wombat_88's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
heeresjenny92's review
I think the translation, and the many characters and the dialogue doesn't vibe with me.
skelleybean's review against another edition
3.0
Germany, 1660: When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a supposed witchmark tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at
play in his small Bavarian town. When more children disappear and a second boy is found dead—marked by the same tattoo—the mounting hysteria threatens to erupt into chaos.
Before the unrest forces him to torture the woman who brought his children into the world, Jakob must unravel the truth. With the help of his daughter, Magdelena, and Simon, the son of the town’s physician (who have a special connection of their own....), Jakob discovers fires, property destruction, kidnapping, and stolen goods, all connected to a devil with a bone-hand and perhaps even stronger forces.
This book was thoroughly average. I enjoyed reading, but it wasn't the best thing or the worst thing. There are several problems with the translation, mainly with phrasing and the use of words repetitively, that making the writing a little clunky. The characters and the world in which they live are interesting (they are certainly the best part of the book), but the story itself is a little lack-luster. The pacing is strange, and about 2/3rds of the way through I have solved the case, so for the last 100 pages I was waiting for the characters to catch up. However, the ending was satisfying-- I'm glad that the story was wrapped up well, making it so that you don't have to read any of the sequels (of which there are five...) if you don't want to.
I might come back to Jakob and Simon and Magdalena sometime in the future, but for now I'm quite content with what I've read.
play in his small Bavarian town. When more children disappear and a second boy is found dead—marked by the same tattoo—the mounting hysteria threatens to erupt into chaos.
Before the unrest forces him to torture the woman who brought his children into the world, Jakob must unravel the truth. With the help of his daughter, Magdelena, and Simon, the son of the town’s physician (who have a special connection of their own....), Jakob discovers fires, property destruction, kidnapping, and stolen goods, all connected to a devil with a bone-hand and perhaps even stronger forces.
This book was thoroughly average. I enjoyed reading, but it wasn't the best thing or the worst thing. There are several problems with the translation, mainly with phrasing and the use of words repetitively, that making the writing a little clunky. The characters and the world in which they live are interesting (they are certainly the best part of the book), but the story itself is a little lack-luster. The pacing is strange, and about 2/3rds of the way through I have solved the case, so for the last 100 pages I was waiting for the characters to catch up. However, the ending was satisfying-- I'm glad that the story was wrapped up well, making it so that you don't have to read any of the sequels (of which there are five...) if you don't want to.
I might come back to Jakob and Simon and Magdalena sometime in the future, but for now I'm quite content with what I've read.
glassmd's review
A little slow to begin for me, but picked up quickly. I could barely put it down!
prestonpre's review
2.0
It wasn't completely awful... but it wasn't what it promised it would be.
The characters didn't speak with the language of the time- phrases like 'screwing around' were thrown around a couple times and threw me off.
Oh, and "blah blah, his daughter wasn't a big part of the BLAHHHH." Get over it reviewers, I've seen more obscure titles.
I guess I'm just annoyed at the book, annoyed at the author, and annoyed at all the reviews of it. More people have complained about the fact that she wasn't in the book that much than anything else. Frankly, I'm thankful she wasn't in it very much. With what little we did see of her I wanted to punch her in the mouth. Gimme some of those thumbscrews, I'll put 'em to good use.
The characters didn't speak with the language of the time- phrases like 'screwing around' were thrown around a couple times and threw me off.
Oh, and "blah blah, his daughter wasn't a big part of the BLAHHHH." Get over it reviewers, I've seen more obscure titles.
I guess I'm just annoyed at the book, annoyed at the author, and annoyed at all the reviews of it. More people have complained about the fact that she wasn't in the book that much than anything else. Frankly, I'm thankful she wasn't in it very much. With what little we did see of her I wanted to punch her in the mouth. Gimme some of those thumbscrews, I'll put 'em to good use.
shereadsometimeshewrites's review
3.0
I really liked the idea of this book, and I must say I fell in love with Jakob Kusil but I found myself getting a little bored in the middle. There was a lot of build up but hardly anything to make my heart pound and force me to continue reading late into the night. A great story though and recommended for anyone who might be interested.
littlealk7's review
4.0
While the writing isn't great, the story is fantastic! I love historical fiction, and really enjoyed learning about the hangman, about whom I never gave much thought before this. The mystery begins when a boy drowns and has some sort of tattoo/witch mark on him. The town goes crazy and accuses the midwife of being a witch. The hangman, his daughter a the physician's son have to figure out what's going on. I will say, I'm not quite sure why the title of "The Hangman's Daughter" was chosen, when I felt it was more about the Hangman himself. Regardless, I thought this was a very enjoyable and quick airplane read that made me go and wikipedia details about eastern European hangmen. Who knew they could be so interesting?
thenageler's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Torture, Blood, and Murder
kketelaar's review
4.0
This book was worthy of four stars until the end. Not only was the ending unsatisfying, it was rather abrupt compared to the lengthy lead up. It almost seemed as if the author was tired of writing the book and just wanted to wrap it up. He also began to use the same phrases with annoying regularity. Possibly this was the translation though.
slkindig's review against another edition
2.0
This book imagines itself to be a critique of historical misogyny, but in actuality it just forces readers to suffer through 400+ pages of unlikeable characters who all hate women. The “good ones” are insufferable and patronizing. The few female characters are two dimensional. I think author is blind to his own biases and believes this was a work of feminism. This is only broken up by graphic, gorey descriptions of violence against women and children. The premise was promising and the setting was intriguing, but this half-baked mystery aimlessly meandered it’s way to an unsatisfying conclusion.