Cuento De Muerte
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Cuento De Muerte (Jan Fabel #2)
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.
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published
by Roca
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Introducing the body of the (first) victim in an unusual or interesting way in any mystery-novel, helps hook the reader. But to keep this theme running and the reader hooked for the next couple of hundred pages, seems to be one of the hardest tasks for any crime-writer. Luckily, Craig Russell, while not delivering a literary masterpiece with ‘Brother Grimm’, keeps the reader racing through the pages of his 400+ paged novel. The pacing is high, the characters – thank to some done to death clichés...more
A crime novel set in Hamburg. Normally, that's two very good reasons for me to not even turn the first page but, hell, I was bored. So I started reading away anyways, not expecting to be remotely interested or touched even peripherally, and the next thing I knew was that it was 6 a.m. and I found myself quite unable to put the damn book down.
It has been noted before that the author throws around a fair amount of german vocabulary and, yes, it bothered me as well. And it didn't make a...more
It has been noted before that the author throws around a fair amount of german vocabulary and, yes, it bothered me as well. And it didn't make a...more
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“Brother Grimm” is the second book in Craig Russell’s series featuring Jan Fabel. And although I don’t usually like to read books about gory and bloody serial killers, this book has a lot more substance to it than your typical serial killer novel. Strong characters, a plot that is complex and kept me guessing, and a flowing pace that is just right for a crime/mystery book. I’m glad there are a few more books yet to read in this series.
Jacket notes: “A girl's body lies, posed, on the...more
Jacket notes: “A girl's body lies, posed, on the...more
there's fairy tales, and then there's serial killer. Oh my, what a perfect kind of book for me xD
and there's also the history about the fairy tales, and variations of them.
the criminal part's also engaging, not over done, but good. you can feel the creep on your neck while reading this book...
i like it.
and there's also the history about the fairy tales, and variations of them.
the criminal part's also engaging, not over done, but good. you can feel the creep on your neck while reading this book...
i like it.
Ugh. This book had so much going for it, it really did. The storyline was great, it was just written so badly it was difficult to read!
The majot failing of this book was the constant referring to things in German, I don't speak German, so i'd just skim over the words. Or I'd read them, and try to think of a word that was similar to it.
Needless to say this made the story confusing!
Another thing that peeved me was the reference to the main character in the novel by hi...more
The majot failing of this book was the constant referring to things in German, I don't speak German, so i'd just skim over the words. Or I'd read them, and try to think of a word that was similar to it.
Needless to say this made the story confusing!
Another thing that peeved me was the reference to the main character in the novel by hi...more
Overall good book, but eventhough I read it in Norwegian and the German wasn't as difficult, the German words still got a bit irritating after a while. Repetitions also started to bug me halfway through the book; in my opinion, there was no need to constantly remind the reader of what happened to the characters in (I am guessing) the first book.
Aside from this though, I really liked the premise of the book. And the story was enjoyable, but the storytelling wasn't exactly all up to par...more
Aside from this though, I really liked the premise of the book. And the story was enjoyable, but the storytelling wasn't exactly all up to par...more
It's funny how the setting of a book can drastically change your impressions of it. This book, for example, takes place in Germany. More specifically, Hamburg.
Now, because I'm lazy I haven't done much research into this book, so I have no idea if the author is German, or if this book is a translation of another German book, or if he's American and just decided to set this book in Germany for whatever reason. Anything's possible.
However, being set in Germany, as I rea...more
Now, because I'm lazy I haven't done much research into this book, so I have no idea if the author is German, or if this book is a translation of another German book, or if he's American and just decided to set this book in Germany for whatever reason. Anything's possible.
However, being set in Germany, as I rea...more
This is a chilling book that I only found because I was looking for things on fairytales for class. Turns out the way the character Jan Fabel describes the fairytales in relation to the german language helped me understand what I wanted from my homework assignment.
This is a really good book with lots of interesting plot twist, leaving you not sure how to feel in some cases. Though I must say I did see the last little bit coming but that was only because I'd been studying fairytales a...more
This is a really good book with lots of interesting plot twist, leaving you not sure how to feel in some cases. Though I must say I did see the last little bit coming but that was only because I'd been studying fairytales a...more
It takes some time to adjust to Russell's writing style, which is, in my opinion quite factual and dry. But when you get accustomed to this style (that shows resemblance to the grey city of Hamburg) it is a clever novel.
Once again we meet up with Detective Fabel, a few days? weeks? after the first book in the series.
This time another serial killer is on the loose and toys with the team in a fashion that is often seen in thrillers.
This book is, however, well above par. It's ric...more
Once again we meet up with Detective Fabel, a few days? weeks? after the first book in the series.
This time another serial killer is on the loose and toys with the team in a fashion that is often seen in thrillers.
This book is, however, well above par. It's ric...more
Mein Gott! I'll never look at Disney princesses and their fairy godmothers the same way again
Interesting story but tries too hard to draw the fairy tale/Brothers Grimm connection.
Picked this up in Germany at a train station... read before the 1st one, best book yet!
Excellent, excellent book.
good movie and book.
Excellent.
Gosto da escrita do Craig Russell, você não se cansa e ao mesmo tempo é densa. Gosto também do Jan Fabel e da equipe com que ele trabalha.
Sobre este livro, eu gostei bastante. Em algumas partes me deu uma certa agonia. Fiquei achando durante quase todo o livro que o assassino era um, para depois descobrir que era outro. E o final de novo muito difícil, mas igualmente bom (em relação ao primeiro livro, já que este é o segundo livro que leio dele).
Sobre este livro, eu gostei bastante. Em algumas partes me deu uma certa agonia. Fiquei achando durante quase todo o livro que o assassino era um, para depois descobrir que era outro. E o final de novo muito difícil, mas igualmente bom (em relação ao primeiro livro, já que este é o segundo livro que leio dele).
it was an interesting concept- a fairy tale murderer wrecking havoc in hamburg. i found it a bit flat at times, but it was a fairly quick read.
I liked this: the notion of a serial killer using the tales collected by the Brothers Grimm as his 'killing manual'. But then, sometimes, my choice of fiction takes me to some black, bleak and grim <groan> choices.
This is the second of the books by this author, and I need to hunt down the other two.
If you like crime fiction with an interesting plot and some well developed characters, this may well be one for you.
This is the second of the books by this author, and I need to hunt down the other two.
If you like crime fiction with an interesting plot and some well developed characters, this may well be one for you.
This book is just amazing. Craig Russel is a good author, and the ending genuinely surprised me. Especially the "oven bake murder" aspect!
The characters are all amazing, although as this is the second in a series, we don't get as much character development as I would have liked.
Overall, a great book with a nice twist.
Recommended to everyone.
The characters are all amazing, although as this is the second in a series, we don't get as much character development as I would have liked.
Overall, a great book with a nice twist.
Recommended to everyone.
Scottish author - German setting. A grim(!) choice of reading material if you don't like your fairy tales with added serial killer; luckily I do, and am thoroughly enjoying this.
First line - Fabel stroked her cheek gently with his gloved hand.
First line - Fabel stroked her cheek gently with his gloved hand.
Sometimes it read like it was written in hopes of an adaptation. Typical serial killer suspense with suprisingly little action, some original ideas, a lot of unoriginal ideas and an ending that would have you taken aback, but does no such thing at all!
This book was an exciting crime thriller set in Germany, with many twists and turns along the way. What let it down a bit was its poor and sloppy writing style, which was irritating and distracting at times.
An interesting read. Has some German history that was very interesting. However, the book does include a lot of German terms which can slow you down quite a bit at the start.
It is one the few crime fiction books that I read. If you like crime and serial killer stories you had better try it.
I had to give up reading this due to the start of NaNoWriMo.
What a thin line between literary theory and madness! Ha!
gahh, the german frustrates me:/
The BEST
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Craig Russell was born in 1956, in Fife, Scotland. He served as a police officer and worked in the advertising company as a copywriter and creative director. Russell had a long standing interest in the German language and in post war German history and society....more
More about Craig Russell...
Craig Russell was born in 1956, in Fife, Scotland. He served as a police officer and worked in the advertising company as a copywriter and creative director. Russell had a long standing interest in the German language and in post war German history and society....more
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“The major part of the meeting had been devoted to allocating resources to the various investigative tasks, the first of which was to get almost everyone on the job of identifying the dead girl.
The dead girl. Fabel was steadfastly committed to uncovering her identity, but it was that moment he dreaded most:
when the body became a person and the case number became a name.”
—
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More quotes…
The dead girl. Fabel was steadfastly committed to uncovering her identity, but it was that moment he dreaded most:
when the body became a person and the case number became a name.”
