Set in Germany a decade after the Thirty Years' War, The Hangman's Daughter is a historical fiction mystery/thriller. A child has been murdered, with a mysterious symbol found on his shoulder. More murders follow, coupled with arson. Is a witch on the loose . . . or is it the devil himself, rumored to be prowling about the small Bavarian town of Schongau? Jakob Kuisl, the village hangman, is in a race against time to find out the truth, before another witch trial (which devastated the town 50 years prior) is unleashed.
This was a decent read. Some of the writing seemed poor [I read a translation; the original is in German], but the characters were good, and the suspense was maintained- I didn't want to put it down. The author comes from the Kuisl family, "one of Bavaria's leading dynasties of executioners." His interest in genealogy led him to write the book, and he tries to keep it accurate (save where thriller best practices mandated modification). So it's both entertaining and gives a glimpse into the life of a hangman, and on a broader scale, "seventeenth-century customers and life- including love, murder, superstitions, witchery, and political intrigue- in a small Bavarian city."
Rating: A-
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