The German

by Lee Thomas

At the height of World War II, a killer preys on the young men of a quiet Texas town. The murders are calculated, vicious, and they are just beginning. Sheriff Tom Rabbit and his men are baffled and the community he serves is terrified of the monster lurking their streets. The only clues the killer leaves behind are painted snuffboxes containing notes written in German. As the panic builds all eyes turn toward a quiet man with secrets of his own.Ernst Lang fled Germany in 1934. Once a brute, a soldier, a leader of the Nazi party, he has renounced aggression and embraces a peaceful obscurity. But Lang is haunted by an impossible past. He remembers his own execution and the extremes of sex and violence that led to it. He remembers the men he led into battle, the men he seduced, and the men who betrayed him. But are these the memories of a man given a second life, or the delusions of a lunatic?A finalist for the 2011 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel!

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Historical, LGBT, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thriller

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 20, 2004

About the author

LEE THOMAS is the Bram Stoker Award and the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of STAINED , ASH STREET , THE DUST OF WONDERLAND , and THE GERMAN . Recent and forthcoming titles include LIKE LIGHT FOR FLIES , and BUTCHER’S ROAD . Forthcoming titles include DOWN ON YOUR KNEES (Oct 2016), and DISTORTION (May 2017).

ADDITIONAL TITLES:
TORN
IN THE CLOSET, UNDER THE BED
FOCUS
THE BLACK SUN SET
CRISIS
PARISH DAMNED

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

09/03/2019

I'm bumping this up a bit.
I finish this too late last night and I feel like the coin just dropped this morning. I have this knot in my throat and just want to cry. The German definitely messed up with my brain and heart. It makes us look at our imperfections as a human race with nos masks. If behaviour could have been pictured, we would be quite ugly.

08/03/2019
**** 4.5 Stars ****

I was drawn to The German from the first page.



There is no waste of words. Crisp writing, honest, confident, straight to the point, I loved it.
The author moves quickly and easily from one subject to the other in an interesting and captivating way and I couldn't help but let my mind follow it eagerly.
This story is not my usual since it's not a romance, but who cares?



Engaging, addictive, sad, shocking and at times distressing The German turned out as an impressive read.

[Shile (Hazard's Version) on-hiatus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welp! that was so in your face. Loved it.

[LenaRibka · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not a romance.
I have to capitalize it. If you don't like mysteries, skip it.
But it's also not a typical crime mystery.

If you have a look at the Awards this book has won, you can more or less imagine, what you CAN expect from this book.
BUT probably all your expectations would be wrong.

The plot is set in 1944, in Barnard, a small provincial town in Texas, with a small German community of old and new immigrants. In spite of WWII, the relationship between the residents of American and German origin is not maybe excessively friendly but respectful in a neighbourly way. Everything changes rapidly when a mutilated corpse of Harold Ashton, a young man, who is supposed to run away to be enlisted in the army, has been found. Not only the brutal nature of this crime shocked a quiet life of Barnard, but a short note with Nazi slogans written in German, in that a killer threatened with further murders. And suddenly all residents of German nationality are not THAT welcome any more. Every single of them is suspected to be a potential murderer.



The story is told from three different points of view:

* Tim Randal, a twelve year old kid, who spends the most of his time with his best friend Bum, riding their bikes through the city.

* Tom Rabbit, the city's respected sheriff.

* Ernst Lang, a German immigrant of a new generation, a neighbour of Tim Randal, who fled Germany in 1934. A former solder, whose past is enveloped in mystery, a "sexual deviant".

The German is an excellent thriller, that doesn't follow the typical rules of a mystery genre. The main focus isn't set on the crime itself and its investigation. It's a psycho thriller that explores the human psyche. The author gives us a chilling insight into human nature. Yes, it is historical mystery, but the problems that we met here, are not that ancient and forgotten. It's about our fear of the unknown, cultural prejudices, personal prejudices, psychological stereotypes, ignorance, bigotry and discrimination in many ways.



Not your usual mystery, but a real page turner.
Highly recommended.

[Laxmama · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that will stay with me, UNFORGETTABLE. I listened to the audible and the narration was fantastic. A historical suspense story told from three different perspectives. In Barnard TX in 1940 during WWII a serial killing has harsh impact on all. A Texas town with a large population of residents with German origin. A mystery IMO the story focused on the divided communities and how quickly they turned on each other. Lee’s writing from the viewpoint of the German (for me) was the most impactful. I wish at this point I had read the book instead of listening so I was able to highlight. These moments when we get Ernst’s raw unfiltered thoughts, about war, sexuality, violence and human nature - I was blown away. I highly recommend this book, although content is disturbing I can’t say enough about the quality of the writing

[Optimist ♰King's Wench♰ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's not belabor this, The German was not a pleasant read. I'm not sure I expected it to be but I did expect to feel more of a connection to the characters than I did and for it to be less one-note.

The German a.k.a. Ernst Lang is a German ex-pat living in Barnard Texas in 1944 after having served his country's military and suffered the traumatic effects of such. He's also a queer man living in a small town that's bigoted, highly conservative and has a pedophile serial killer in its midst, one who all signs point to be of German descent.

The heartbreak of the story is, yes, Ernst is damaged from his time in the military, particularly his visage which evokes fear in most. Yes, he leads a mostly solitary existence. Yes, he can be gruff but he's kind-hearted and to watch that kindness be exploited... hurt. He's a quiet, unassuming man who is content to live a quiet unassuming life and maybe find a like minded man to spend some time with. Why that's too much to ask even in 1944 compounded the hurt. But the cherry on top was the betrayal.

Nevertheless, I do appreciate the message Lee Thomas centered this story around. The mystery plot line works as more of a vehicle for the human story which worked for me, because I don't think my tiny brain could've taken more atrocities. But that doesn't mean this wasn't a depressing read/listen. The violence in this book was so shocking to my psyche that I actually disconnected altogether, so my sage advice is: be in the right headspace and be prepared to be horrified.

Jeff Schine's narration actually improved as the story evolved which may be a first for me. I'm not sure I'll be able to hear him and not hear Ernst Lang again though which is not something I want to revisit any time soon.

However, I give points to the author for making me feel though I'm not really sure what I feel other than numb right now and in desperate need of some fluff.

[Paul Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The German by Lee Thomas immediately after Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon, both were fantastic for different reasons and The German is altogether a much darker coming of age story.

The story takes place in a small town called Barnard in Texas during the Second World War, as you would imagine the war casts a big shadow over even the smallest towns, patriotism is prevalent in a town with more than its fair share of German ex-patriots and like all foreigners, more than anything they just want to fit in to the community. However this fragile unity is to come under serious threat when the town’s young men start to go missing and the discovery of a body in the woodland is the catalyst to crisis as the murder is linked to the German community.

The story has three main characters, one being Sherriff Tom Rabbit who investigates the murder, while at the same time trying to control fraying tempers as the community threatens to implode. Tom is a good man, with a sense of right and wrong but at the same time he is typical of his environment primarily regarding his views on homosexuality, his beliefs dictate that no man should be damned without evidence as he resists any form of discrimination.

The second is Ernst Lang, a former Nazi officer who lives on his own and keeps a low profile, a quiet man with many secrets Ernst’s history is explored via extracts from his journal, a violent past that includes explicit descriptions of his homosexuality.

Tim Randall is a teenage boy whose father is away fighting the war, with only the guidance of a working mother Tim spends most evenings with a friend and there life changes dramatically with the tensions of the town. He forms a sort of friendship with ‘The German’ Ernst Lang living across the street and Ernst attempts to educate him against the town’s escalating prejudice. When Tim and some unsavoury characters spy his gay neighbour having sex with another man, coupled with the news that his father is missing in action, he becomes convinced ‘The German’ is responsible for the murders, this and the ensuing actions lead to violent tragedy.

The author provides a simmering tension that escalates at a perfect pace, a murder mystery that has many layers and a dark coming of age tale that for Tim Randall, caught up in the towns frantic race to find a murderer, ignores what’s right and succumbs to the potential evil present in everyone.

The sex scenes are explicit and certainly a talking point but they provide the fulcrum point to the story, focus should be centred on the excellent story that Lee Thomas has written and the character development chillingly explored.
Recommended.

[Erastes · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a good while to read this book, since I started it in July 2011 and finished it in December! In my defence I wasn’t reading it all the time, I don’t read that slowly, honest. It was that I was expecting it to all go a lot darker than it did (although it does go to some dark places) and I’m happy that my anticipation didn’t match what actually happened. Although, as I say, it’s not full of fluffy rabbits.
Ok, so basically it’s set in 1944 in a smallish Texan town and is told in three different POVs:

Tom Rabbit: the sherrif. 3rd person past tense.
The German: first person diary entry
Tim Randall: first person past tense.

Now, don’t let this put you off, as it’s absolutely the best way to tell this convoluted and highly interesting story. Like many places in America, the small town has a German community and suddenly young men are dying in horribly mutilated ways and evidence found on the bodies points to the fact that it’s a German murderer. Thus begins an exquisite tale of paranoia, prejudice and a study of how a community can tear itself apart under all sorts of justification.

The German of the title is Ernst, who is clearly a troubled, and yet a good man at heart. He writes in his journal of his past–memories of serving in an army, commanding man, many many men, and a betrayal, a court martial and–and here’s where it’s delightfully opaque–an execution which he seems to have survived, despite the terrible bullet scars on his body. He lives across the street from Tim Randall, an ordinary young man growing up in a small town and with his father overseas serving in the war, at daily threat from “the Krauts”.

Tim’s interaction with Ernst is light. Tim is curious about his neighbour but he doesn’t bother him, although when they do meet up Ernst tries to educate the boy about prejudice and hate. Sadly, although at first Tim appears to see the sense in this, his father is declared “missing in action” and Tim’s grief and fear is channelled in the only way it could be at this time and place–directly towards Ernst.

I loved the feeling of paranoia and claustrophobia here. The way Ernst is pretty much trammelled and keeps to himself for very clear reasons. He frequents a bar from time to time but mostly stays indoors or sits on the porch or swims in the lake. He does have male company occasionally although for most of the book this is with men who are disgusted with their own urges–which puts Ernst off from wanting to see them again.

The interaction between the sheriff and Ernst was masterful. Ernst so clearly in control and almost a little bored with the interrogation–he’s been interrogated before and by masters of the art after all. His frankness to the sheriff about his sexuality was a brilliant stroke–and the effect it had on the countrified and rather naive sheriff was an interesting study.

It’s not a pretty story in any aspect, nor is it meant to be, nor should it be, so be warned that the violence is graphic and literal and shocking. This is entirely right because it is shocking, what happens and who it happens to and why. It’s a terrible but sadly true indictment of human behaviour, beautifully observed and told with true skill.

If I have one quibble, it was the epilogue–the character it portrays didn’t strike me as having learned the lessons that he said he learned and it didn’t really ring true from what we’d seen on the pages previously. However that’s just a small quibble and won’t affect the score because the remainder of the epilogue was note perfect.

Just a note on the cover and the design. I’ve noticed with Lethe Press before that they take real pains over the design of their books. Not merely the covers–this one is perfect–but the font, and the design of the headers inside. It probably won’t show on e-readers, but the headings in this book are just amazingly good, and add another dimension to the book, and I wouldn’t have thought that was possible. So well done, Lethe Press.

Yes, there is — perhaps — an element of the paranormal here, but as it is completely subjective, I’m not hesitating to review it on Speak Its Name and to recommend it to anyone.

[Kate O'Hanlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

First things first, goodreads has for some reason indicated this book belongs to the genre 'mm romance'. I cannot stress how much I do not want to have a discussion about the rise in popularity of mm romance in recent years, how as genres rise in popularity books that really ought to fall outside them become identified with them, either deliberately to boost sales, or more haphazardly as reflects the essential fuzziness of human made categories, I most especially do not want to discuss the related phenomenon of anything with gay content be labeled 'slash' or 'yaoi.'

Lets not have a row internet. It is late and I am tired.

That established. This is not a romance. In the most basic sense. There's no love story here. Do not read this book if romance is what you're after.

This is the story of a string of gruesome murders in small town Texas in the 1940. It's about war, violence, cruelty, hate and most especially about how we relate (or more often, sadly fail to relate) to 'the other', be that otherness racial, generational, sexual, or cultural. And it's bloody brilliant but deeply uncomfortable read.

There's also stuff to be said about the supernatural as it's used in 'literary fiction' versus how it's used in 'speculative fiction'* but it would basically just be a less articulate retread of this Jo Walton post http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/01/gate... so just read that.

Small towns, still terrifying.

Some minor criticism. I did think that the epilogue, linking the story's events to Abu Ghraib was a little on the nose, I can draw my own parallels thanks. But it's not enough of a complaint to ruin the book or anything

*God, can you tell how much I loath genre labels.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The German by Lee Thomas (Lethe) is a chilling, well-told novel about a mysterious German ex-soldier living in a small U.S. town during the height of World War II, when tensions and suspicions are at a peak against German refugees, and even citizens of German ancestry. Who better to scapegoat for the brutal murder of a young man than a foreigner, who is also considered a sexual deviant?

[Jon Recluse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written morality tale of how rational fear and ignorant bigotry can create a perfect storm of mindless violence that lays waste to the guilty and the innocent alike.

Highly recommended.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

The German is an accomplished, gut-wrencher of a novel. Ernst Lang is a former German soldier who fled the Nazis and relocated to a small town outside of Austin, TX. The year is 1944 and someone is killing boys and leaving pro-Nazi notes in the victims mouths. The locals quickly display an all too familiar and realistic display of xenophobia and homophobia in accusing/confronting Lang and other Germans who live in the area.

Lee does a fantastic job with wide cast of characters and shifting POVs, particularly with the powerful Lang, who is made to suffer the indignities and atrocities of ignorance with a dignity that is as authentic as it is heartbreaking. Reminiscent of Ketchum’s THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, THE GERMAN unflinchingly confronts the consequences of ignorances inevitable turn to violence.

[Phillip Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear 5 stars for me and easily one of the best thrillers that I've read in recent memory. An exquisitely paced novel that hits hard right off the bat and keeps landing blows until the flip of the last page. I'm going to be ruminating on this one for a while. Lee Thomas is an absolute force.

[Charles Dee Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ernst Lang is a middle-aged German immigrant living in a small Central Texas town during the last years of WW II. In 1933, Lang was executed in Munich during HItler's purge of those Stormtroopers whose devotion to the "socialism" of National Socialsm was proving to be a problem. Lang, after being shot three times in the chest, found himself a night later standing naked beside his grave. A resourceful and trained soldier, he got himself from Munich to New York, then New Orleans and finally to Texas. He military training and his homosexuality both help him in his escape. He finds sex partners and eventually a lover to help him. The lover, a scion of a Texas ranching family, sets him up in the small town of Barnard with a house and, after the lover's early death, an inheritance. Ernst is humiliated by this inheritance set aside for a "faithful servant." He has never been anyone's servant. Later it is revealed that his true last name is "something like Roe." Ernst Rohm was the leader of Hitler's stormtroopers, executed like Lang during the Night of the Long NIghts, Munich, 1933.

That is a complicated set up for a novel that will involve serial killings of young boys designed to turn the good people of Barnard against their German immigrant population. The novel is also a coming of age story about Tim Randall, a young boy whose father has gone missing in action in Europe. The German also exposes the ugliest depths of sadistic violence that can inform the actions of "right thinking American citizens" itching to relieve the impotent frustrations they feel as the war drags into its final years and they find themselves surrounded by American citizens tainted by their kinship with the enemy. The ignorance and violence of the population is somewhat ameliorated by the presence of Sheriff Tom Rabbit. He is an innately decent human being dedicated to the rule of law, but he also has the naivete and prejudices of his time. His experience of homosexuality does not extend beyond memories of calling boys queers on the schoolyard playground and so Lang remains a mystery to him even though he respects his rights to privacy.

The novel contains scenes of horrific violence. The child murders, though never told in detail, leave bodies that have suffered terrible indignities. Lang is tortured in ways that even his Prussian military training cannot withstand. The child Tom Randall witnesses things no child should have to endure, but one underlying theme of the novel is that children the world over witness these things on a first hand basis due either to war or totalitarian regimes with no regard for human decency.

And then there is the supernatural element. The backstory that explains Lang's deathlessness is told briefly with what is really an admirable disregard for believable detail. Something strange and violent happens in Bolivia in the early 1930's or late 1920's and years later Lang discovers that he cannot be killed and does not age. In some ways it's an odd plot element, but his inexplicable predicament gives an added dimension Lang's meditations on violence and cruelty. Lang writes this diary entry after a vicious bar fight with a visiting German who realizes he is seeing a man who should have been dead for over a decade.

The violence is still with me, and I am made peaceful by its swaddling. Few would understand my admiration for conflict. I am no sadist, nor a masochist, If anything I am absolutely sensible about it. It is man's nature. Some, like the Indian Ghandi, will extol the virtues of peace and passivity. Ridiculous. If man were a soft creature he would still crawl through the mud. No, Without struggle mankind would be no more interesting than the sunflower plant. Only through violence, rebellion, conflict was our history possible. Nietzsche wrote that. He rightly points out that deviation fuels progress. Happy people, truly content, have no cause for revolt, no motive for war, so we are created a dissatisfied and greedy species. Naturally we will be a violent species, taking what we imagine should be ours, killing for gods we imagine will one day bring us peace. These justifications for conflicts are lies -- they are imaginings like fairies and witches -- but the violence they fuel is true and honest. It is man's way. To refute this truth is to hate the self.

Is this realism or self-justification for a man whose very particular upbringing and bizarre existential predicament have brought him to such conclusions. Before the book is over, Lang will encounter ignorant brutality that makes his vision of "violence, rebellion, conflict" seem the noble construct he imagines it to be.

When it comes to its climax, the novel suffers from both some loose ends and a plot twist that would have been right at home in a 1960's episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." But it is still an impressive accomplishment, that moves from Weimar Germany to Central Texas in 1940 to present-day New York City with a narrative that makes Lang's meditations on violence saddening and true.

[Hilcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa! Fantastic thriller/suspense.

The German captured my attention with its bone chilling prologue set in Germany and once begun, I couldn't put it down. However, this fantastic thriller by Lee Thomas is set in a small town in Texas during WWII where two young men are found skinned and disemboweled with snuffboxes stuffed in their mouths and inside them, notes written in German. You can only imagine how the townspeople react, particularly since there is a small German community residing among them. However, it is when young Tim Randall and his friend Bum spy on Ernst, the German, see him having sex with another man and become convinced that he is the killer that things really turn ugly.

The German is an unforgettable thriller with plenty of tension, excellent pacing and characters. Thomas uses the small town's paranoia to build some incredible tension and keep the reader guessing as to who the killer is, giving The German that great edge that all good thrillers require. However, with its bone chilling prologue and a terrifying torture scene, there is also a strong horror edge to this story. Most importantly, through this suspense/thriller Thomas deeply explores individual and group reactions to different types of fear. Highly recommended.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by Thomas, and he reminded me a bit of Jack Ketchum. He doesn't avoid the gruesome stuff and keeps your, sometimes unwilling, eyes glued to the pages, in spite of everything on the pages. This book was tightly plotted and had great character-development. I couldn't figure out whether I liked Ernst or not; maybe he deserved what happened to him. I'll leave that for you to decide. An excellent read.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Very good historical gay suspense/horror set in small-town Texas during WWII, when the brutal murder of two boys has emotions running high against the Germans in town. Be prepared for a very disturbing read.

[Terri · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, done at 5%: I'd hoped I would enjoy this. But I am not enjoying it nearly enough to continue.

[Adam Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book more than I’ve loved any book in a while. I highly recommend it and Lee Thomas is definitely on my authors to watch list.

The book is an original story that is extremely well written, I found myself wondering how Thomas wasn’t more well known. He earned a well-deserved LAMBDA award nomination for this novel so I suppose he’s getting there. The book reminded me of two other stores, at first for the slightly creepy narration and possibility of something supernatural I was reminded of Skin Lane. After finishing the book I was reminded of To Kill a Mockingbird, a similar tale of prejudice in the South with a young narrator.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, which I suppose put me off reading it for a while. The author had won the Bram Stoker award, was this a horror book? It was nominated for the LAMBDA for science-fiction. On Goodreads it was classified as M/M Romance, so what the heck was I going to get?

I’m glad I picked it up on spec. There’s no horror, there’s a touch of supernatural but a very light touch and it’s right at the end. There’s no romance. It feels to me just a fiction book, a well written tale of a loner in WW2 Texas and the lengths people will go to to protect themselves from the unknown. I would say Thriller or Suspense possibly.

The author’s setting and characterizations are fantastic, the book is well written and it all comes together quite well with a satisfying twist I didn’t see coming. This book is really a keeper, great job Lee Thomas!

[Nithu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would love to read this, but it's not available in the UK for the Kindle and the paperback is very expensive.

Update: Have discovered that this book is available in the UK on the Kindle, but the Kindle version doesn't show up Amazon when you bring the paperback up. I did manage to stumble across it by accident and really enjoyed the book.

[Cheral · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected to like this from all the reviews I read about it but was still surprised by how into it I got. Not really much like anything else I ever read. Maybe The Alienist a little bit? Really involving, dark psychological suspense-mystery with a historical setting. definitely different.

I will look for more by this author.

[Bodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story of how hate spreads in a community for whatever reason someone finds interwoven amongst the murders of children in WW2 America.

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent novel of redemption and trial. A reminder that justice never comes on the heels of a mob.

[Wesley Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book but I had to DNF due to the subject matter becoming too intense and triggering. But I cannot deny this is a terrific writer and it was a powerful story, for what I was able to read.

[Terrance Lively · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read. As it goes on the plot is a little predictable with some cliché characters and tropes but it doesn’t really detract from the plot. The story draws you in and the journal format of the book gives it a unique narrative. I was a bit disappointed in the ending before the time jump and really wanted a bit more closure. Regardless, it is a great read that just flows forth.

[Gerry Burnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerry B's Book Reviews - http://gerrycan.wordpress.com

I first spotted The German by Lee Thomas [Lethe Press, 2011] in the fall of 2011, but it is only recently that I got around the reading it. At first blush it appeared to be too dark to prompt my immediate attention—and it is quite dark in places—but overriding this is its insightful and uncompromising look at human nature, of which the gory violence is only a symptom.

In his own words, Thomas describes it this way:

Cruelty is not taught. It is as certain as a compass point. One can be instructed in the specifics of cruelty, like one can be taught to use a spoon, a knife, a fork, but even without these skills a man will still eat.

The setting, which has been described as “richly atmospheric,” is a small town in Texas during the latter part of WWII. As small towns go, it is typically insular with tinges of redneck sentiment among the baser-class residents, and Thomas has done a masterful job of capturing this and the oppressive nature of it.

The main characters are Tim Randall, a likeable teenage boy struggling to come of age without the guidance of his father, who is overseas, and a working mother fretting about her husband; Sheriff Tom Rabbit, the town’s sheriff who reminds me of the sheriff in “Deliverance”—level-headed and not easily deceived; and Ernst Lang, a former Nazi officer who has been to the brink of death and back, and longs for nothing more than peaceful anonymity.

The gay element, though not a dominant one, is that Ernst Lang sleeps with men—not overtly but unapologetically. It is therefore a ‘gay content’ novel, and not an “m/m romance” as it has been described.

Otherwise, it is a who-done-it mystery that begins when a boy is discovered savagely murdered with a snuffbox stuffed into his mouth. Moreover, this snuffbox(certainly not indigenous to middle-class North America) contains a note written in German. And if this isn’t sufficiently bizarre and gruesome to get the whole town talking, another lad is discovered under similar circumstances. Not surprisingly, therefore, the focus turns to the small German community within the town, and specifically on Ernst Lang.

What a masterfully conceived and prolific mix this is: Two vicious murders with an obvious German connection; a small, redneck town in the midst of supporting the war against the Nazis; and a reclusive, ex-Nazi officer who is also homosexual. No wonder the author chose to take his time slow-cooking these ingredients so that the reader could savour each and every one to the surprising ending.

In addition it is a portrait of the cruelty that lurks in the hearts of men, even the “good” ones if it is allowed to come to the surface, and the tyranny of the majority to make a wrong a right.

The German is one of a handful of great books I have read. Highly recommended. Five bees.

[Indie Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

The German by Lee Thomas had been on my reading list since its release by Lethe Press in March 2011. I was finally able to get to it in late 2012 and read it in virtually one sitting. As a long-time reader of the suspense/thriller and horror fiction, over the years I've read my share of both well-written and utterly forgettable stories in these sub-genres. However, it's been a long while since I've read a story of this calibre of excellence.

Set in 1944 at the height of the Second World War, the small town of Barnard, Texas is terrorized by a series of gruesome murders of it's young men and boys. The only clues the killer leaves behind are painted snuffboxes containing notes written in German. The town's German immigrant population immediately becomes suspect and one man in particular, Ernst Lang, because he is also gay. Once a brute, a soldier and a leader of the Nazi party, he has renounced violence and has embraced a peaceful obscurity only wanting to be left to his solitary pursuits of chair making. But his past haunts him and he is unsure if his memories are those of a man given a second life, or the delusions of a lunatic.

The German is an exquisitely written, chilling suspense/thriller with elements of horror fiction that chronicles the unravelling of a town as a result of fear and paranoia. While the central plot is focussed on the mystery of the serial killer, at the same time Mr. Thomas explores the evil and violence that lurks amongst the townspeople when some succumb to their baser instincts brought on by ignorance, fear and prejudice.

I'm thrilled to have discovered this author and plan on making my way through both his backlist and future releases. The German made my list of the Best in LGBTQ Literature for 2012 and I cannot recommend this book enough.

The complete review of The German by Lee Thomas is available at Indie Reviews.

[Gavin Stephenson-Jackman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Barnard, a small town in Texas during the latter years of WWII. Ernst Lang came to Barnard to be with the man he loved and stayed on after his partner died. Ernst is part of the German population of the town trying to live out a quiet life on the income from his partner’s estate and making and repairing chairs. Ernst fled Germany near the beginning of the war after being betrayed and often feels that he is living on borrowed time.

Sheriff Tom Rabbit is lead to a gruesome murder scene to find one of the young men of the town murdered and mutilated, in his mouth is a small tin box with a note written in German. The note seems to indicate that there are other victims. There are few clues and a lot of suspicions once the content of the note becomes known. Soon there is a second victim with a similar note in his mouth. The murdered boys were just coming of age to join the military and the war effort as they were murdered.

The German population of the town comes under increasingly intense suspicion when a third boy disappears and is feared murdered. Suspicions and fear lead to vigilantism and more.

The book typifies the fears and misconceptions that existed at the time about homosexuality, many of which are still touted as truth by some today. The book is well written and at times the descriptions can be quite graphic, not something that I enjoy but which are necessary to illustrate the lengths to which people will go and the hate that exists in times of duress. I enjoyed the book but also found some of the imagery very disturbing more from the fact that I’m reading it with 21st century eyes and not the mid 20th century in which it is set.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book consists of several characters, whose silken tales of their own remembrance of the story, enter twine to create a webbing of mystery, shock, confusion, anger, and sadness.
The book begins with a somewhat confusing start, but as it continues, it entraps the reader into the aforementioned web. You want to know what happens next, what the views of the other characters saw & felt, and what would happen next.
If I had some things to be critical on this novel, it would be that each chapter is separated by the name of the person speaking, & said chapter always begins in the third person.
There are some moments in the book which could be construed as somewhat X rated, which I have no issue with, but I think the book would've been just as good a read without them.
I was bothered that the youngest character in the book was using word and phrases that even I don't use in everyday conversation, let alone in 1940's Texas in a small town. It was later revealed that the boy had become a man, but because this wasn't written as an "autobiography" but rather several people's account, it was nonetheless distracting.
Even though I had those issues with the book, I would still consider the book a good read, and certainly a good find! I would recommend this book without hesitation.

[Rena Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I've read in at least five years. I loved every bit of it, particularly the prose. It was beautifully written. The storyline and overall concept are excellent, and the author does a fantastic job of making it more than believable. I really got to know and love the characters, The German and the sheriff.

The story takes place in a small town in Texas where there is a German subgroup that is under close scrutiny because of the war. Murders of young boys begin occurring, and German notes are left at the scene making the townsfolk even more suspicious of the German population. One boy has a German neighbor who he likes, but doesn't. This German is also a gay man. The boy/neighbor spies on him and sees him with another man which sparks a type of lynch mob behavior amongst some teens full of angst. Meanwhile, the murderer is getting away with more. Until the end, which I really enjoyed. Everything came full circle for me, which was the best part of the story.

I can't recommend this book enough. It was well done, and so much so, it was nominated for several awards and won a few.

[Jerry L. Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A boy is brutally murdered in a small Texas town during World War II, and suspicion naturally falls to a reclusive man who may or may not be a Nazi sympathiser. That’s the set up for Lee Thomas’s award-winning novel, but it’s so much more than that. It’s an exploration of small town life, suspicion, rumor, and mob mentality. It’s a hair-raising book that shows how easily victimization can happen. And in the most innocuous places.