4 Stars for Morbus Dei: The Arrival by Bastian Zach and Matthias Bauer

[Margaret, Book Explosion Moderator]

This is a mystery/thriller set in 18th century Europe. Johann List, a mysterious young man, is fighting for his life. He’s managed to get away from a tyrant employer who not only stole his wages, but tried to kill him, but now, injured and lost in the wintery wilderness, Johann is close to death. Finally and almost with his last breath, Johann stumbles into a small, secluded village and tries to find help for his soon to be fatal injuries.

He’s taken in by an old man and his granddaughter and after some time, they nurse him back to health. But this village is limited as to what they can spare during the harsh winter months and Johann is forced to work for yet another tyrant to repay the kindness he received. He agrees readily, as the winters are too harsh to travel in and he cannot move on until spring time. He soon discovers that the village people are terrified of something in the forest outside of their little hamlet and he decides to find out what it is.

This is a well written novel full of suspense and vivid scenes and characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone that enjoys historical novels. I will note that this is the English translation of this novel, so there are a few minor editing errors, however the story was done so well, that it didn’t distract too much.

This book was provided to me for free for an honest and unbiased review (see all our reviews at http://www.bookexplosions.com/ or on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... )