The heroes of Oliver Potzsch's  novel ‘s are Jakob Kuisl, the town's executioner, and Simon Fronwieser, son of the town doctor. Kuisl performs his profession reluctantly; he is well-read, intelligent, and as good  a healer as he is a torturer and executioner. Simon Fronwieser admires Kuisl's intellectualism and his medical knowledge, while downing his father's ineffective cure-all of blood-letting and extremely traditional values and thinking. Simon is in love with Kuisl's daughter Magdalena -- a pairing that would never be allowed in this highly classist society. Our heroes race to discover the true identity of the murderer before Kuisl is forced to torture and burn a woman he knows to be innocent..

I mistakenly read The Dark Monk first, however I was able to connect with the characters.  I Love the fact that the books keep the mystery going till the end, I like to keep guessing till them, if it’s reveled to soon I lose interest.

The second novel involves groups such as The Knights Templar which quenched my history hunger.  I loved the author’s tour of the actual buildings and settings in the story line.  The hangman being a direct descendant of the author, who uses his journals helps to keep ones interest.   I wish that both novels had been written in the same matter as the second.   However both books are facts mixed with fantasy.

The story’s move at a very fast pace, picking up momentum as the quest to solve the deadly riddle becomes more desperate. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say that that the conclusion is wholly satisfying.

Here's links to both books so you can enjoy the books too.


Link to The Dark Monk:

    Link to The Hangman's Daughter:


I am a BzzAgent and received the ebooks free to review.