Nele Neuhaus

Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus is book four in the series, but the first I have read so far and it is a terrific thriller and mystery of small town secrets and murder. Translated from its original German, the novel has an incredibly pace and flow that is much faster than many of the European mysteries I have encountered previously.

Tobias Sartorius has just been released from prison. He served ten years for the deaths of two teenage girls, convicted strictly on circumstantial evidence. show more He returns home to the village where the crimes took place to find his father's life in ruins and his mother gone. The villagers, once his friends and neighbors react angrily to his return but Tobias cannot leave his father alone to deal with the outcry of the townspeople.

Detectives Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver Von Bodenstein are sent to investigate a mysterious traffic accident. A woman fell off a pedestrian bridge into the traffic below causing a pile up. Prior to her falling, she is seen running from a man and fighting against him. The woman is Rita Cramer, the mother of Tobias Sartorius.

Kirchhoff and Von Bodenstein run into a wall of silence when they show photos of the man on the bridge before Rita Cramer fell into the traffic to the village. It is obvious that they know who the man is and are covering up for him. The Detectives realize that this attack is related to the missing girls of ten years before and the return of Rita Cramer's son Tobias to the village. As they dig into the mystery they realize that it is possible that Tobias did not commit the crime he was sentenced to so many years before and that the village itself is aware that he may be innocent.

The actions in the village come to a head as another young girl goes missing. Is it the revenge of Tobias or is there a more sinister happening going on behind the silence of the village and its people.

Snow White Must Die is another in a growing list of European mysteries that seem to be eclipsing what is being produced here in the states. The setting and absolute attention to detail in character development are the foundations to a mystery crime novel that moves at a pace and clip that is reminiscent of a thriller. The private lives of the Detectives comes into play in their interaction with the suspects and witnesses and are just as much a part of the tale as the murders themselves. Von Bodenstein's failing marriage and his wife's attitude rock him and make it difficult for him to make clear headed observations to what is happening around him. Kirchhoff finds the ties to the cold case to what is happening in the village now and she finds herself moving against prevailing attitudes in her own police force against re-opening a case that they already feel is solved. Tobias is an interesting character, returning to the very town where he is viewed as a murderer of young girls. His parents once thriving business in in ruins and their position in the community destroyed by his conviction. He knows it would be better if he left but his crushed father keeps him there. He must fight against the town and continue to proclaim his innocence though he himself is no longer sure what truly happened all those years ago.

The mysteries and secrets of this small town village are as dark and horrific as any laid out before. The murder and rape of the two young girls, somehow brought about by their own jealousies and plotting are tragic. The reaction and reach for truth by the townspeople, any truth, is reminiscent of small town America where the rumors and gossip hold as much truth as actual facts.

Neuhaus is an established bestseller in her own country and is ready to make her mark her across the pond. Snow White Must Die is a terrific mystery with twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing through it all. It doesn't miss a beat and the translation is expertly done. It flows and ebbs without a lilt.

A terrific crime novel that will have you searching for the others in the series and hoping they have made it across the pond as well! show less

When a young woman’s body washes up in a river, Pia Kirchoff and Oliver von Bodenstein are tasked with finding out who she is and the identity of her killer. Meanwhile, a local talk show host is pursuing a story that could put her back on the map when she’s attacked. There is also a young mother who has concerns about her daughter’s change in behavior while dealing with her husband’s infidelity and the impending arrival of her second child. When it turns out that the three cases are show more connected, the heat is on to find the responsible parties. The deeper Kirchhoff and von Bodenstein dig, the more disturbing the information they start to reveal, and for Pia, the implications strike close to home.

The story is told from multiple third-person viewpoints, with some first-person accounts from a young girl recalling games her father used to play with her. The multiple viewpoints work well, throwing information at the reader that can easily lead them down the wrong track. The story suffers a little in the middle, with more emphasis on background building than moving the story forward. The last half of the book flies, though, with the loose ends neatly tied up. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the author managed to surprise me. Rarely explicit, I found some elements of the story emotionally distressing. Though the framework of this novel is fiction, it explores the horrifying reality of sexual violence against children.

I thought this was a great book and if you enjoyed Snow White Must Die and Ice Princess I'm certain you will enjoy Bad Wolf as well. My only complaint is that certain events in the personal lives of Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein, addressed here, have taken place in the fifth book of the series which has not yet been translated. I don't mind reading out of order if the gaps are addressed in later books in a way that gives you some sort of understanding. I hope we can get a translation of Those Who Sow the Wind (Book 5) soon. I did see that the seventh book, I Am Your Judge, will be out in January. show less

Eines schlechten Tages kommt Larissa, die bei ihrer besten Freundin übernachten sollte, nicht nach Hause. Man findet ihre Leiche, halb vergraben im Schnee, hinter einem kleinen Votivschrein. Das Mädchen war ermordet und dann gnädigerweise wieder zusammengesetzt worden. Dieses Detail lässt die Ermittler sofort an ein Verbrechen aus Leidenschaft denken. Aber welche Art von Leidenschaft steckt hinter dem Verbrechen? Um das herauszufinden, müssen sich die Ermittler mit dem Leben des show more Mädchens und ihren Freundschaften befassen, aber auch mit sich selbst, mit dem System von Polizei und Justiz, mit der zunehmenden Intoleranz der Gesellschaft, die unweigerlich zu ihrer Barbarisierung führt, mit der Anmaßung mancher, sich zum obersten Richter aufzuschwingen, und dabei zu vergessen, dass sie dabei nur zu gemeinen Mördern werden.
Ein vielschichtiges Buch, das wunderschön geschrieben ist und das man nicht aus der Hand legen kann, sowohl während des Lesens als auch wenn man es beendet hat, weil die Situationen und Charaktere im Kopf nachhallen. Ein Buch, das einmal mehr zeigt, dass die Krimi-Literatur in Deutschland eines der wichtigsten Elemente ist, um die Gesellschaft und ihre Entwicklungen zu untersuchen. show less

Sitting down to write this, my first thought was...where do I begin? This is one of the most compelling, affecting novels I've read & the characters & their stories continue to reside in my head. If you can finish this book & blithely pick up the next one on your reading list, you're made of stronger stuff than I.
This is the 6th in Neuhaus' Taunus series, featuring DS Pia Kirchhoff & her boss Chief DS Oliver von Bodenstein of the Kripo Criminal Police in a district of Frankfurt.. They've show more been through a lot together professionally & individually in their personal lives.
Pia has been living with Christoph for several months now & things are going better than she expected. He is a kind, gentle man, the perfect foil to balance the stress of her job. Oliver is starting to see the light at the end of his previously miserable life. After the acrimonious end of a long marriage, he's regained self confidence & is looking forward to moving into his own place & a renewed friendship with an old classmate.
It all begins when some drunk teens stumble over the body of a young woman lying in shallow water. When Pia & her crew arrive, they are horrified by her wounds. Dr Henning Kirchhoff's (Pia's ex) autopsy reveals a multitude of old injuries caused by years of abuse. It brings to mind an unsolved case from 9 years ago of another young girl found dead in similar circumstances. But none of them are prepared for the chain of events that will follow.
In a concurent side story, we meet Hanna Herzmann, an ambitious & successful TV journalist famous for her Jerry Springer style interviews. She's recently kicked out husband #4, her miserable, self absorbed daughter Meike is moving in for the summer & worst of all, she's in a ratings slump. Then her therapist summons her to a clandestine meeting with two men, a reformed biker named Bernd & Kilian Rothemund, a disgraced lawyer/convicted child molester. The story they tell her is chilling & unbelievable but may be the scoop of the year.
In serial interludes through the book, there are passages detailing the life of an anonymous child. She's a little girl who loves horses & is the apple of her father's eye. He spoils her, buying clothes like the funny red cape with a hood. She knows that she wore it for their "special times" together with his friends but strangely, all she can remember is being afraid of the big bad wolf.
Meanwhile, Emma (old high school chum of Pia's) is dealing with being hugely pregnant during the hottest summer in memory, an increasingly distant husband & strange, sudden behavioural changes in her young daughter.
There are 5-6 story lines that start independently but it's only as the author begins to skillfully weave them all together that we get an idea of the true scope of the plot. The cast of characters is large & well developed. Each has a distinctive voice as events unfold & the tension builds. But Neuhaus is a master of misdirection & as Pia uncovers all the secrets & lies, we too learn of hidden connections & identities. More than once, I was shocked to find out what I'd come to believe was completely wrong. There is a mounting sense of dread & while Pia in particular becomes a target, no character will emerge with the life they had before.
This is more than a police procedural involving multiple murders. Some of the subject matter is very disturbing but unfortunately, true to life. There are graphic descriptions of assaults involving adults but crimes committed against children are mostly alluded to & occur off the page. Your imagination will take over & you desperately want to see some of these people get what they deserve.
This is a riveting page turner you'll resent having to put down & I stayed up waaay too late finishing it. Yes, it's unsettling but so well written that you're quickly hooked & have to know how it all pans out. By the end, many aspects of the case are resolved but not all, leaving us to wonder if some of these characters will pop up in subsequent books. If you enjoy compelling, gritty & complex thrillers, this is for you show less