The Hangman's Daughter

Author: Oliver Potzsch
Published: 2010
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3.5

Summary
A historical thriller set in Germany in 1660. When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play in his small Bavarian town. Whispers and dark memories of witch trials and the women burned at the stake just seventy years earlier still haunt the streets of Schongau. When more children disappear and an orphan boy is found dead—marked by the same tattoo—the mounting hysteria threatens to erupt into chaos.

Before the unrest forces him to torture and execute the very woman who aided in the birth of his children, Jakob must unravel the truth. With the help of his clever daughter, Magdelena, and Simon, the university-educated son of the town’s physician, Jakob discovers that a devil is indeed loose in Schongau. But it may be too late to prevent bloodshed.

Review
Although I usually love historical fiction, I struggled a bit getting into this one. The plot was interesting but not compelling. The names from Bavaria in the 1600s were hard to remember. The hangman was a fascinating and oddly sympathetic character. But the crudeness and vulgarity was repelling.