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57th out of 1,031 books
—
66 voters
The Dark Monk (The Hangman's Daughter #2)
THE ANTICIPATED FOLLOWUP TO THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER, THE HANGMAN’S DAUGHTER
1660: Winter has settled thick over a sleepy village in the Bavarian Alps, ensuring every farmer and servant is indoors the night a parish priest discovers he's been poisoned. As numbness creeps up his body, he summons the last of his strength to scratch a cryptic sign in the frost.
Following a...more
1660: Winter has settled thick over a sleepy village in the Bavarian Alps, ensuring every farmer and servant is indoors the night a parish priest discovers he's been poisoned. As numbness creeps up his body, he summons the last of his strength to scratch a cryptic sign in the frost.
Following a...more
Paperback, 512 pages
Published
June 12th 2012
by Mariner Books
(first published May 1st 2009)
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I really wanted to like this series. It has so much going for it. A Bavarian town in the 17th century in the aftermath of The Thirty Years War, a not-so-usual backdrop for historical fiction (mostly we get Tudor England served up this way, over and over again). A central character who is the town's hangman, the latest in a dynasty of executioners, his father and grandfather having had the job before him. As the town's hangman, he is treated like a pariah, part of an untouchable caste that includ...more
Second in this series, historical murder mystery suspense fiction set in 1660 Bavaria--in the winter.
I actually liked the first book more: given the dense detailing done there to establish context and setting, I found it both fun and informative. In this sequel, I fear that the great success of the first volume influenced decisions to dash off another more rapidly, and so the care and precision I saw in the first volume, with regard to establishing character and mood, is not as prevalent here. S...more
I actually liked the first book more: given the dense detailing done there to establish context and setting, I found it both fun and informative. In this sequel, I fear that the great success of the first volume influenced decisions to dash off another more rapidly, and so the care and precision I saw in the first volume, with regard to establishing character and mood, is not as prevalent here. S...more
I have previously read the first entry in this series, The Hangman's Daughter, and enjoyed it enough to want to read further about hangman Jakob Kuisl, his family and the inhabitants of Schongau, a hamlet in 17th century Bavaria.
The novel begins with the poisoning death of priest, Andreas Koppmeyer. Simon, the physicians son and beau to the hangman's daughter Magdalena, soon finds himself investigating the death with the help of Koppmeyer's beautiful and wealthy sister Benedikta. Of course this...more
The Dark Monk is a wonderful follow up to Hangman's Daughter. Oliver Potzsch again takes you on an Adventure with the Jacob Kuisl (the hangman) and Simon (the town physcian's son). The characters are well described . I love Jacob's daughter Magdalena who is a spitfire of a woman. As the Hangman's daughter she has to face some unkind words and prejudices in her life and she does so with spunk and spirit. Magdalena is in love with Simon, but not allowed to marry him because she is the hangman's da...more
Feb 19, 2013
Jason
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Historical adventure & fantasy fans
Recommended to Jason by:
Amazon Kindle
I saw an advertisement for "The Dark Monk" on my Kindle and thought it looked interesting. I bought it a while ago, and finally read it early this year. I was hoping for a medieval tale of intrigue of adventure, though I soon learned the story is more Renaissance.
SUMMARY
When a priest in a quiet corner of Bavaria is poisoned after writing urgent letters, a local hangman (Jakob Kuisl), his daughter (Magdalena), and the doctor's dandy son (Simon), find themselves searching for the lost treasure of...more
SUMMARY
When a priest in a quiet corner of Bavaria is poisoned after writing urgent letters, a local hangman (Jakob Kuisl), his daughter (Magdalena), and the doctor's dandy son (Simon), find themselves searching for the lost treasure of...more
The first novel in this series, completely, captivated me and held my interest throughout the book. The second book in the series, The Dark Monk, did not captivate me but it still was an enjoyable book.
It was interesting to watch the main characters evolve but I am not too sure what the author is going to do with the town doctor, Simon Fronwieser. At times, he was bright, inquisitive and well educated but at other times, he was a woman chasing buffoon and country bumpkin. I found that transforma...more
It was interesting to watch the main characters evolve but I am not too sure what the author is going to do with the town doctor, Simon Fronwieser. At times, he was bright, inquisitive and well educated but at other times, he was a woman chasing buffoon and country bumpkin. I found that transforma...more
It was ok. A bit too much of a debt borrowed from _DaVinci Code_, I think. I enjoyed it ok but it seemed like he just goosed up the Templar Scavenger Hunt story popularized by Dan Brown with the elements from his first book.
What was refreshing the first time through now feels repetitive and stale. It's still a fun story for an airplane ride or a sick day, but I'm not wowed with this one the way I was with _The Hangman's Daughter_.
The book would have been 3.5 stars but I'm knocking a half star...more
What was refreshing the first time through now feels repetitive and stale. It's still a fun story for an airplane ride or a sick day, but I'm not wowed with this one the way I was with _The Hangman's Daughter_.
The book would have been 3.5 stars but I'm knocking a half star...more
Second in the series of The Hangman's Daughter.
A crushing responsibility Dan Brown must bear for The Da Vinci Code is the number (and usually poor quality) of the subsequent knockoffs. And yes, folks, here we have another one--yes, the hidden treasure of the Templars shrouded in code that take our protagonists Jakob, Magdalena, and he more-or-less lover Simon, a physician, on a journey around the villages, monasteries and towns of the Priest's Corner of Bavaria, trying to locate the treasure. An...more
A crushing responsibility Dan Brown must bear for The Da Vinci Code is the number (and usually poor quality) of the subsequent knockoffs. And yes, folks, here we have another one--yes, the hidden treasure of the Templars shrouded in code that take our protagonists Jakob, Magdalena, and he more-or-less lover Simon, a physician, on a journey around the villages, monasteries and towns of the Priest's Corner of Bavaria, trying to locate the treasure. An...more
I would have rated this at a 4 if the author hadn't used so many modern terms in a medieval novel. Although set in 17th century what would become Germany, the book contains many modernisms. Each time I read one, I cringed. "There's nothing between me and Benedikta Koppmeyer." ".... she's off-limits." "You forget that Scheller has his big day tomorrow."
This is the second book in a series by a German author who has actually traced his ancestory back to a Jakob Kuisl, a hangman in the 17th century....more
This is the second book in a series by a German author who has actually traced his ancestory back to a Jakob Kuisl, a hangman in the 17th century....more
The Dark Monk was every bit as good as the Hangman's daughter.
This one hits the ground running right out of the gate when a local priest is found murdered. Simon is summoned to the scene in order to help the portly old man but by the time he gets there too late but the priest left a clue. Simon thinks there's a bigger mystery than the murder of the priest and ends up enlisting the help of Jakob the hangman. What follows is a whirlwind mystery rich in ancient societies, historical detail, misplac...more
This one hits the ground running right out of the gate when a local priest is found murdered. Simon is summoned to the scene in order to help the portly old man but by the time he gets there too late but the priest left a clue. Simon thinks there's a bigger mystery than the murder of the priest and ends up enlisting the help of Jakob the hangman. What follows is a whirlwind mystery rich in ancient societies, historical detail, misplac...more
I didn't read the first book in the series, (the library didn't have it) so that may be why this book didn't emotionally resonate with me. I also found it unbelievable in a lot of areas. Magdelena (the hangman's daughter) was tiresome and super immature, and while bright in solving mysteries was foolhardy in dangerous situations. After I finished reading I found out it was a translation and I think that might be why the wording was awkward at times. And in every scene it was snowing, alternating...more
First read The Hangman's Daughter by the same author. That is the first in the series and this one is the second. The author is a descendant of the legendary hangman, Jakob Kuisl and his books are translated into English. It's the 1600's in Bavaria. The three main characters appear in both novels. Jakob Kuisl is the hangman and his other duties in the town of Schongau is to torture the accused/guilty, remove dead animals, and do whatever the city council bids him to do. But he is a hangman with...more
A man digs into his genealogy and finds he's decended from a long line of hangmen - and proceeds to write mysteries based on it. As he says - "..sometimes reality is stranger than fiction...The history of my family was ..there long before I came along. I just embelleshed it a bit and put it down on paper."
I quite enjoyed it - when I read I tend to imagine myself in the story. In this case it didn't take much imagination - real people lived this story in one way or another (sans embellishments ;)...more
I quite enjoyed it - when I read I tend to imagine myself in the story. In this case it didn't take much imagination - real people lived this story in one way or another (sans embellishments ;)...more
This book was special in the sense that it's the first book I've ever read on a kindle. My Mom saw that the sequel to The Hangman's Daughter was on sale for 99-cents and bought it for me as a present, to my surprise.
The Dark Monk starts off where THD left off. Jakob Kuisl has risen somewhat in the esteem of the villagers, but they still cross themselves in his presence. Magdalena is now the apprentice to the village midwife and is still pursuing her awkward and uncertain relationship with Simon,...more
The Dark Monk starts off where THD left off. Jakob Kuisl has risen somewhat in the esteem of the villagers, but they still cross themselves in his presence. Magdalena is now the apprentice to the village midwife and is still pursuing her awkward and uncertain relationship with Simon,...more
As with The Hangman's Daughter, this is a historical suspense/thriller. And as with THD, it is intriguing to read and discover how they will solve the crimes, especially when we've come so used to modern methods of crime solving - including the idea that DNA can solve a crime in a matter of days, thanks to TV crime shows.
But also as with THD, the author lapses into modern terms to describe things. One example is when a character refers to another character "hitting on" her. Now, I may be wrong,...more
But also as with THD, the author lapses into modern terms to describe things. One example is when a character refers to another character "hitting on" her. Now, I may be wrong,...more
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Oliver Potzsch burst on the scene with his enjoyable debut, "The Hangman's Daughter," a tale of intrigue and murder set in the small Bavarian village of Schongau. While the story was more about the hangman, Jakob Kuisl, than his titular daughter, "THD" was sufficiently full of thrills and historical details that you didn't care too much.
With "The Dark Monk," Potzsch returns to Schongau in the winter of 1648. A terrible fever plagues the good villagers, the the young daughter Simon cannot do much...more
With "The Dark Monk," Potzsch returns to Schongau in the winter of 1648. A terrible fever plagues the good villagers, the the young daughter Simon cannot do much...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I really enjoyed The Hangman's Daughter, and I was glad to find that I enjoyed The Dark Monk just as much. I enjoyed the historical part as well as the mystery part.
I really enjoyed getting to see my favorite characters again from the first book. While sometimes I just wanted to smack Simon, I still enjoyed Magdalena and her father Jakob. However, as in the previous novel, there were still some secondary characters that I would have enjoyed finding out more about. One in particular would be the...more
I really enjoyed getting to see my favorite characters again from the first book. While sometimes I just wanted to smack Simon, I still enjoyed Magdalena and her father Jakob. However, as in the previous novel, there were still some secondary characters that I would have enjoyed finding out more about. One in particular would be the...more
I'd give this one 3.5 stars. I enjoyed this, especially as a reading tour through medieval Bavaria, and Bavarian churches in particular. However, the time setting precluded some of my favorite ones in the area. As in the first book, the town hangman is a rather complex fellow. Not only is he responsible to administer the punishments the town leaders see fit to mete out, but he is also the healer that the townsfolk secretly seek out instead of the doctor, at least those townsfolk that want to get...more
Much like it's predecessor, The Hangman's Daughter, the story starts slowly, and builds in intensity and pace to a rousing, if overly dramatic finish.
Comparisons to Dan Brown's books are inevitable (actually, I was reminded more of Umberto Eco's works including Foucault's Pendulum and Baudolino), but the ground covered is different enough that it doesn't really matter.
We don't learn much more about Kuisl, Magdalena, and Simon than we were given in the first book, and in that I am a bit disappo...more
Comparisons to Dan Brown's books are inevitable (actually, I was reminded more of Umberto Eco's works including Foucault's Pendulum and Baudolino), but the ground covered is different enough that it doesn't really matter.
We don't learn much more about Kuisl, Magdalena, and Simon than we were given in the first book, and in that I am a bit disappo...more
Even though it was the wee hours of the morning, I had to start this one as soon as I finished the first book. Admittedly, the girl in me wanted to see a little more of Magdalena and Simon. I think there relationship is sweet. Since the author is not writing a teenage lust-fest (aka the "Twilight" brand that seems to be running rampant in literature right now) the romance takes a far back seat to the real story - the mystery. You get glimpses of it and I think that makes the story seem more real...more
Almost a tour through the Ammer Valley in Süddeutschland--fun to read about Schongau, Steingaden & Rottenbuch churches, which I've visited. Quite a riddle to be solved.
660: Winter has settled thick over a sleepy village in the Bavarian Alps, ensuring every farmer and servant is indoors the night a parish priest discovers he's been poisoned. As numbness creeps up his body, he summons the last of his strength to scratch a cryptic sign in the frost.
Following a trail of riddles, hangman Jakob K...more
660: Winter has settled thick over a sleepy village in the Bavarian Alps, ensuring every farmer and servant is indoors the night a parish priest discovers he's been poisoned. As numbness creeps up his body, he summons the last of his strength to scratch a cryptic sign in the frost.
Following a trail of riddles, hangman Jakob K...more
Flashplot: In this historical fiction suspense novel, a sequel to The Hangman’s Daughter, our three main characters, the town executioner Jakob Kuisl, his daughter Magdalena, and the young physician Simon Fronwiesser, return to solve yet another mystery in the small 17th century German town of Schongau. Starting with the suspicious death of a local priest and leading to a full-blown conspiracy involving religious riddles, relics, and a search for the Templar’s treasure, this plot truly could be...more
For some reason I just loved this book! It was fresh and original for me. Now I don't think the writing is all that amazingly lyrical or anything....I really think it was the setting that I liked. Some of the main characters are the Hangman, the Hangman's Daughter, the Medicus, and a great many priests. The mystery is set in 1600s Bavaria. Maybe part of the attraction for me is also that I have a couple of lines of my family who are from Bavaria too. See, the author, Oliver Potzsch, has done som...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Based on how much i enjoyed The Hangman's Daughter, I pre-ordered this as soon as I learned about it. Once it arrived, it became really hard to set it aside until I finished my summer class.
This was another good piece of historical fiction, using the same setting and characters from the previous novel. The plot was much more complex than its predecessor, almost rivaling The Name of the Rose or The Da Vinci Code, but the end still felt rushed and like it had some "deus ex machina" moments that wo...more
This was another good piece of historical fiction, using the same setting and characters from the previous novel. The plot was much more complex than its predecessor, almost rivaling The Name of the Rose or The Da Vinci Code, but the end still felt rushed and like it had some "deus ex machina" moments that wo...more
It hasn’t been more than a few days since I finished book two in this series and I’m going through withdrawals. Book three is out and four is on the way. If you haven’t read any of The Hangman’s Daughter series, I advise making sure you have ready access to all the books before starting. If you’re anything like me, once I get into a good story and set characters, it’s hard to give them while waiting until you can get a hold of the rest of the books.
As much as the first book was primarily a myste...more
As much as the first book was primarily a myste...more
The village priest in a small village in Bavaria makes a startling discovery while renovating his small church. The discovery could have a profound impact on Christianity. He relays this information to his bishop, but before he can act further, he is poisoned and dies, leaving a clue to his discovery. The town hangman, his daughter, the town physician's son, and the priest's feisty recently arrived sister begin a scavenger hunt to discover what it is that the priest found. There is evidence that...more
This is another wonderful book. I really enjoyed it. It was a fast paced book with a great plot. I found that it pulled me in and made me a part of the story. It made me feel like the story could be a part of me if I let it.
In the Dark Monk a priest is killed because he found a Templar’s grave and riddles. This leads to the doctor going to see the priest and calling for the hangman. The hangman finds that the priest has been murdered. The rest of the book goes into how the doctor solves the Temp...more
In the Dark Monk a priest is killed because he found a Templar’s grave and riddles. This leads to the doctor going to see the priest and calling for the hangman. The hangman finds that the priest has been murdered. The rest of the book goes into how the doctor solves the Temp...more
All of my favorite characters from 'The Hangman's Daughter' return in 'The Dark Monk' and they behave in ways similar, if not identical, to those in the preceding novel. I chalk up points to Potzsch for his ability to keep consistent his characters across multiple novels; it's not always an easy task to accomplish.
'The Dark Monk' takes us back to the Priests' Corner in the Alpine foothills and into an intrigue surrounding murder, treasure, and history. While some of the components of this book s...more
'The Dark Monk' takes us back to the Priests' Corner in the Alpine foothills and into an intrigue surrounding murder, treasure, and history. While some of the components of this book s...more
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| August 25th book club | 2 | 24 | Aug 07, 2012 08:41am |
Oliver Pötzsch is a German writer and filmmaker. After high school he attended the German School of Journalism in Munich from 1992 to 1997. He then worked for Radio Bavaria. In addition to his professional activities in radio and television, Pötzsch researched his family history. He is a descendant of the Kuisle, from the 16th to the 19th Century a famous dynasty of executioners in Schongau.
More about Oliver Pötzsch...
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Feb 16, 2013 02:25am