The Carnival Master

This was quite a mixed bag! I didn’t realise that it was part of a series involving the same detective, and it would perhaps be beneficial to read the prior books in the series, although this is by no means necessary in order to understand the plot.

The book is set in Cologne, where Hamburg Police Officer Jan Fabel has travelled in order to help the Cologne Police catch a serial killer - a man who attacks women during ‘Karneval’ an annual celebration when everyone lets their hair down, goes a little crazy and becomes someone else. This killer has a curious predilection for the taste of human flesh, and is extremely dangerous, but a city in organised chaos is not an easy place to find him.

Unknown to Jan, a colleague of his, Maria show more Klee, has also travelled to Cologne in order to settle an old score with a hated enemy (the background to this is obviously contained in one of the earlier books, but it is easy to understand enough of what had happened for this part of the book to make sense).

A third party is also travelling to Cologne - a Ukranian team led by a Special Forces Commander, whose intention it is to take down a ruthlessly cruel crime boss.

Inevitably, all three threads of the story, which start out quite separately, converge.

There was a lot to enjoy in this book - several twists and turns, with many genuine surprises. The plotting was very clever, and I would be interested to read prior books by this author. I did feel that it may have benefited from being perhaps a third shorter, but that is a minor gripe. Overall, an enjoyable book, which I would particularly recommend to fans of Dean Koontz and other similar writers. show less

Chief Commissar Jan Fabel goes to Cologne during Karneval to help give advice on a serial killer investigation.
The ability of Craig Russell to weave a tale of mystery and not bore with a serial killer is very talented. He used three to four interwoven stories to keep the reader from getting board all culminating at the end for one fascinating novel. He also has excellent character development and no one person is safe.

It is Carnival time in Cologne and a killer is on the prowl. Jan Fabel,who is the head of Hamburg's Murder Squad becomes involved in the hunt for this strange killer,'The Clown',who after strangling the victims,slices away an exact amount of flesh,which is later cooked and eaten.
At the same time his old enemy,the Ukrainian,Viktor Vitrenko has surfaced,and is again causing havoc with his criminal activities.
This is a roller-coaster of a read which I for one could not put down until the end.A word of warning however and that is that is is quite important to read this book,which is the fourth in the series,in order.In other words First read 'Blood Eagle',follow this with 'Brother Grimm,then 'Eternal' and finally this one. If you don't then show more you will miss out on the continuing story of Jan Fabel and his team. show less

The plot was good but somehow the thrill of a crime novel was missing.

Excellent - best of four Fabel books to date.

Der Schotte Craig Russell versteht es meisterlich, eine komplexe Handlung mit einer schier unerträglichen Spannung zu kombinieren. Die Protagonisten um die Hauptfigur Jan Fabel sind glaubhaft beschrieben und agieren durchaus eigenständig. Ein gemeinsames Band verbindet die ersten vier Romane und läßt so das Gefühl eines großen Ganzen im Leser erwachsen. Da die Romane stellenweise sehr harte Szenen aufweisen, sind sie für Leser mit schwachen Nerven nicht uneingeschränkt zu empfehlen. Allerdings schreibt Russell viel zu gut, als das er zu billilgen Schockmomenten zuflucht nehmen müsste. Vielmehr sind diese Szenen Spiegelbilder der gewaltbereiten Zeit, in der wir Leben.

Jan Fabel pensaba que su relación con la muerte y el crimen había terminado.
Sin embargo, justo cuando piensa en emprender una nueva carrera fuera del departamento de policía de Hamburgo, un detective de homicidios de Colonia le pide ayuda para encontrar al Señor del Carnaval, un sanguinario asesino en serie que durante los tres últimos años ha matado a sus víctimas durante las famosas fiestas.
Por otro lado, María Klee, la ayudante de Fabel, ha decidido viajar a Colonia para dar caza a un asesino más peligroso que el anterior, con el que tiene una cuenta pendiente.