Brother Grimm

Regreso con Jan Fabel en esta segunda entrega de Craig Russell y tengo que decir que este libro, si es que eso es posible, es mejor que el primero, tiene una historia tan buena, tan fascinante y tan bien llevada a puerto que me ha impresionado.

No es solo que como buena novela negra este libro tiene su muy buen asesino en serie, por supuesto reitero que me gusta el personaje de Fabel tanto como su equipo de trabajo, la manera en que se maneja la investigación e incluso los temas personales de los personajes, que aunque nos lo presentan, para nada es parte importante de la trama ni tampoco le quita protagonismo a la historia principal.

Los asesinatos de este libro están basados en los cuentos de los hermanos Grimm, así que durante todo show more el libro se habla de El niño cambiado, La bella durmiente, Hansel y Gretel, Rapunzel, pero en el contexto original, me ha hecho recordar cuando leí esos cuentos, después de tener en la mente lo que nos ha contado Disney fue un shock absoluto para mí conocer las historias reales de estos cuentos.

Si alguien no se ha leído los cuentos originales de los hermanos Grimm, les advierto que hay spoilers importantes en este libro, por otro lado, Russell nos pone en relieve algo que a pesar de conocer lo oscuros que son estos cuentos, al menos en mí caso no lo había visto, que dichos cuentos, los originales, son en realidad historias de novela negra de lo más oscuro que hay, la cuestión es que esos cuentos eran cuentos populares en una época donde solo podían representar la maldad, el asesinato, la violación, etc, en cuentos de princesas y príncipes, al final el morbo por lo oscuro del ser humano ha existido desde siempre.

Por otro lado, me ha llamado la atención que aquí se dice que los hermanos Grimm “cambiaron” un poco las historias para hacerlas menos terribles, lo que me ha hecho pensar en sí la edición que tengo es la primera, puesto que cuando yo los leí casi me muero al enterarme que la bella durmiente fue violada por el príncipe mientras dormía, al parecer hay otros cuentos donde, efectivamente, solo es despertada por un beso, no en el que yo tengo, no solo es violada, sino que además tiene hijos estando dormida.

En fin, no era mi intención entrar en materia de los hermanos Grimm, aunque por supuesto que da para mucho comentar, la cuestión es que este libro retoma todos esos cuentos para escribir una novela negra con asesinatos basados en dichos cuentos, nunca sospeche del quién es el asesino, si bien los sospechosos presentados me parecían demasiado obvios, la cuestión es que en independencia de si sorprende o no, este libro es uno de esos que he disfrutado desde la primera página y que me ratifica como incondicional de este autor, voy a seguir leyéndolo porque en definitiva me gusta mucho la forma en que escribe sus historias, su estilo y la manera en que va desarrollando todo a fin de caer en finales que casi se vienen escribiendo solos.

Bueno, pues a seguir con la serie que todavía me faltan cuatro libros para ponerme al día. show less

An excellent mix of suspense and police procedure combined with a scholarly and erudite examination of folklore in general and the tales collected by the Brothers Grimm in particular, this is one of the most interesting books I have read all year.

Hamburg detective Jan Fabel is hunting a serial killer who bases his crimes on ancient fairy stories: Fabel suspects the killer is sending a message, and to interpret it, he and his squad submerge themselves in the work of the Brothers Grimm.

With twists and turns galore, this book should keep you riveted and wondering right up to the denouement on the final page

This is the second book in a series of books with detective Jan Fabel. The hunt is on for a serial killer who is exploring the deepest fears hidden in old fairy tales. With each new crime is a grisly reference to folk stories collected by the Brothers Grimm. The killer is a monster we all learned to fear in childhood.

As with other books I have read that are part of a series this one can be read as a stand alone. The book does refer back to the previous one so you can get a gist of what has happened to the characters before hand. Jan Fabel the main character is a really nice guy and I could get to quite like him a lot in further books.

The crime itself was quite clever being based on the stories by the brothers Grimm. I didn’t work out show more at all who was commiting the crimes and I thought the twist on the final pages was quite clever, although as I was turning those final pages I could see it coming !

A first class read which kept me on the edge of my seat till the very last page and I would highly recommend this book. show less

Detective novels are not my thing, I like Fantasy and Science Fiction and weird stuff far better. I picked Brother Grimm because of its fairy tales connection, and didn't care that it was the second book on a series.

I liked the book well enough, a bit like CSI, but more focused on the detective part than on collecting the forensics. It is a fast read, and enjoyable. There is plenty of action and twisted murders, but there is still room for more deep musings about the significance of Fairy Tales, and especially of the Brothers Grimm task of collecting all the fairy tales through Germany, in a way of collecting the essence of the German People.

The one thing I have to point out is that there seemed to be much repetition of the characters show more descriptions (time and time again referring “the two Sex-Crime SoKo members, Petra Maas and Hans Rödger” as such every time they appear, especially when they didn't provide much to action. They were there but didn't do much).

I might read the first novel on the series if it comes my way. show less

I liked the concept and would love to actually have read the book within the book instead. I think my main problem with this is I didn’t really like any of the main characters. The author tried to make me like them but I didn’t. I found them to be 2 dimensional caricatures. I like ‘The Devil Aspect’ so much better.

I loved this book from the beginning to the end. I've got to be grabbed in the first few pages in order for me to continue reading it. This certainly did this! Once I'd negotiated the long German job titles in my head it became a lot clearer. The first chapter is a little confusing until it starts to speed up - which this book did.

The characters were easy to associate with and you were given a good insight into their personal lives and how they became linked with their working lives.

As for the plot, I wasn't sure when this book was recommended to me whether it was going to be simply weird and typical of its genre. However as one reviewer here comments, think again. I was left guessing right to the end. I knew who I thought was show more involved but couldn't work out why they were involved.

Chapter lengths were the right length - a good mixture of short and more detailed. I never felt confused, I was clear about exactly what was happening and I went along for the ride.

I really couldn't put this down and was disappointed everytime I had to stop reading. Devote some time to it rather than a few pages at bedtime.

I haven't read any others of his yet but I will now. I do wish I'd known a little but more about the original fairy tales however it doesn't really make that much difference. Worth the read!! show less

This was as good as expected. I have been hunting for this novel for over a year. It was a great find. The characters are nicely developed and enough of them to stay focused. The killer is a crazy lunatic that is also well developed. The location of Germany brings a lot of interesting historical moments to ponder. I can't wait to go and get the 1st in the series and the next!