The Cleaner

by Elisabeth Hermann

Judith Kepler has seen it all. She is a crime scene specialist. She turns crime scenes back into habitable spaces. She is a cleaner. It is at the home of a woman who has been brutally murdered that she is suddenly confronted with her own past. The murder victim knew Judith's secret: as a child Judith was sent to an orphanage under mysterious circumstances—parentage unknown. And the East German secret police were always there, in the background. When Judith begins to ask questions, she becomes the target of some powerful enemies. And nothing will ever be the same again.

Genres: Thriller, Crime

458 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Bug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I'm losing some of the story in the translation. Just a heads up if you give this a go.

[Liz Cody · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am assuming the translation made this such a clumsy book. I didn’t have a clue what was going on for most of it! A very long and dull read.

[Andriana Koukari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and I am not a huge fan of thrillers. Really interesting historically. Many twists and turns. Fascinating strong and smart heroine. Really well written and describes everything so well you can see the action unfurl before your eyes. In fact, it reads like a screenplay.

[Andreea · Rating 4 out of 5]

My four star rating is first for the translation, which makes some of the story become a little confusing at times. However, I enjoyed this thriller rather thoroughly, especially towards the end, where the plot threads tied pretty nicely (at least for me). I also think one must have at least a little knowledge about post war German history in order to understand the book better. Which is a bit unfortunate as not everyone is interested in learning such, so I believe the author could have done a better job at explaining (at least in between) some details connected to the BND and the Stasi.

Otherwise, I enjoyed the characters, even if sometimes they seemed not fully fleshed out. I feel Kaiserley could have been better fleshed out, as he most of the times comes off as a man living in a past which no longer exists. And nothing more than that. I feel his and Judith's relationship would have been more interesting as well. However, I admired his drive to find out the truth about what happened to Judith's parents.

I also loved Judith, especially her stubbornness. I fully understand her longing to understand who she was after having been lied and brushed under the rug ever since her parents' death and her life in the youth centre.

All in all it was an enjoyable read, despite its flaws.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very disappointing read overall. I believe you would enjoy this book more, in its original language, as a native German, with enough specific knowledge about Germany and its history. About halfway through I was completely lost, none of the characters or places seemed to make any sense, the plot felt like a big blur. Maybe I just don't like the genre, but something about this book was definitely off. I really couldn't finish the book. I wouldn't recommend reading it in English.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

think getting lost in translation was a major issue here, things didn't always flow he/she was a bit off.
think the translation needs development but I liked the plot, even if I struggled with the multiple characters...(crime novels generally have lots and I'm blaming my age too)

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good plot,did get a bit lost with all the characters.

[Diane Hanel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the plot and the feisty main character, but found it hard to keep track of all the characters, some were left a bit up in the air and underdeveloped. The ending left room for another book.

[sarahreid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the concept of the story but got a bit confused by the numerous characters and the story didn't always flow (this may be due to translation). A reasonably enjoyable read overall.

[Freya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good spy post Cold War thriller.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Nicky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let down by a poor translation which reads as though it was done by someone who has never read a spy thriller in English.