Review: The Dark Monk

by Oliver Pötzsch

5*

Our heroes search for Templar treasure in 17th century Bavaria, trying to keep one step ahead of some very dark monks. Semi-comic, occasionally tragic, this is a terrific story and very well told.

All the characters – and they’re a delightfully mixed bunch – are well drawn and real. The translation is excellent, completely natural and good modern English. Refreshingly for an historical novel, there is no attempt at ye olde Englishe-speake, no annoying ‘Tolkienese’.

The Dark Monk is a sequel, but there are very few references to the earlier novel and it can easily be read as a stand alone, it was never a problem for me that I hadn’t read the first book, The Hangman’s Daughter, though I certainly will now.

In short, this is a brilliant tale very well told. The most enjoyable book I’ve read this year and very highly recommended indeed.