicely, and we learn about things like dwarfs' holes, what the people ate, and the various roles a hangman had to assume to earn his keep.  It’s also enlightening to compare modern medicine with what was practiced in the 17^th century.  Finally, in a time of high mortality rates during childbirth, the issue of what to do with the town’s orphans is examined at length.

    The murder-mystery is also handled deftly.  This isn’t so much a whodunit, as it is a “why done it”.  There are lots of questions to probe beyond why someone's started killing kids.  Who burned down the stadel, and why?  Why does someone think there’s something valuable buried on the lot where the leper house is being built?  And why do all the victims have a witch’s mark tattooed on their shoulders?  Hey, maybe there really was witchcraft involved!

    There’s a handy Cast of Characters at the beginning.  Bookmark it, you will be using it more than once.  There’s lots of action, and some torture, adult language, and assault.  There are some way-kewl illustrations, done in black, white, and red, but on the Kindle they are very small in size.

    The three main characters – the hangman, his daughter, and the young physician – are all developed nicely.  I didn’t realize this was part of a series when I picked it up, and if this trio of protagonists becomes a sleuthing team in the books that follow, then count me in for reading more of them.

Kewlest New Word...

Trass (n.) : a light-colored variety of volcanic ash, used in making cement.

Excerpts...

    Though autumn had already come, the sun was shining brightly on that part of Bavaria they call the Pfaffenwinkel – the priests’ corner – and merry noise and laughter could be heard from the town.  Drums rumbled, cymbals clanged, and somewhere a fiddle was playing. The aroma of deep-fried doughnuts and roasted meat drifted down to the foul-smelling tanners’ quarter.  Yes, it was going to be a lovely execution.  (loc. 99)

    The hangman looked angrily across to Simon.  “Did you tell?”

    The physician held up his hands trying to calm him down.  “I never!  I only told her about poor Johannes … and that you had examined the fingernails very closely.”

    “You idiot!  You must not tell women anything, above all my daughter.  She’s too good at reading between the lines and figuring things out.”  (loc. 3660)

Kindle Details...

    The Hangman’s Daughter presently sells for $4.99 at Amazon right now.  The other four books in the series all also see for $4.99.  Oliver Potzsch has another half-dozen or so novels for the Kindle, ranging in price from $3.99 to $14.99.  

 “A rumor is like smoke.  It will spread, it will seep through closed doors and latched shutters, and, in the end the whole town will smell of it.”  (loc. 861)

    The ending is a mixed bag.  The tension builds steadily to the final confrontation, but then we miss out of actually getting to watch/read about it.  The Hangman emerges victorious, of course, but his adversary was no slouch, and I was mildly disappointed in only hearing about their last encounter secondhand.  Also, the resolution of the various mysteries is not particularly twisty.  But I suppose from a historical standpoint, that’s a logical outcome.

    OTOH, the epilogue is excellent, and the Author’s Note (Oliver Potzsch calls it “A Kind of Postscript”) is most enlightening.  In the 1600’s, most careers were hereditary, and the author apparently has a number of hangmen in his family tree.

    Lastly, mention should be made of the translating.  Oliver Potzsch’s native tongue is German, and I thought Lee Chadeayne succeeded nicely at putting the “feel” of the writing into English.

    8½ Stars.  The Hangman’s Daughter was a treat – both as Historical Fiction and as a Murder-Mystery.  It’s always nice when a book with multiple genres does them all well.

The Ludwig Conspiracy - Oliver Potzsch

   2011; 435 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Historical Intrigue; Mystery.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

    King Ludwig II of Bavaria, best known for designing and commissioning his Neuschwanstein Castle (the prototype for the Disneyland castle), died under mysterious circumstances on the night of 13 June, 1886.  The official cause of death is listed as “suicide by drowning”, but there was no water in his lungs, he was found in waist-high water, and was known to be an excellent swimmer.  His companion also suffered the same fate.

    That’s all quite interesting, but it happened more than 125 years ago.  What Steven Lukas, owner of a small antiquarian bookstore in present-day Munich, wants to know is – why was one of his patrons murdered for reportedly having some sort of secret knowledge about Ludwig II’s demise?

    More importantly, why are those same people trying to kill him?

What’s To Like...

    The Ludwig Conspiracy cleverly switches between two timelines by means of a fictional character’s diary to combine Historical Fiction, Action Intrigue, and Murder-Mystery.

    The historical fiction is a delight to read.  Oliver Potzsch obviously did a bunch of research on Ludwig II’s life, death, and eccentricities; especially the last year of the King’s life.  There is particular focus on the castles he built (or planned to build) and the political plots against him.  It was a pivotal time in the region.  Germany was coalescing into a unified European power, and the assimilation of the Kingdom of Bavaria into the nation was both a crucial and delicate process.

    There is Action and Intrigue in both timelines, plus a little bit of Romance that doesn’t get in the way of the main story.  The Murder-Mystery, along with all the other threads, gets tied up nicely at the end.  This is a standalone novel.

    Oliver Potzsch gives a ‘Cast of Characters’ at the front of the book, which comes in handy at the beginning, when you are trying to keep track of all the historical figures.  He also includes a glossary at the back; you really should read it after you’ve finished the book.  The writing and character development are okay, although I didn't really "connect" with the two protagonists.  But the book is a translation, and I'll therefore cut it some slack.  For all I know, in the original German, it may be quite powerful.

Kewlest New Word. . .

Tendentious (adj.) : expressing or intending to promote a particular cause or point of view, especially a controversial one.

Excerpts...

    “It was a Derringer,” the woman said.

    Steven gave a start and looked up from the newspaper.  “What?”

    “The murder weapon.  I’ve kept my ears pricked.  Two .44 caliber rimfire cartridge cases were found at the scene.  That kind of cartridge is out of use these days.  However, ammunition like that was very common in the nineteenth century, in small ornamental pistols but most of all in the American Derringer.  A pretty toy.  But Abraham Lincoln was shot with a Derringer just like that.”

    Steven frowned.  “You mean the murder victim was killed by a weapon that doesn’t exist today?”

    “Or by someone who shouldn’t be alive today.”  (pg. 33)

    Steven was different.  He was clever, well-read, and obviously didn’t feel it was a problem if she took the lead now and then.  But she felt as if he came from another planet.  Even more: if women were from Venus and men were from Mars, then Steven came from Pluto, if not from the faraway Horsehead Nebula.

    Which made him very interesting.  (pg. 147)

 “If you have graffiti and dog turds on your doorstep, a painting by Caravaggio is like a warm, refreshing shower.”  (pg. 203)

    There were some weaknesses.  First, there was a wisp of “is it paranormal or isn’t it” in the storyline, particularly at the beginning of the book.  But it wasn't developed to any appreciable extent, and by the end it had fizzled out without ever being completely resolved.  I felt like Potzsch just sort of decided to abandon that angle.

    There was also a riddle-solving thread that frankly was never believable.  Protecting a secret is fine, but turning it into a scavenger hunt is implausible.  I recognize it was a literary device so each of Ludwig’s castles could come into play in the plotline.  But still.  And the ease with which our plucky heroes decipher it is dumbfounding.

    Finally, there was Lancelot.  For the biggest, baddest, black-heartedest thug, he is surprisingly, and repeatedly, inept.

    9 Stars for the Historical Fiction.  8½ Stars for the Action Intrigue.  5 Stars for the Puzzle-Solving.  Which averages out to:

    7½ Stars.  The Ludwig Conspiracy is a decent enough read, but not an exceptional one.  Oliver Potzsch is apparently better-known for his 4-book Hangman’s Daughter series, and my local library has a couple of these.  I will probably be checking at least one of them out soon.