Andreas Franz (1) (1954–2011)

For me, this is the first volume in the Julia Durant series, even though it is the 12th volume in the series. The good thing about it is that this is the first volume that Daniel Holbe completed from manuscripts started by the late Andreas Franz, so it's like a kind of 'reboot' of the series.
Julia Durant, chief inspector in Frankfurt, returns to her department after a year's 'recuperation break'. At first she is transferred to the back office, which doesn't suit her at all, so she always has show more the feeling that she only gets half of the case.
A dead, abused young student is found in a shared student flat. Who has done this to her? Four students are arrested, but the reader soon realises that these four did not kill the victim. However, they are convicted because they abused the victim and offered no help. Another student is acquitted for lack of evidence. Of course, the reader immediately has the feeling that he must be the perpetrator.
Two years later, more women are brutally murdered, following the same pattern. They are filmed and these films are sold on the Darnet. In addition to the women's bodies, a male corpse is also found, equally abused and killed. How does he fit into this scheme? The man who brutally killed the women is also found abused and dead himself.
There are many unanswered questions that Julia Durant and her team have to solve.
It is very excitingly written and I read it in one go. show less

Read in German, so far not translated to english, I think.
For a start of a series, "Julia Durant", 4 stars, it may be too much (1 too much), as it is too long and all major characters have some private problems.
Then again, it is very realistic even in the description and the problems (yeah, again) of minor characters.
Gruesome, very detailed mutilations and killings. A second storyline about power and teenage/child abuse, also very detailed.
Both could be disturbing for squeamish readers.
Book show more is a bit dated, with most people smoking heavily and mobile phones (just emerging then) only owned and used by rich people.
Also computers are only used by experts, giving the task of searching to people outside the main group of police.
The book takes place in Frankfurt, as I do not know that town personally, I cannot say how accurate it is, but the description of traffic jams etc. feels real even and might even be the same today as then it was written.

No real twists, and the killer is named at ca. 80-85% in the book, with the main killings solved and the killer in jail two or three chapters before the end. All problems are solved and most concluded, but some in a disturbing way (how to put it without spoiling it?), not neat but a bit much, this, together with no twists and being too long fails to get the 5th star in the rating.

As German ebooks are sometimes rather expensive, I am glad I got this cheap.
I just checked, it is as of this date even cheaper, but most other books in the series are 9,99 Eur, which is too much.
Recommended if you can read German and want a book about a serial killer. show less

This was a good read, I liked the book. A new to me author, but based on this book I mightr try another one from this series or by his hand. It was no problem that I read this book first, being the 6th in the series. That's nice.

As I said, I liked the book, but there are a few minor things. Nearing the end, I got a little fed up with yet another murder, yet more secrets, yet another twist. It was enough already. It felt a bit like the author had a minimum number of pages to fill and that show more was his way to do that. What I found a bit strange was, that despite they asked a profiler to help them out, they did not wait till the official profile was ready and somehow got to the same conclusions. It was like the all knowing author forgot that psychiatrists & policemen are not the same. And somehow, the motives/arguments of the killer coincided with the laymen's ideas of the police and with the not-ready profile of the psychiatrist. For me that was too beautiful, too constructed.
Hence the slight lesser amount of stars, for the story in itself was a nice one. show less

ordentlicher Julia Durant Krimi, ein paar Dinge sind aber sehr klischee-haft.