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Kalteis
München, Ende der 30er Jahre: Süß und sehnsüchtig ist der Traum vom Glück in der großen Stadt – auch Kathie träumt ihn und entflieht der Enge des dörflichen Lebens. Manch eine ist hier schon unter die Räder gekommen, aber sie wird es schon schaffen. Oder? Dunkelhaarig, kräftig und hübsch ist sie, wie die Frauen, die seit einiger Zeit in München und Umgebung spurlos verschwinden. Der Teufel scheint auf dem Fahrrad unterwegs zu sein.
157 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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204 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
January 12, 2022
München in den 1930er Jahren. Kathie ist jung. Sie ist im Dorf aufgewachsen, aber jetzt zieht es sie in die Stadt. In München möchte sie ihr Glück machen, doch sie wird Opfer eines Serienmörders.
* Meine Meinung *
Rein inhaltlich ist die Geschichte spannend, allerdings geht für meinen Geschmack durch den Schreib- bzw. Erzählstil der Autorin vieles an Spannung verloren. Dabei stören mich nicht einmal so sehr die Zeitsprünge, sondern einfach die Art des Erzählens. Ich konnte das Buch zwar flüssig und schnell lesen, aber richtig packen konnte mich die Story nicht.
Die Charaktere blieben alle irgendwie oberflächlich, gingen nicht in die Tiefe. Ich konnte keinen Bezug zu ihnen aufbauen.
Mir hat einfach das gewisse Etwas hier gefehlt. Da mich das Buch aber dennoch nicht gelangweilt hat und ich es flüssig lesen konnte, bekommt es drei von fünf Sternen.
* Meine Meinung *
Rein inhaltlich ist die Geschichte spannend, allerdings geht für meinen Geschmack durch den Schreib- bzw. Erzählstil der Autorin vieles an Spannung verloren. Dabei stören mich nicht einmal so sehr die Zeitsprünge, sondern einfach die Art des Erzählens. Ich konnte das Buch zwar flüssig und schnell lesen, aber richtig packen konnte mich die Story nicht.
Die Charaktere blieben alle irgendwie oberflächlich, gingen nicht in die Tiefe. Ich konnte keinen Bezug zu ihnen aufbauen.
Mir hat einfach das gewisse Etwas hier gefehlt. Da mich das Buch aber dennoch nicht gelangweilt hat und ich es flüssig lesen konnte, bekommt es drei von fünf Sternen.
March 23, 2023
A chilling, sparse and somewhat hypnotic tale set in Hitler's 1930's Munich. Told using witness statements, interviews and first person insights; a story of a violent rapist and killer plaguing Munich in the 1930s during the years of the NAZIs power building. 7 out of 12, Three Star read.
2012 read
2012 read
November 10, 2016
Quite a difficult book to read and review. But it is a bold departure to the linear crime thriller.
It begins with the final death sentence being upheld for political reasons and that execution being described. The writing shows that this is both a swift and complete act of capital punishment.
The reader then reads on. We are introduced to Kathie, a young woman who has left home in the countryside, to get rich in the atmosphere and wealth of Munich; interspaced with her story we see snippets of the, now executed, prisoner's trial.
I welcome this fresh approach to a story of this kind. The murder of a women by a serial killer which reveals the crimes after the fact with the reader wondering if they had the right man.
As you learn about Kathie's story you consider her role in terms of coming across the murdered and whether she will be a victim or the catalyst to break the case.
Unfortunately it doesn't quite work. The crimes appear random and terrifying in their escalation. We learn so little about the background of the women killed we cannot fully empathise and the man committing these attrocities fills one with disgust and despair as he appears quite mad. This sense isn't helped as there isn't a police investigation, we learn this information as though we were sitting in at the trial.
One feels a loss for the hopes and dreams of the women whose lives are violently ended, they appear to do nothing to promote their demise other than to be caught alone and have their future denied. They seem all respectable women, in love and enjoying the benefits of their youth.
A contrast is drawn as we learn more of Kathie's life as it drifts into begging and prostitution to survive. Unwilling to work in service hoping she will meet a man who will provide for her, based on her attraction rather than her industry and character.
There are a number of ironies here. The story takes place in Germany prior to World War II and perhaps hints at a more prosperous future. No death should be passed over; whether a condemned prisoner, a married woman making plans or a child on the cusp of adulthood.
However the English title is Ice Cold, perhaps implying the serial killers thoughts in committing his crimes. For me it is a book that leaves me cold and not fully engaged with any character to feel more than a passing interest in this story.
It begins with the final death sentence being upheld for political reasons and that execution being described. The writing shows that this is both a swift and complete act of capital punishment.
The reader then reads on. We are introduced to Kathie, a young woman who has left home in the countryside, to get rich in the atmosphere and wealth of Munich; interspaced with her story we see snippets of the, now executed, prisoner's trial.
I welcome this fresh approach to a story of this kind. The murder of a women by a serial killer which reveals the crimes after the fact with the reader wondering if they had the right man.
As you learn about Kathie's story you consider her role in terms of coming across the murdered and whether she will be a victim or the catalyst to break the case.
Unfortunately it doesn't quite work. The crimes appear random and terrifying in their escalation. We learn so little about the background of the women killed we cannot fully empathise and the man committing these attrocities fills one with disgust and despair as he appears quite mad. This sense isn't helped as there isn't a police investigation, we learn this information as though we were sitting in at the trial.
One feels a loss for the hopes and dreams of the women whose lives are violently ended, they appear to do nothing to promote their demise other than to be caught alone and have their future denied. They seem all respectable women, in love and enjoying the benefits of their youth.
A contrast is drawn as we learn more of Kathie's life as it drifts into begging and prostitution to survive. Unwilling to work in service hoping she will meet a man who will provide for her, based on her attraction rather than her industry and character.
There are a number of ironies here. The story takes place in Germany prior to World War II and perhaps hints at a more prosperous future. No death should be passed over; whether a condemned prisoner, a married woman making plans or a child on the cusp of adulthood.
However the English title is Ice Cold, perhaps implying the serial killers thoughts in committing his crimes. For me it is a book that leaves me cold and not fully engaged with any character to feel more than a passing interest in this story.
October 11, 2025
Wenn ich solch drastische Gewaltszenen lese – Vergewaltigungen, Femizide, brutale Morde –, dann muss das für mich einen literarischen Sinn haben. Es muss etwas dahinterstehen: ein gesellschaftlicher Kommentar, ein Subtext, ein Moment der Erkenntnis. Etwas, das die Darstellung über das reine Grauen hinaushebt. Bücher wie Letzte Ausfahrt Brooklyn, American Psycho oder Naked Lunch schaffen das – sie benutzen Gewalt, um etwas über die Welt, über uns, offenzulegen.
Bei Kalteis hatte ich dieses Gefühl nie. Der Roman zeigt Gewalt, ohne dass ich darin eine tiefere Notwendigkeit erkennen könnte. Das Ergebnis wirkt eher wie ein Versuch, Schockwirkung zu erzeugen – als würde die Autorin sagen: „Schaut her, wie schrecklich das ist“, und der Leser soll sich dann kurz schaudern und weiterblättern. Für mich bleibt das leer.
Stilistisch versucht Schenkel, eine eigene Form zu finden: bayerischer Tonfall, kurze Sätze, Protokolle, Perspektivwechsel. Das ist grundsätzlich interessant, wirkt hier aber eher manieriert als organisch. Die ständigen Figurenwechsel verwirren mehr, als dass sie Spannung erzeugen.
Die Wandlung eines naiven jungen Mädchens vom Lande zu einer abgebrühten Prostituierten innerhalb weniger Tage wirkt außerdem unglaubwürdig, und der Serienmörder bleibt eine Karikatur aus dem Krimiklischee.
Ich muss dazu sagen: Krimis sind ohnehin nicht meins. Wenn ich Lust auf unterhaltsame Genre-Literatur habe, dann lieber Science-Fiction oder Fantasy. Weil diese Welten von vornherein nicht den Anspruch haben, realistisch zu sein, erlauben sie es mir, das Geschehen symbolisch zu lesen, als Entwurf oder Gedankenexperiment. Ein Roman wie Kalteis hingegen bewegt sich im realistischen oder sogar historischen Kontext; er bezieht seine Wirkung aus der Nähe zu wahren Begebenheiten. Wenn dann alles auf bloßen Schockeffekt hinausläuft, möchte ich damit lieber nichts zu tun haben – wie auch mit diesen True-Crime-Formaten.
Bei Kalteis hatte ich dieses Gefühl nie. Der Roman zeigt Gewalt, ohne dass ich darin eine tiefere Notwendigkeit erkennen könnte. Das Ergebnis wirkt eher wie ein Versuch, Schockwirkung zu erzeugen – als würde die Autorin sagen: „Schaut her, wie schrecklich das ist“, und der Leser soll sich dann kurz schaudern und weiterblättern. Für mich bleibt das leer.
Stilistisch versucht Schenkel, eine eigene Form zu finden: bayerischer Tonfall, kurze Sätze, Protokolle, Perspektivwechsel. Das ist grundsätzlich interessant, wirkt hier aber eher manieriert als organisch. Die ständigen Figurenwechsel verwirren mehr, als dass sie Spannung erzeugen.
Die Wandlung eines naiven jungen Mädchens vom Lande zu einer abgebrühten Prostituierten innerhalb weniger Tage wirkt außerdem unglaubwürdig, und der Serienmörder bleibt eine Karikatur aus dem Krimiklischee.
Ich muss dazu sagen: Krimis sind ohnehin nicht meins. Wenn ich Lust auf unterhaltsame Genre-Literatur habe, dann lieber Science-Fiction oder Fantasy. Weil diese Welten von vornherein nicht den Anspruch haben, realistisch zu sein, erlauben sie es mir, das Geschehen symbolisch zu lesen, als Entwurf oder Gedankenexperiment. Ein Roman wie Kalteis hingegen bewegt sich im realistischen oder sogar historischen Kontext; er bezieht seine Wirkung aus der Nähe zu wahren Begebenheiten. Wenn dann alles auf bloßen Schockeffekt hinausläuft, möchte ich damit lieber nichts zu tun haben – wie auch mit diesen True-Crime-Formaten.
October 5, 2015
I just finished reading, and am feeling decidedly unsettled, as though I need to wash it out of my system. In current parlance, this is a book that needs a Trigger Warning. A nasty, brutal and short narrative (much like the lives of those within) told from multiple POVs including rapist and murderer, victims, witnesses, fragmentary as a result, though use of different typefaces helps avoid confusion, mostly.
The setting is Munich during the late 30s and is based upon a real life case, using actual records. The novel begins with the execution of serial killer Josef Kaletis convicted of murdering young girls over a number of years, then goes back to tell the story of the crimes, from a psychological perspective. With its graphic depictions of rape and murder, this is not a book everyone will...enjoy is not the appropriate word here. Have the stomach for?
Its atmosphere of hopelessness and despair is certainly well conveyed, the poverty of lives and expectations that was the background to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis during this period. Parts reminded me of Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin. You don't get much from characters other than their situations and outcomes. The overall mood is dark, bleak and profoundly depressing. You get the feeling this is an ongoing story with no comfortably structured beginning-middle-end, a symptom of a general descent into darkness, on an individual and national level.
Undeniably powerful and well written, this novel has left some pretty horrible images in my head. I have Murder Farm by the same author in my 'To Read' folder on my Kindle, but I will leave it a while before immersing myself again in Schenkel's grim writing.
The setting is Munich during the late 30s and is based upon a real life case, using actual records. The novel begins with the execution of serial killer Josef Kaletis convicted of murdering young girls over a number of years, then goes back to tell the story of the crimes, from a psychological perspective. With its graphic depictions of rape and murder, this is not a book everyone will...enjoy is not the appropriate word here. Have the stomach for?
Its atmosphere of hopelessness and despair is certainly well conveyed, the poverty of lives and expectations that was the background to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis during this period. Parts reminded me of Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin. You don't get much from characters other than their situations and outcomes. The overall mood is dark, bleak and profoundly depressing. You get the feeling this is an ongoing story with no comfortably structured beginning-middle-end, a symptom of a general descent into darkness, on an individual and national level.
Undeniably powerful and well written, this novel has left some pretty horrible images in my head. I have Murder Farm by the same author in my 'To Read' folder on my Kindle, but I will leave it a while before immersing myself again in Schenkel's grim writing.
April 16, 2015
3.5
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
Andrea Maria Schenkel is Germany’s answer to Britain’s Ruth Rendell.
Can I end the review now, I mean what more do you need to know?
Schenkel’s novel deals with a sexual murderer during the late Weimer period. (If you have read Maria Tatar’s Lustmord, you should check this book out). Told in a variety of voices, the book is as compelling as Rendell at her best.
At one level the book is a psychological study of a killer, at another level it is a study of a girl wanting more, and at a third level it is a look at those who are either killed or those who are left behind. The reader is placed in the position of listening investigator. While at the beginning, it almost seems too multi-perspective but as the reader gets use to the format, as the format evens out, whichever it is becomes the only way to tell this story.
And it is grippingly told.
Schenkel aptly deals with the differing perspectives without making any one character too much of a dislikable idiot or too much an unbelievable stellar of perfection. The only change to the pattern is the reader’s interaction with the murderer. With that character Schenkel walks the fine line of presenting the character while not justifying his behavior. She walks this line very well, and the passages of the book involving this character work.
It’s not your average murder mystery that’s for show.
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
Andrea Maria Schenkel is Germany’s answer to Britain’s Ruth Rendell.
Can I end the review now, I mean what more do you need to know?
Schenkel’s novel deals with a sexual murderer during the late Weimer period. (If you have read Maria Tatar’s Lustmord, you should check this book out). Told in a variety of voices, the book is as compelling as Rendell at her best.
At one level the book is a psychological study of a killer, at another level it is a study of a girl wanting more, and at a third level it is a look at those who are either killed or those who are left behind. The reader is placed in the position of listening investigator. While at the beginning, it almost seems too multi-perspective but as the reader gets use to the format, as the format evens out, whichever it is becomes the only way to tell this story.
And it is grippingly told.
Schenkel aptly deals with the differing perspectives without making any one character too much of a dislikable idiot or too much an unbelievable stellar of perfection. The only change to the pattern is the reader’s interaction with the murderer. With that character Schenkel walks the fine line of presenting the character while not justifying his behavior. She walks this line very well, and the passages of the book involving this character work.
It’s not your average murder mystery that’s for show.
February 24, 2020
This is the first book I've read from German author Andrea Maria Schenkel. The organization, structure of the novel and the author's writing style made me feel like reading a TV documentary re-enacting these crimes, which occured early 1930's in Munich.
Through 7 chapthers dispersed within the entire book, readers follow during one week one of the victims, a young german girl coming from rural area to work in Munich, but fell victim of a serial criminal. Through several single chapters, readers follow the path of other victims until they're attacked by the criminal. These chapters are narrated by family members, witnesses, and victims.
Then a couple chapters follow the criminal, his wife, and people who made the arrest.
The story is very concise, clear, and direct to the facts. Readers are not meant to feel for victims, or be scared of the criminal or anything else. Like I said in the beginning, readers are like TV viewers watching a documentary about these crimes. Thus, readers may lack interest in learning about these stories as the author doesn't highlight a certain perspective that could make it worth reading them.
Through 7 chapthers dispersed within the entire book, readers follow during one week one of the victims, a young german girl coming from rural area to work in Munich, but fell victim of a serial criminal. Through several single chapters, readers follow the path of other victims until they're attacked by the criminal. These chapters are narrated by family members, witnesses, and victims.
Then a couple chapters follow the criminal, his wife, and people who made the arrest.
The story is very concise, clear, and direct to the facts. Readers are not meant to feel for victims, or be scared of the criminal or anything else. Like I said in the beginning, readers are like TV viewers watching a documentary about these crimes. Thus, readers may lack interest in learning about these stories as the author doesn't highlight a certain perspective that could make it worth reading them.
February 9, 2012
Whilst ICE COLD is the second book from German writer Andrea Maria Schenkel, it's the first book - THE MURDER FARM - that I have to start out mentioning. I still remember my reaction to that book - mesmerised, enthralled, vaguely stunned. Needless to say, trying not to set expectations for ICE COLD was a tricky undertaking.
Set in 1930's Munich, ICE COLD is the progression of a rapist serial killer. Various viewpoints are told chapter by chapter, each voice eerily intimate, and personal, distinguished by a change in font to give the reader a visual queue, as well as a clear change in voice. The killer moves aimlessly, passively through a life punctuated suddenly by extreme violence and depravity. ICE COLD tells a story that is brutal, hopeless, stark, bleak and extremely discomforting. It's dark, intense and extremely uncomfortable reading. It's also jarringly different in that there is no discernible plot, heading for a resolution or at the least, an explanation. This is a series of short, sharp punches to the readers sensibility, finalising in no resolution, no closure, no analysis, no neat ends and no explanations.
There are a lot of similarities to THE MURDER FARM, in the style, the structure and the tone of ICE COLD. But there's something much bleaker and more confrontational about ICE COLD. Just in case it sounds like this is a book that I hated, exactly the opposite is true. It's short, sharp, tight as hell, uncomfortable, strange, brutal, and extremely memorable.
Set in 1930's Munich, ICE COLD is the progression of a rapist serial killer. Various viewpoints are told chapter by chapter, each voice eerily intimate, and personal, distinguished by a change in font to give the reader a visual queue, as well as a clear change in voice. The killer moves aimlessly, passively through a life punctuated suddenly by extreme violence and depravity. ICE COLD tells a story that is brutal, hopeless, stark, bleak and extremely discomforting. It's dark, intense and extremely uncomfortable reading. It's also jarringly different in that there is no discernible plot, heading for a resolution or at the least, an explanation. This is a series of short, sharp punches to the readers sensibility, finalising in no resolution, no closure, no analysis, no neat ends and no explanations.
There are a lot of similarities to THE MURDER FARM, in the style, the structure and the tone of ICE COLD. But there's something much bleaker and more confrontational about ICE COLD. Just in case it sounds like this is a book that I hated, exactly the opposite is true. It's short, sharp, tight as hell, uncomfortable, strange, brutal, and extremely memorable.
April 17, 2011
Sich aus Zeugen- und Täteraussagen sowie dem Erlebnisbericht eines der späteren Opfer setzt sich die auf Tatsachen basierende Geschichte über einen Frauenmörder zusammen. Am Rande erfährt man einiges über das München ende der 30er Jahre – für meinen Geschmack aber zu wenig über das Nazi-Regime, das doch gerade in der „Stadt der Bewegung“ besonderen Einfluss hatte. Lediglich in der Einleitung wird deutlich, dass es eine solche Art von Verbrechen unter der NS-Ideologie eigentlich nicht mehr geben durfte (und eben diese Verknüpfung von Verbrechen und NS-Alltag und –Ideologie wird im weiteren Verlauf nicht mehr verfolgt). Spannend fand ich vor allem wie offensichtlich, junge Frauen, die in der Stadt ihr Glück machen wollen, dies im Grunde nur dadurch erreichen können, dass die wahllos mit Männern schlafen. Dieses Frauenbild, das man aus Beschreibungen der 20er Jahre (meist in Berlin spielend) kennt, z. B. aus Werken Irmgard Keuns, auch als Bestandteil einer Welt zu sehen, die inzwischen von den Nazis beherrscht wird, ist entlarvend.
Besser gefallen hat mir dennoch der Vorgänger Tannöd, weil in diesem noch viel eindrücklicher ein bestimmtes Milieu beschrieben wird.
Besser gefallen hat mir dennoch der Vorgänger Tannöd, weil in diesem noch viel eindrücklicher ein bestimmtes Milieu beschrieben wird.
December 15, 2011
Las sich sehr schnell, war eigentlich auch gut geschrieben, aber bei mir wollte der Funken einfach nicht überspringen.
Ich denke, mit all diesen Hintergrundfakten hätte man aus dem Stoff doch etwas mehr rausholen können.
Es war gut, aber irgendwie... zu distanziert...
Ich denke, mit all diesen Hintergrundfakten hätte man aus dem Stoff doch etwas mehr rausholen können.
Es war gut, aber irgendwie... zu distanziert...
July 22, 2020
The Reading Rush 2020: read a book completely outside of your house ☑
An intriguing mystery full of gruesome details and horrifying end results.
”Keep on looking at yourself in the mirror like that and one day the Devil himself will look back at you.”
“How can the Devil look back at me out of the mirror?” Kathie asked.
I actually really enjoyed the nonlinearity of this story! It’s told through a series of eyewitness accounts, interview transcripts, and long-form scenes following Kathie, the protagonist. It made the mystery more engaging with the constant worry about which of these men could be the killer. It really plays on depicting a woman’s worst nightmare of a stalker with malicious intent. I think this book scared me more than it would a man reading it, to be honest. Because stuff like this (though not as extreme) is still a potential reality.
My one major complaint with this novel is its lack of content warnings. I, luckily, don’t have much issue but I still would have appreciated a page labelling what would be depicted. So, for anyone looking to read this, content warnings for physical abuse, sexual assault, rape, murder (highly detailed), body horror, the description of animal slaughter, and probably a few other things I’m forgetting. It’s definitely more of a shocking book than a thriller and some might say it was even gratuitously violent. However I know some people seek out that kind of literature so! That’s that. Fair warning.
The ending, in my opinion, felt a little lackluster. It just didn’t feel like it fit fully with the intense mystery of the main portion of this story. I found myself closing the book with a bittersweet “I don’t know what else I expected” feeling.
This isn’t all to say I thought this book was bad, I still enjoyed the mystery and following the unique style. I’d be willing to read something by Schenkel again at some point! For the length this is, if you’re interested, I’d still recommend it to you because German translated works are fascinating!
An intriguing mystery full of gruesome details and horrifying end results.
”Keep on looking at yourself in the mirror like that and one day the Devil himself will look back at you.”
“How can the Devil look back at me out of the mirror?” Kathie asked.
I actually really enjoyed the nonlinearity of this story! It’s told through a series of eyewitness accounts, interview transcripts, and long-form scenes following Kathie, the protagonist. It made the mystery more engaging with the constant worry about which of these men could be the killer. It really plays on depicting a woman’s worst nightmare of a stalker with malicious intent. I think this book scared me more than it would a man reading it, to be honest. Because stuff like this (though not as extreme) is still a potential reality.
My one major complaint with this novel is its lack of content warnings. I, luckily, don’t have much issue but I still would have appreciated a page labelling what would be depicted. So, for anyone looking to read this, content warnings for physical abuse, sexual assault, rape, murder (highly detailed), body horror, the description of animal slaughter, and probably a few other things I’m forgetting. It’s definitely more of a shocking book than a thriller and some might say it was even gratuitously violent. However I know some people seek out that kind of literature so! That’s that. Fair warning.
The ending, in my opinion, felt a little lackluster. It just didn’t feel like it fit fully with the intense mystery of the main portion of this story. I found myself closing the book with a bittersweet “I don’t know what else I expected” feeling.
This isn’t all to say I thought this book was bad, I still enjoyed the mystery and following the unique style. I’d be willing to read something by Schenkel again at some point! For the length this is, if you’re interested, I’d still recommend it to you because German translated works are fascinating!
November 21, 2016
It’s October 1939, and Josef Kalteis, “an ethnic German, an Aryan, and in addition a member of the National Socialist Workers’ Party,” has confessed to atrocities not even the Reich wants on its hands. His death warrant declares, “Noxious parasites on this nation, like this man, ice cold in his crimes as in his very name, must therefore be removed from it.”
In Ice Cold, Schenkel lays out narrative with the cool authority of a Vegas blackjack dealer. Snap: Memorandum. Scene. Interrogation. Police report. Snap: First person. Third. Present tense. Past. But make no mistake: Schenkel’s a shark. Having stacked the deck, she keeps you at the table by holding the ace until the very last hand.
It’s rarely springtime in this chronicle of Germany from 1931 to 1939, and from the moment young Kathie Hertl steps off the train in Munich, the reader feels the chill. Kathie’s search for a job takes her nowhere, and her search for a warm place to sleep takes her to Soller’s Inn, where, like the other women she meets, she searches for a “fiancé” who will put a roof over her head. As she moves from man to man, losing sight of her dream of making a life in Munich, she recalls the warmth of her girlhood summers and knows that “they would always be the best summers of her entire life.”
Into Kathie’s wanderings Schenkel splices police reports, first-person interviews, and third person accounts of other German women and girls, as well as excerpts of police interviews with both Kalteis and his wife, Walburga. Time is nimble, and narrators often go unnamed. But the close reader is rewarded with story: tragedy unencumbered with sentiment, and brutality served up cold as ice.
In Ice Cold, Schenkel lays out narrative with the cool authority of a Vegas blackjack dealer. Snap: Memorandum. Scene. Interrogation. Police report. Snap: First person. Third. Present tense. Past. But make no mistake: Schenkel’s a shark. Having stacked the deck, she keeps you at the table by holding the ace until the very last hand.
It’s rarely springtime in this chronicle of Germany from 1931 to 1939, and from the moment young Kathie Hertl steps off the train in Munich, the reader feels the chill. Kathie’s search for a job takes her nowhere, and her search for a warm place to sleep takes her to Soller’s Inn, where, like the other women she meets, she searches for a “fiancé” who will put a roof over her head. As she moves from man to man, losing sight of her dream of making a life in Munich, she recalls the warmth of her girlhood summers and knows that “they would always be the best summers of her entire life.”
Into Kathie’s wanderings Schenkel splices police reports, first-person interviews, and third person accounts of other German women and girls, as well as excerpts of police interviews with both Kalteis and his wife, Walburga. Time is nimble, and narrators often go unnamed. But the close reader is rewarded with story: tragedy unencumbered with sentiment, and brutality served up cold as ice.
July 8, 2022
Some aspects of this novel are really clever. I particularly like the focus at the beginning of the novel on how quickly Kalteis’s justice is delivered, compared with the much longer suffering of his victims.
However, after this part I found the book disappointing. The central story of Kathie doesn’t pull on the reader’s emotions enough, and I even found some of the shorter sections more saddening. I think a lot of this is due to relationships. The death of characters with fiancés who love them, for example, are much more hard-hitting compared with Kathie who, for the most part, just looks for an easy job in Munich. As well as this issue, I found the setting to be non-existent. Aside from the opening section, there is no sense of this taking place in 1930s Germany. The theme of a totalitarian society dealing with a serial killer is set up and then immediately abandoned. Instead, we get gory descriptions with little pay-off. Finally, I read the English version of this novel and found the quality of translation to be quite poor. I can’t speak for the original German, but many passages carry a weird flavour when read in English. Aside from occasionally making no sense, sentences seem deliberately broken (as though to suggest the character in question is poorly educated) but then incorporate words which those same individuals just wouldn’t use. “Ebbing” is one example - people who use double negatives (“I didn’t see nothin”) are not going to use this word in everyday speech. These inconsistencies break immersion, and it happened too many times.
Overall, the novel’s concept was fantastic, but it doesn’t work effectively.
However, after this part I found the book disappointing. The central story of Kathie doesn’t pull on the reader’s emotions enough, and I even found some of the shorter sections more saddening. I think a lot of this is due to relationships. The death of characters with fiancés who love them, for example, are much more hard-hitting compared with Kathie who, for the most part, just looks for an easy job in Munich. As well as this issue, I found the setting to be non-existent. Aside from the opening section, there is no sense of this taking place in 1930s Germany. The theme of a totalitarian society dealing with a serial killer is set up and then immediately abandoned. Instead, we get gory descriptions with little pay-off. Finally, I read the English version of this novel and found the quality of translation to be quite poor. I can’t speak for the original German, but many passages carry a weird flavour when read in English. Aside from occasionally making no sense, sentences seem deliberately broken (as though to suggest the character in question is poorly educated) but then incorporate words which those same individuals just wouldn’t use. “Ebbing” is one example - people who use double negatives (“I didn’t see nothin”) are not going to use this word in everyday speech. These inconsistencies break immersion, and it happened too many times.
Overall, the novel’s concept was fantastic, but it doesn’t work effectively.
November 25, 2017
Munich et ses environs, dans les années 1930. Nous suivons Kathie, jeune fille arrivée de sa campagne où elle ne veut plus être la bonne de sa famille, pour tenter de trouver un travail à la Grande Ville.
Difficile d’abord pour elle de trouver un toit et de quoi manger. Qui plus est, elle ne se présente pas à une place trouvée par une amie de sa mère. Non, Kathie préfère aller boire à la taverne le soir avec ses ami-e-s et, peut-être, finir dans le it d’un homme pour la nuit.
Elle est naïve, Kathie, elle laisse sa valise à sa première adresse, son parapluie dans une autre. Elle vit au jour le jour.
Parallèlement à l’historie de Kathie, nous lisons le compte-rendu de l’interrogatoire de Josef Kalteis.
Jusqu’à ce que les deux histoires se rejoignent, tragiquement.
Une écriture au couteau, rapide et sèche, efficace. En quelques phrases, l’auteure crée un lieu, un personnage et ses préoccupations.
Toutefois, à vouloir être brut, le texte est crue pour décrire certaines actions de Josef. J’ai été d’autant plus étonné que j’ai pu rencontrer l’auteure après une conférence : mère de 4 enfants s’étant mise à l’écriture de polars assez tard. Comment imaginer qu’elle dame bien sous tout rapport puisse écrire une réalité aussi crue ? Shocking ! Et pourtant…
Un roman court et efficace, vous l’aurez compris ; une lecture qui ne m’a pas laissée indifférente.
L’image que je retiendrai :
Celle du petit chapeau de Kathie qu’elle garde toujours sur la tête et qui permet aux amis de découvrir son cadavre.
http://alexmotamots.fr/un-tueur-a-mun...
Difficile d’abord pour elle de trouver un toit et de quoi manger. Qui plus est, elle ne se présente pas à une place trouvée par une amie de sa mère. Non, Kathie préfère aller boire à la taverne le soir avec ses ami-e-s et, peut-être, finir dans le it d’un homme pour la nuit.
Elle est naïve, Kathie, elle laisse sa valise à sa première adresse, son parapluie dans une autre. Elle vit au jour le jour.
Parallèlement à l’historie de Kathie, nous lisons le compte-rendu de l’interrogatoire de Josef Kalteis.
Jusqu’à ce que les deux histoires se rejoignent, tragiquement.
Une écriture au couteau, rapide et sèche, efficace. En quelques phrases, l’auteure crée un lieu, un personnage et ses préoccupations.
Toutefois, à vouloir être brut, le texte est crue pour décrire certaines actions de Josef. J’ai été d’autant plus étonné que j’ai pu rencontrer l’auteure après une conférence : mère de 4 enfants s’étant mise à l’écriture de polars assez tard. Comment imaginer qu’elle dame bien sous tout rapport puisse écrire une réalité aussi crue ? Shocking ! Et pourtant…
Un roman court et efficace, vous l’aurez compris ; une lecture qui ne m’a pas laissée indifférente.
L’image que je retiendrai :
Celle du petit chapeau de Kathie qu’elle garde toujours sur la tête et qui permet aux amis de découvrir son cadavre.
http://alexmotamots.fr/un-tueur-a-mun...
July 31, 2018
Ice Cold is a collage of at times unrelated events surrounding a serial murderer and rapist. While a person is caught and executed the reader is left uncertain on if there are more.
An aspect to the story I did not like was that as the story switched between narrators that the font, font size, and margins changed. This was distracting.
While it did not happen often another distracting element was random phrases that were in bold. For example, on page 16 "I cycled along beside him for quite a way." I believe these were done by the person that translated the work from UK English to US English as a reminder to research words and phrases. The translator forgot to do a final pass and to remove their reminder marks.
The U.S. English hardcover copy that I read is missing the Acknowledgments section that's available other editions. This is where he reader discovers the novel is based on a true story.
I'm rating the story as "4" but the production value of the U.S. hardcover edition is "3."
An aspect to the story I did not like was that as the story switched between narrators that the font, font size, and margins changed. This was distracting.
While it did not happen often another distracting element was random phrases that were in bold. For example, on page 16 "I cycled along beside him for quite a way." I believe these were done by the person that translated the work from UK English to US English as a reminder to research words and phrases. The translator forgot to do a final pass and to remove their reminder marks.
The U.S. English hardcover copy that I read is missing the Acknowledgments section that's available other editions. This is where he reader discovers the novel is based on a true story.
I'm rating the story as "4" but the production value of the U.S. hardcover edition is "3."
March 3, 2018
Not what I was expecting when I read the inside flap. A very quick read and compelling. A tale of rape and murder involving a member of the National Socialist Party in Munich, late 1930s, but it's not really political at all other than the first few pages and then the NSDAP is mentioned perhaps a few times later offhand. The way the story is told is a series of interviews of the convicted murderer, those who knew the victim, people who or interacted with her in various situations prior, as well as stories of other women who had disappeared around the same time. It's short and difficult to put down because you truly feel like you can witness the series moving up to the murder even though some of the chapters are other victims. I thank the person who gifted this to me and plan to seek out other books by the author. Final note: I read the English translation.
April 4, 2019
Ich habe das Buch innert kürzester Zeit gelesen, natürlich auch, weil es nur 150 Seiten umfasst (und ohne "Tannöd" zu kennen). Mich störte allerdings, dass es nicht immer klar war, was Fiktion ist und was dokumentarischen Charakter hat. Oder ging das nur mir so? Spannend finde ich die verschiedenen Erzählperspektiven und die Zeit- und Ortswechsel, auch wenn das auf Dauer ermüdend ist und sich abnutzt. Ihre Sprache ist klar und lehnt sich wohl an die bayrische Mundart an, was ich aber nicht wirklich beurteilen kann. Ich werde sicher auch ihr erstes Buch lesen, aber mit weniger Enthusiasmus, als es die überschwänglichen Kritiken vermuten liessen. Ist die Lektüre dieses zweiten Bandes nun ein Muss? Nicht wirklich.
February 29, 2024
Ich muss zugeben das ich zu Beginn des Buches gar nicht verstanden habe worum es gehen soll... und auch jetzt nachdem ich es durchgelesen habe weiß ich es nicht so recht. Ich schätze das es um einen Fall geht der aus vielen verschiedenen Perspektiven beobachtet wird. Das Buch hat mir leider gar nicht gefallen, es hat lange gedauert bis ich es durch hatte. Eine Szene hat mich besonders verstört. Nämlich die in der Kalteis (vermute ich) etwas mit den leichenteilen angestellt hat. Das fand ich ziemlich ekelhaft.. was wahrscheinlich zeigen soll das es sowas trotzdem gab/gibt. Wegen der Story und dem allgemeinen gibt es von mir nur einen Stern.
April 30, 2020
ICE COLD by Andrea Maria Schenkel
This read a lot like one of those reenacted documentaries. Interrogation logs, witness statements and unbelievably detailed descriptions of personal accounts and actions, made this crime novel unlike any that I have read so far. This is a hard read for so many reasons. But thankfully, it was a quick one. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have wanted to finish it if it had been any longer!
This read a lot like one of those reenacted documentaries. Interrogation logs, witness statements and unbelievably detailed descriptions of personal accounts and actions, made this crime novel unlike any that I have read so far. This is a hard read for so many reasons. But thankfully, it was a quick one. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have wanted to finish it if it had been any longer!
August 29, 2020
Set in 1930s Munich based on the real events of a series of rapes and murder.
A story told via various characters, documents interrogation logs and witness statements. Well written and researched, dark harsh a powerful story. A quirky short unusual book of only 185 pages but gripping from first to last page. At times grim gruesome and sad at others charming and sweet but always engaging.
Recommended.
A story told via various characters, documents interrogation logs and witness statements. Well written and researched, dark harsh a powerful story. A quirky short unusual book of only 185 pages but gripping from first to last page. At times grim gruesome and sad at others charming and sweet but always engaging.
Recommended.
January 30, 2021
I think what made this miss the mark for me was that there wasn't any real 'mystery' as suggested. We know who the murderer is from the beginning and how their story ends but there's nothing in the story that makes you want to know why they did what they did. I understand there's not always a 'why' though there was just nothing substantial to keep my attention. There's plenty of backstory with all of the characters which did add some dimension to the story but there just wasn't any mysterious element to it.
Maybe, I'm just used to more complex thrillers and that's why I expected more from 'Ice Cold.' On the plus side, the writing flowed nicely and all the characters were decently fleshed out even though the story was short.
Overall, fairly "meh" for me.
Rating: 2/5 stars.
Maybe, I'm just used to more complex thrillers and that's why I expected more from 'Ice Cold.' On the plus side, the writing flowed nicely and all the characters were decently fleshed out even though the story was short.
Overall, fairly "meh" for me.
Rating: 2/5 stars.
September 13, 2020
WARNING this book is really upsetting. there are multiple explicit and detailed scenes depicting women being abused and murdered. i read true crime/mystery novels all of the time but this book was too much for me. not for the faint of heart, this book is brutal.
May 24, 2022
I really like the unique formatting of her books.
Like Murder Farm, there's all these different perspectives and voices, and the way they unfold the story is something to behold!
Also, this book is right creepy!
Like Murder Farm, there's all these different perspectives and voices, and the way they unfold the story is something to behold!
Also, this book is right creepy!
October 20, 2017
I read it to get a feel for German thriller writing, and it was ok...I will probably seek out and read Murder Farm.
January 1, 2018
Affascinante la costruzione, la scrittura piana, la location, i personaggi. Notevole.
December 27, 2018
Je ne suis pas sûre d'avoir tout compris (je l'ai lu en allemand) mais c'était suffisamment prenant et facile (à l’exception des mots d'argot !) pour que j'aille au bout, avec plaisir.
May 6, 2019
Una lectura rapida pero con la que no he empatizado en ningun momento ni con la historia ni con los personajes.
January 20, 2021
Hard to follow who's narrating and hard to understand what characters are important.
Graphic rape scenes.
Overall disturbing read with an unrelatable main character.
Graphic rape scenes.
Overall disturbing read with an unrelatable main character.
January 14, 2023
I had a hard time tracking the characters in this story - it felt disjointed. And the murder got increasingly gruesome so that I felt a little sickened by the end,
May 2, 2023
Kurze Spannungsmomente. Ansonsten habe ich keinen Zugang gefunden zu Geschichte und Schreibstil.
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