It feels good to be back! I'm sorry for the lack of posts recently, I just didn't want to post content simply for the sake of posting. This blog is my passion project, my Unicorn Space, if you will, and I don't want to share any content that my heart isn't 100% in. Recently, my heart has been invested in the Hangman's Daughter series, and I'm so excited to finally share my thoughts with you.
It's a seven-book series, originally written in German and lovingly translated by Lee Chadeayne and later, Lisa Reinhardt, and it tells the tale of legendary hangman Jakob Kuisl and his family from the years 1660-1672. If you haven't already, go ahead and read my review of The Hangman's Daughter. Since it has a separate post, I won't be focusing as much on the first book here. Instead, I'll be breaking down the other 6 books in the series, why I love them, and why I think you will too.
“The hangman, a friend of humanity—who would have thought it?”
One thing I really enjoy about this series is that each book has a dramatis personae at the beginning—in other words, a list of all the characters in the story. This is extremely helpful for remembering who is who, especially since many of the names are similar.
Of course, each book's dramatis personae is a little different, but I'll quickly explain the main characters, most of which are the Kuisl family.
Jakob Kuisl: the Schongau executioner
Anna-Maria: Jakob Kuisl's wife
Magdalena: Jakob Kuisl's eldest daughter
Georg & Barbara: Jakob Kuisl's son & daughter; twins
Simon Fronweiser: Schongau medicus, Magdalena's love interest
Peter, Paul, & Sophia: Simon & Magdalena's children
Johann Lechner: Schongau Secretary
The story takes place in seventeenth century Bavaria, and Oliver Pötzsch took great care in his research. Much of the plot is centered around historical events during that time period, and he paints a vivid picture of what life was like—especially for those less fortunate.
To make it even cooler, the Kuisls were real people, and actually relatives of Oliver Pötzsch himself. So, while the books are technically fiction, they're based on true events and the author's own family history. What a neat way to keep the legacy alive!
“I’ve always tried to create an awareness in my children that a family is more than just a father and mother, that it can be a large community, a place of refuge—and an endless treasure trove of stories.”
The Dark Monk: In the nearby town of Aldenstadt, a priest makes a shocking discovery in the crypt below his church. Unsure of what to do, he sends a letter to his sister, Benedikta, informing her of what he found. A few hours later, the priest is found dead.
Jakob Kuisl is called to investigate, and a woman who introduces herself as Benedikta arrives in town shortly after. It's quickly determined that the priest was poisoned—but why?
Tensions begin to rise between Magdalena and Benedikta as Simon spends all his free time helping Benedikta solve the mystery of her brother's death. What they discover dates back to the Crusades and the notorious Knights Templar.
Meanwhile, Jakob Kuisl has been tasked with disbanding a gang of robbers that has been prowling the roads outside of Schongau, killing carriage drivers and merchants.
As Simon and Benedikta set off on a journey to find the alleged treasure of the Templars, they find themselves followed by a mysterious group of monks. To make matters even more interesting, yet another group of men seem to be following the monks.
Are the men connected to the robberies in Schongau? Is Benedikta somehow involved?
“The world is so beautiful, he thought. Why are the people in it so cruel?”
The Beggar King: Jakob receives a letter from his sister, Lisbeth, who left Schongau in hopes of a better life. Now, she is married to a successful bathhouse owner in the faraway city of Regensburg.
Lisbeth's letter informs Jakob that she is ill, and Jakob immediately sets out for Regensburg to take care of her. The whole journey there, Jakob can't help but feel like he is being watched.
His suspicions are confirmed when he arrives at the bathhouse to find his sister and her husband have been murdered, and it seems that someone has framed Jakob for the crime. He is immediately arrested and set to be tortured by the Regensburg hangman until he confesses.
Back home in Schongau, a Vehmic court has formed outside the Kuisl's house. It begins with simple taunts, mostly directed at Magdalena, but quickly escalates to lighting the house on fire and nearly beating Simon to death when he tries to intervene.
Simon and Magdalena decide to copy Aunt Lisbeth and flee from Schongau to begin a new life in Regensburg, where no one knows who they are. However, someone seems to be following them, too.
They arrive in Regensburg and quickly learn what has happened to Jakob, and head to the bathhouse to investigate the scene of the crime. Hopefully, they can find something there to exonerate Magdalena's father.
Someone sets the bathhouse on fire, setting all the nearby buildings ablaze in the process. Simon and Magdalena barely escape alive, but a witness saw them fleeing the house and reported them as the ones responsible for the fire. Now, they're wanted for the authorities as well.
With the aid of a (literal) underground guild of beggars, a monk, and, surprisingly, Philipp Teuber, Regensburg's own hangman, they must work to free Jakob and discover who is so desperate to eliminate the Kuisl family.
“The nicest people can look like beasts, and the evilest of people sometimes have the faces of angels. Never rely on outward appearances.”
The Poisoned Pilgrim: Magdalena and Simon, now married, make a pilgrimage journey to Andechs, along with a few other Schongau residents. Their two young children are left under the care of Jakob Kuisl, who enjoys being a grandfather more than he cares to admit.
The plan is to help repair the Andechs monastery roof, which was struck by lighting and caught fire. When they arrive at the monastery that evening, Magdalena notices a light coming from the belfry. This was strange, since they were told the belfry was badly damaged in the fire, and therefore inaccessible.
Magdalena decides to investigate the tower the next morning, and is attacked by a cloaked figure. After two young monks are found dead, and another has gone missing—along with his eerie robotic creation—they quickly realize something sinister is happening within the monastery, and the abbot seems to be hiding something.
The monk accused of the murders is none other than Jakob Kuisl's best friend and comrade in the war, and Magdalena quickly sends for her father.
Jakob may be the only person who can solve this mystery and save an innocent man from execution.
“I believe in evil, but not in ghosts. Only we humans can be evil; we don’t need ghosts for that.”
The Werewolf of Bamberg: Georg Kuisl, now fifteen, is carrying on the family legacy by apprenticing under the Bamberg executioner, who happens to be Jakob's estranged brother, Bartholomäus.
When Jakob receives an invite to his brother's wedding, he, Barbara, Simon, Magdalena, and their 2 sons, Peter and Paul make the trip to Bamberg to attend.
After finding a severed arm on the trail leading into town, and Jakob discovering the mutilated body of a young woman in an alley that evening, they quickly realize this isn't going to be a relaxing family vacation. Several Bamberg citizens have gone missing, and there have been reports of a werewolf prowling around in the forests beyond the city.
As tensions rise, the people of Bamberg begin to turn on one another, accusing each other of being a werewolf. Jakob remembers the witch trials that took place in Bamberg, where countless innocent people were killed, and were apparently so gruesome that their former hangman fled, never to be seen again. He fears this werewolf situation will be far worse.
He and Bartholomäus must put their differences aside and restore order to Bamberg before it's too late.
“Their fight in the forest had shown Jakob once again that one can’t run away from one’s own family. You take them in, no matter what.”
The Play of Death: Simon heads to the very superstitious town of Oberammergau to drop his eldest son, Peter, off at school. As is custom of the Kuisl family, he seems to have arrived amidst yet another tragic mystery: the actor playing Jesus in the customary Passion of Christ play has been crucified—for real this time—in the local cemetary.
News of the grisly murder has spread to Schongau, and Jakob Kuisl and Johann Lechner are called to lead the investigation.
Meanwhile, Simon has been asked to indefinitely take over the position of Oberammergau's recently deceased bathhouse doctor.
More gruesome murders are discovered, each executed in a Biblical fashion, and as Jakob, Johann, and Simon work to find who is responsible, they discover that some dark forces are at play in Oberammergau.
Meanwhile, back in Schongau, Barbara is arrested under suspicion of witchcraft as part of a plot to disband the town council in the absense of Jakob and Johann, and change live in Schongau forever.
As Barbara's time of torture draws nearer, Magdalena makes a desperate trip to Oberammergau to seek help before it's too late.
“History repeats itself, and it appears that we rarely learn the lessons of the past.”
The Council of Twelve: Simon, now the resident doctor of Schongau, is visited by a mysterious pair of travelers demanding medical care for the wife of the younger man. They pay him in what appear to be counterfeit coins.
A few days later, the Kuisls travel to Munich for a meeting of The Council of Twelve, a guild of Bavaria's best and most notorious hangmen.
Jakob has a hidden agenda for this trip: to find a suitable husband for Barbara. Little does he know, Barbara is carrying a secret of her own.
Things are further complicated by the discovery of a body. The poor young woman was poisoned, weighted down, and thrown in the river to drown. Around her neck is a pouch of the same counterfeit coins that were given to Simon.
As the bodies of more young girls start to turn up, each killed in the form of traditional executions, the citizens of Munich begin to blame the Council. People have always believed hangmen brought bad luck, but for once, maybe they're onto something. Could one of the executioners be the killer?
“Perhaps all books have something magical about them, she thought. Just letters on a page that turn into images, scenes, and conversations in our minds.”
I absolutely adored this series and its characters, and I honestly miss them a little now that I'm done. It's such a beautiful story of a family that sticks together no matter what, despite their flaws and despite the odds stacked against them.
One of the biggest lessons that can be learned from these books is that appearances and social status don't mean anything. The big, scary, "dishonorable" hangman may just be the hero the world needs.
It's also an interesting example of how quick people can be to believe rumors and jump on the bandwagon of hate with no proof or evidence. By all means, believe what you believe and feel the way you feel, but do your research first. Don't just feel that way because someone told you that you should.
“History always repeats itself, only dressed in a different outfit.”
Slight spoiler alert: there are no supernatural elements to any of the stories, though some of the books lead you to believe there may be until the end. If you're looking for ghost stories, this may not be the series for you.
However, if you like a dark, gruesome mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end you've come to the right place. At 400+ pages per book, it will keep you occupied for a while.
As always, please let me know your thoughts: have you read it, do you want to read it, or have you added it to your TBR list based on this review? I'd love to know!
Be sure to join me on Discord so we can discuss, and tell me what I should review next!
'•.¸♡ Happy reading! ♡¸.•'