Andrea Maria Schenkel

This is a cold-eyed study of a gruesome murder. In a scenario very reminiscent of Capote's In Cold Blood, an entire family are found dead on their remote farm, along with the maid. Due to the remoteness of both the far and its inhabitants, many days pass before neighbours look in and make the grisly discovery. There are no clues and no suspects.

The novel proceeds as a mix of eyewitness narration and the record of conversations held with villagers connected with the crime; ostensibly by a former local returning to satisfy their curiosity. The plot is inexorable and contains few twists; the point of this story is more to gradually reveal the characters involved, and the motives that led to the deed.… (altro)

Munich, finales de los años treinta, primeros años del nazismo. Una muchacha, Kathie, sueña con vivir en la ciudad y con dejar atrás la vida limitada que lleva en su pequeño pueblo. Es una chica bonita, con el cabello oscuro y rizado, como las mujeres que han desaparecido recientemente sin rastro alguno.
Josef Kalteis ha sido arrestado, acusado de la violación y el asesinato de esas mujeres desaparecidas en los alrededores de Munich, pero, ¿es realmente responsable de los crímenes? ¿Podrá seguir libre el verdadero culpable?… (altro)

I'm always on the look-out for German crime novels translated into English and was thrilled to find The Murder Farm on Edelweiss.

This is Schenkel's first novel. It was a best-seller in Germany, selling over 300,000 copies, and was also made into a movie directed by Bettina Oberli.

Murder Farm is based on a real-life 1922 murder of a family on their farm in Bavaria, Germany. Schenkel moves the crime to the post-WWII time period, which creates more tension for contemporary readers.

This is one of those novels that is a choppy mosaic of scenes rather than a smooth, consistent narrative, so its not your typical mystery novel and may not appeal to those who want to lose themselves in a story.

You get bits and pieces of the various characters' personalities--from their own thoughts to what other characters think of them coupled with bits of local history and rumor. Prejudices, egos, delusions, and social taboos mess with the reader's ability to get a clear sense of not only who the characters are, but who the murderer might be.

I tend to prefer a straightforward narrative story when it comes to crime novels, but I enjoyed the way Schenkel and her translator (Anthea Bell) create vivid atmospheres and a strong sense of personality with so few words. I'll keep my eye out for more of Schenkel's books coming out in English.

Of course you can't help but think of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood when reading this novel.… (altro)