Anatomy of a Killer

by Romy Hausmann, Jamie Bulloch (Translator)

New hardcover with un-clipped jacket.1st/1st. Unread with no faults.

Genres: Thriller, Crime, Mystery

384 pages, Hardcover

Published July 6, 2023

About the author

Romy Hausmann was born in the former GDR in 1981. At the age of twenty-four she became chief editor at a film production company in Munich. Since the birth of her son, Romy has been working as a freelancer in TV. DEAR CHILD is her thriller debut, and her second mind-bending thriller SLEEPLESS publishes in 2021. She lives with her family in a remote house in the woods near Stuttgart.

Reviews

[Lit with Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing: 3/5 | Plot: 2/5 | Ending: nah

SYNOPSIS

Ann's father is in jail awaiting trial for the murder of numerous girls over 14 years. Despite the evidence pointing toward daddy dearest, Ann refusing to accept her father's alleged guilt and sets out on a journey to prove his innocence.

MY OPINION

Maaan I read this a couple of weeks ago but surprisingly it's still pretty fresh in this block of cheese they call a brain. I've read Romy Hausmann's Dear Child and loved it, so I was looking forward to her latest English release. Yes, this book has already been released in Europe, but we're just now getting an English version.

First I want to give my kudos to translators because DAMN. I can't imagine how difficult it is to translate a book line by line while trying to maintain the integrity of the original and ensuring the jokes, sentiments, and emotions are communicated properly in English. Especially in this case where the author includes diary entries that were written phonetically. I didn't feel that anything was 'lost in translation' while reading this book.

Now, let's get into the book itself. I really liked the premise of this book and at first I found the storytelling quite compelling. However, as we went along, I got sick of the 'reverse unos' throughout. For example (not a spoiler because it happens early): Ann works at a fast food resto and is taking a drive thru order. The customer says 'Did you think I wouldn't find you?' anddddd END SCENE. So immediately my cheeks are CLENCHED. But wait. I 'turned the page' and turns out it's just a regular customer and he's making a joke. Imagine this type of 'sike hoe!' moment every other chapter. Annoying.

Next, I found it nearly impossible to empathize with Ann. I can't imagine how devastating it would be to find out your dad is out here wildin. But Ann somehow makes it a challenge to feel sorry for her. She's pigheaded and irrational. Instantly she assumes that some dude named Martin is the actual killer and despite it being obvious as Donald Trump's fake tan, she refuses to accept otherwise. The sheer number of times she says omg it's Martin when it's just a bird flying really close to her head is unbelievable. Not only is Ann delusional but she is dumber than a box of rocks. You seriously couldn't see that X was a journalist? When their advice was to pick a journalist to tell your side of the story? Get some glasses because that's a struggle. I ended up disliking Ann so much I truly didn't give a red fk or blue fk whether she found out if her dad was legit guilty or nah.

What I did like was the transcripts with the killer. That was juicy. But everything else was hella dry. Tons of potential but ultimately it went a lil too whackadoodle for me.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: interesting storytelling structure, solid premise

Cons: lame ending, too many 'gotcha' moments, Ann was unlikeable but not intentionally which makes it 10x worse, the big reveals were disappointing

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[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a thirteen year manhunt for the Berlin “Ribbon“ murderer, the police arrest a 55-year-old man. Ann’s beloved father, Walter Lesniak, a well-known philosophy professor is the prime suspect. Ann is on autopilot but determined to prove that he is not the evil killer and that the police have made a terrible mistake. The story is told in three narratives, but principally by Ann.

After a dramatic opening, I go through a brief period of some confusion with the changing narratives and then something seems to click as I realise I’m glued to the storyline! Ann’s early memories are infused with present day events and some of these are very poignant as she tries to detect the truth. It’s inevitably emotional, it goes into some very dark corners after all, and I think the author does a good job at presenting Ann’s perspective. Her feelings, her pain, despair, the confusion and so on are all very well described and she has so much riding on her quest that I can’t help but admire her persistence and I do root for her, even if she doesn’t always do the right thing.

I like the three changing narratives too, as it builds intrigue as well as having a mind full of questions. They also create tension and several suspenseful scenes, this is especially true of the killer’s narrative which is bone chilling. A particularly good element is the progression of Ann’s thoughts as she gets older. It becomes clear through the narratives and present day events that things simply don’t add up and so the mystery deepens and deepens. It becomes a rollercoaster of a story that takes numerous twists and turns. As for the ending, there are parts I like but others less so but it does all make sense and I appreciate the authors afterwords.

I’d like to give a shout out for the translator who does an excellent job as parts of it, especially Ann’s early voice must have been a challenge.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Quercus Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Berlin 2017, several young girls have disappeared over 14 years, with red ribbons showing the police the way to their bodies but still no trace of the killer. 
One evening, an internationally renowned philosophy professor, Walter Lesniak, is arrested on the suspicion of the murders in the the presence of his daughter, Ann. Ann is certain there is some kind of mistake and begins on an investigation of her own to prove his innocence. 

This one was dark in places, as you'd expect from the synopsis but it was such a fabulous novel. I enjoyed the different POV's but prefered Ann's, as she reflects on her life with her father - the man who was always there for her. The twists really had me rooting for Ann and the author had me second guessing my theories. Another enjoyable novel that I recommend. 4.5*

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Quercus Books for this gifted review copy.

[Peggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading this book after reading Dear Child and was expecting more of the same. This mish mash is nothing like it. The premise sounded so good but that is as far as it goes. I hated the main character Alice I found her spoilt, condescending and never wrong. This book was so repetitive and most of the time bloody confusing. If Alice really wanted to prove her father's innocence she would have tried a lot harder. Instead she just zeroed in on one man until he was proven innocent then picked another target and just ploughed in. What the hell were the police doing. The only good thing about this book was the real killer which was used as the back story when it should have been the central story. My advice give this book a wide berth the only thing I got out of this book is a pounding headache!!!!!!
Thanks to Netgalley for the Arc.

[Mandie (allbookedout_with_mj) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Dark Story told in multiple narratives. I enjoyed the intertwining interviews with the killers.
This started out a fast-paced read but the back and forth in time did lose me a bit as I found it hard to follow with so much going on.
I did keep my interest for the fact of wanting to know how it ends. The concept waa great but the execution just fell short for me and after reading Dear Child which I loved, this just didn't quite compare.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed in this book after loving Hausmanns previous two, notably Dear Child, which is one of the best books I've read. However, the psychological depth of those other books was absent in this one.

The story follows Ann trying to prove her father's innocence after being arrested for being a serial killer and felt like a wild goose chase. Plus, Ann was a rather melodramatic and repetitive character. Such a shame. 2.5 stars

[Mario · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall I found this to be a disappointing read.

I felt the idea behind the story to be a good one and there were a few times, the ending in particular, where it almost reached the highs of the excellent Dear Child. Unfortunately though there were great swathes where the story seemed to meander, without really taking the idea forward.

I can imagine many could find it a clever and thought provoking story but for me, personally, it never quite worked.

4 out of 10

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Berlin 2017 and young girls are disappearing over the last 14 years, they are found dead by the killer leaving red ribbons showing where the body is.
The main character in the book Ann is shocked when her father is arrested on suspicion of being the killer of the girls and what follows is the story of Ann… her disbelief that her father is guilty and her determination to prove his innocence and find the real killer.
This for me was a hard read there is a lot going on the book and at the beginning I found it difficult to follow but about halfway through it felt like someone had lifted the confusion and things started to fall into place or so I thought …clever stuff !
I love books that are different and this one really was I had many theories but non were right and this for me is what made this such a good read.
So a book that as I say isn’t easy but it sure kept me gripped, this is my third book by this author and I have loved them all so I look forward to the next.
My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Deborah (debbishdotcom) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read by Romy Hausmann (her first Dear Child, was also translated by Jamie Bulloch) and I've enjoyed both very twisty tales. I'm conscious though, some might grapple with the subject matter Hausmann tends to tackle - involving complex family relationships with child-centric themes.

Here we meet 24yr old Ann, home one night for dinner with her father when the police come knocking to accuse him of being a serial child murderer - responsible for nine deaths over a spate of a dozen years.

Ann finds it impossible to believe her devoted father is capable of what he's accused of doing. He remains silent in prison however so she sets out with a journalist to uncover the real killer. Digging up the past lives of the killer's victims, as well as her own.

Read my review here: https://www.debbish.com/books-literat...

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful and well told. It was a real "did he, didn't he?".
Anni is trying to clear her father's name as he has been arrested for the murder of 10 young girls. This doesn't sound like the man who loved her and raised her and she has her own theories to follow.
There are little snippets of an interview with the killer but we don't know who is on either side of the questioning. Thanks a kept me guessing and second guessing.
Lots of psychological insights scattered throughout and I really loved the journal entries of a younger Anni describing what feelings or emotions felt like to her at that time.

[ᛚᚨᚱᚲᚨ × ᚠᛖᚾᚱᛁᚱ (Semi hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m furious and I’m absolutely terrified.

A solid thriller with some juicy twists and turns and a satisfactory ending, it let me guess till its resolution.

In the Berlin of 2017, somebody is abducting and killing young girls for fourteen years. Then the killer leaves red ribbons to show the police the way to their bodies. When philosophy professor and anthropologist Walter Lesniak is arrested on the suspicion of the murders, it seems like we’re at the end of the case, and of his terror. For his daughter Ann, under whose eyes the arrest took place, it’s only the beginning of it. She’ll go to any lengths to prove her father’s innocence. But is he?

I like the premise of Anatomy of a Killer: it’s one of those books that will let you guess till the end, and that has the potential of turning security into doubt. According to how you perceive Walter Lesniak, guilty or innocent, you’ll have your own perception of the daughter as well.

If you think he’s innocent, you’ll root for her and you’ll be annoyed by the characters that keep treating her condescendingly.

If you think he’s guilty, like I did, you’ll be annoyed by Ann’s naivety (not to say plain stupidity). I understand that she’s emotionally destroyed and Romy Hausmann did a good job of depicting denial and obsession, but I especially didn’t like how Ann endangered another character (one of few) with her blindness to danger (and at times, reality) because “her perfect dad can’t be less than perfect”. But boy, was the outcome of that not expected! I also find pretty annoying how she bent some clues and seemed to stretch the truth to make it fit her own, just because she was so inherently biased.

With that being said, of course I was also biased while judging her. No matter how open I tried to stay, I drew anyway the conclusion that he was guilty. Maybe even because of how Ann acted. But even so, I can’t deny that I had my doubts, and of course the end will bring clarity.

This clarity will not come only as the unmasking of the killer, but also of their motivation. I will not say anything for obvious reasons, but it was great to see Anatomy of a Killer dive into psychology, if only briefly. I’m on the fence about praising Romy Hausmann, because I don’t know much about… well, what she talked about in the end. She also admits having limited knowledge of it, and didn’t pretend otherwise.

I also like how the book is structured. The main part follows Ann’s quest for the truth, but we also have two other lines. In one we witness the killer seemingly perpetrating their crimes, in the other they are interviewed about their reasons. Simple device to let us make up our mind, not just based on Ann’s biased version of it, but of whatever we want to make out of them as well. Can it still be biased on our convictions?

One final praise goes to the writing style: it is a translation from German, and yet the concise and precise style breaks through the linguistic barrier. Speaking of translation: I prefer the German title Perfect Day. It fits, and apart from the fact that they could have kept it, being already in English, I’m not entirely sure what the translation was trying to say that the original did not.

Final Thoughts
If you want to spend some enjoyable hours with a book that will have you guessing and doubting till the end, Anatomy of a Killer is for you. No matter what you think before even starting reading it, your belief will be challenged. I will for sure read more books by Romy Hausmann.

**Thanks to NetGalley, Romy Hausmann, and Quercus Books for an ARC of this book.**


More reviews at Inky Lighthouse.

[Kathleen Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Gripping Read and a Lovely Story

Berlin, 2017 Ann's father is in jail awaiting trial for the murder of several girls over a fourteen-year period. Ann refusing to accept her father's alleged guilt and sets out on a journey to prove his innocence. The book draws you in to Ann’s story and how a daughter does not want to believe in the smallest doubt that her father is guilty of these heinous crime against children.
Anatomy of a Killer is a beautifully written book and told through three people. One is in Walter Lesniak after the arrest on the suspicion of the murders in the presence of his daughter, Ann. Second is Ann who is convinced her father is innocent, and the third is a reporter named Jakob who is a friend of Anns and is granted the interview to draft his story to become a book.
Although there are three different people the author Romy Hausmann has captured their story’s and weave's them together beautifully. The book is written with the feelings of raw emotions told through Ann as she tries to prove her father's innocents. Walter’s story is deceptive as he denies everything. Jakob just wants the truth.
Along her journey Ann hears increased reasons why people believe her father is guilty. The book lets the readers realise life is a lottery and you do not choose your family and you do not have complete control over your lives, but you have the choice to choose your path and how we each have the choose how to treat each other.
A gripping read and a lovely story based on Ann’s emotions as the story unfolds and how she deals with her feelings of being the daughter of a serial killer. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Geurilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh dear, where shall I start.. not one single character in this story is sympathetic. The story is paced unbelievably fast with convoluted backstories appearing out of nothing. As this book is originally written in German I assume that a lot of the confusion is in the translation. German is paced differently to English and being bilingual I am firstly annoyed for not reading the original that I could not find in my English speaking country (although I have no hope that any of the protagonists would be more interesting or that I would be more invested in their actions in the original language) and secondly I am even more annoyed for the poor people having to read a translation that was, it seems, done by my post war aunt who possibly would use phrases such as “in a jiffy” or “woe betide”. Cool people from Berlin simply don’t speak like that. But all of that is probably just my problem, but that still doesn’t help the uninteresting story. The only desperate reason to finish the book is that I’m on a beach and there’s nothing else to read.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Police in Berlin have been searching for the Ribbon murderer in Berlin. Finally they arrest Walter Lesniak as their main suspect. Walter’s daughter, Ann, tries to clear his name. Will she find that a wrongful arrest has been made?

I liked the premise of this story, finding the overall plot interesting. The chapters, told in different narratives, seem to change quite suddenly, with a lot of different focus points, which did add some confusion while reading. The writing style definitely adds a creepy element to the overall story and creates a dark, suspenseful atmosphere. The ending wasn’t what I expected and a little different! This was definitely not a bad book but I found myself not completely invested in the story, partly due to it taking a while to make sense. I would like to go back to the start and see if there are bits that I missed! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy I’m return for an honest review.

[Helen Frost · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly familiar concept, young girls are going missing and although they’re not found, red ribbons are left as markers alluding to their deaths.
Then there I a ten year old girl, who we follow through her diary entries of the time and in current day. Her father, a professor is being accused o the murders n a journalist attaches himself to her, also seemingly desperate to solve the mystery of the girls. Ann’s dad is everything to her as she lost her mum when she was very small and we follow her conflicts of emotion as she struggles with the potential stigmas of having a father as a serial killer and her past shattering around her. I enjoyed the faster pace of the start of the book and the ending where all the loose ends are tied up, I did sleepwalk a little though the mid section but forgave that with the ending. Definitely worth a read.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounding up to 3 stars


I never fully got into this one, the multiple narrative did not work for me.
I found it too confusing, and it broke the story up.

I very much enjoyed the parts with Ann, and her absolute conviction her father was innocent, and the lengths she went to.
Some good plot lines in there, but by the end, I didn't care too much why the killer killed.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anytime I read a Romy Hausman's story I start craving curry wurst or strudel. There's something very German in her story and this one was the one I found more gripping.
A dual timeline, a man who could or couldn't be a series Killer, Berlin.
A well plotted, dark and gripping story
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romy Hausmann writes really unique books and this one is exactly that. I loved it! I highly recommend this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read and share this book.

[Elaine Tomasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of Anatomy of a Killer, a stand-alone set mostly in Berlin in 2017.

When Ann Lesniak’s father, renowned philosopher and anthropologist Walter, is arrested for the murder of nine young children over several years she can’t believe it. Walter refuses to cooperate with the police so Ann decides she will have to prove his innocence herself.

I had a strange reaction to Anatomy of a Killer and I’m not quite sure what to make of it. I haven’t read the author’s work before, so perhaps my reaction is totally normal, but it’s not my usual or what I expected. I loved the novel when I was reading it, but that didn’t give me the urge to read it at all costs or to want to pick it up when I had to put it down.

I should point out that the novel has a format that I don’t particularly like as it switches timelines frequently from the present to the past and sometimes the future, not, I hasten to add, that the future is some kind of time travel thing, it’s an interview with the unnamed killer. It pays to pay attention to the headings for a timeline and for a narrative voice as there is an unidentified creepy voice that hints at nefarious purpose as well as Ann’s present and past narrative and the interviews. It goes without saying that Ann, who drives the novel, is unreliable with her single minded obsession on one man as an alternative to her father being the killer and unhealthy love of her father. And yet, there is a curiosity inducing plot that kept me turning the pages, raising so many questions and a bit of confusion as there isn’t an obvious through line to where it’s going and not offering many answers.

Anatomy of a Killer is a clever novel that constantly keeps the reader off balance. It’s as much about the human mind and the tricks it plays on thinking and belief as it is about who killed 10 little girls and became known as the red ribbon killer. I found it absolutely fascinating, even if it required me to think deeper than I usually do and hurt my brain. I can see why it might not appeal to all readers, but I, personally, found it rewarding and therefore have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

[Tripfiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

Psychological thriller set around BERLIN

3.5*



I read Dear Child by Romy Hausmanm several years ago and it really stuck with me because of the writing, the translation and the reverse timeline story, which was very novel at the time.

Now, Berlin 2017 and young girls have been disappearing over the past few years. There has almost been one killing per year since June 2003. The victims’ whereabouts can sometimes be found through the deliberate signage of a fluttering red ribbon.

Early in the novel, internationally renowned Professor Walter Lesniak is arrested as the perpetrator of these crimes. Professor Death, as he comes to be known in the media, has a daughter, Ann, who is utterly taken aback that her father could be even remotely capable of such heinous crimes. She sets out to discover the truth. Is he culpable or is someone else still free to roam the streets, blithely carrying on with the killing spree?

The narrative hops between 2017 and a more contemporary period and is threaded through with some chapters devoted to “US”, some recordings carried out in 2021 and a few “diary” entries made by Ann as she moves from childhood into adulthood. I found the characters a little dry; the storyline itself ratchets up at intervals but it had the propensity to feel confusing at times, which meant I experienced it as quite stop/start trajectory. The translation is very good, carried out by a very experienced translator, so the uneven pacing will be in the original German construct.

Berlin is largely used as a backdrop in the novel and comes through quite clearly at times:

Marzahn: “Outside, the Landsberger Chaussee flies past, almost entirely swallowed up this morning by the grey fumes from laundry extractors. It’s hard to identify the street signs, tower blocks and trees on either side of the road, and it’s only possible at all if you’re familiar with this area.”

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anatomy of a Killer is a dark, intriguing novel by the author of Dear Child. Centering on Ann, whose father has been arrested for the murder of many young girls but she firmly believes he couldn’t have committed those atrocities. She sets out to prove this…

I really liked the premise of this novel. I found myself very much intrigued as to whether Ann’s father was indeed innocent, and who else could have been the perpetrator if not him. I felt for Ann – what a horrendous situation she’s in! – and was rooting for her to uncover what actually happened, but I did think Ann was quite hard to like. She was pretty dense at times, and completely rigid in her theory of whoever she believed had killed these girls, seeming to ignore any evidence pointing to other people or other situations. However, I do tend to enjoy reading about unlikeable narrators so this wasn’t a negative for me!

The storyline jumps between the present day and the past, though each ‘past’ chapter is clearly marked with the year so I didn’t find it too confusing. However, there’s a number of characters and names to keep track of and I did find myself losing track a bit at certain points with the story dragging slightly.

Overall I really enjoyed the suspense in this novel and the chapters told by the mysterious serial killer – presented as transcripts – were really interesting to read. I think the translator has done a great job highlighting the author’s skilful writing, and there are some twists to keep the reader guessing. So if you fancy a dark and entertaining read, this may be just what you’re after!

Many thanks to the publisher, Quercus Books, for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest review.

[kimberley (thearieslibrary) · Rating 3 out of 5]

When her dad is arrested for the child abductions and murders that have been happening for the last 14 years and dubbed “Professor Death”, Ann begins an investigation of her own to prove it’s all a mistake…

I didn’t feel a connection or really like any of the characters so felt hard to be involved in this story. I liked some aspects of this book more than others like the transcripts, extracts where emotions are described and the meaning behind them as well as one particular POV. I found myself more interested in them than the actual story.

I spent a lot of it feeling confused and not really knowing what was actually going on and even after finishing, I still have questions about what I’ve just read. I feel like a lot of this book felt like an uno reverse, as soon as you thought you had something figured out, the book would then flip that and turn it into something else. Normally these kind of reveals make me shocked but ironically considering one of the conditions that are spoken about in this book, I did not feel anything towards the reveals and didn’t really find them to be reveals. More like things that just happened that a lot of the time failed to build up the suspense and impact that it could have had.

I feel like this book had so much potential but it just wasn’t executed in the right way. I also wasn’t a fan of the ending at all - it just felt like a race to try and wrap everything up.

⚠️ CWs: murder, child abduction, Body injury, vomiting, terminal illness, blood, physical assault, child abuse, alcohol use, cursing, derogatory and ableist language; mentions death of a parent, drug use, car accident, drunk driving, animal death, death by suicide and cancer ⚠️

Thank you NetGalley and Quercus Books for my eARC!

[Megan Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saying I enjoyed this book feels wrong due to the subject matter but for the most part I was gripped by this read and wanting to know what the truth was. The pace was very slow in places and I found myself feeling bored, I am not sure if this is due to it being a translation and some things being lost in translation. My rating would have been higher had the plot felt punchier.
I did really like the characters, they evoked a lot of empathy and I liked following them throughout this plot. There were some twists to the plot and different plot threads that provided some surprises throughout.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not an easy read and although I found it engrossing it was also slightly bleak and depressing.
Ann is close to her father, a university professor in Berlin and is shocked when he is arrested one day and accused of being a serial killer who has murdered a number of young girls and marked their final resting places with red ribbons.
Determined to prove him innocent she sets out to investigate on her own with the help of her friend Jakob.
The story is told from various viewpoints- Anne, the killer and someone interviewing them as well as flashbacks to Anne’s childhood and it is quite difficult to work out how this all fits together.
There are several twists as the book moves along and the reader barely has time to pause for breathe as more information is revealed and Anne’s quest moves out of Berlin to the countryside.
This was an interesting novel but I found many of the characters slightly unpleasant. Anne seemed confused a lot of the time, grasping at straws to prove her father innocent. Of her father the reader learns very little, only what Anne says of him and her childhood recollections which are also part of the novel so he seems slightly remote and the reader does not know whether he is guilty or not.
There is also a lot of violence by various characters which was quite difficult to read. No one in the book seemed to have a happy normal life!
However, if you like serial killer psychological thrillers you will probably like this but it is not a pleasant nor easy read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

[Charlie Morris (Read, Watch & Drink Coffee) · Rating 4 out of 5]

After recently reading and loving Dear Child, I was excited to read another dark, atmospheric thriller by Romy Hausmann, and this one sounded right up my street.

And Anatomy Of A Killer certainly has its atmospheric and bone-chilling moments. The idea is great as we focus on the daughter of a supposed killer as she questions everything she knows about herself and her past. I think it could have been darker at times, but it certainly takes you on a gripping journey of the disturbing way our minds can work.

I really loved the different elements of the narrative. We have Ann's narration in the present, snippets of her thoughts from the past, a narrative from an unknown person who we assume to be the killer, and segments of audio transcripts between the killer and whoever is interviewing them. And because there are so many uncertainties to the different perspectives, your thoughts constantly switch between who you think is behind each voice. Who is in prison? Is the interviewer a relation to them? Who is committing the crimes and in what timeline are they occurring?

So there's a lot to piece together which keeps you guessing throughout. I had many different theories, but there are so many curveballs thrown in that it wasn't an easy one to predict.

And once again, the book is brilliantly translated, so it's definitely worth a shout-out to Jamie Bulloch as well, as he perfectly captures both the blustery settings and the raging emotions throughout.

[Holly Bowden · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all I would just like to thank Quercus Books and Romy Hausmann for my lovely gifted review copy of “Anatomy of a Killer” in exchange for an honest review.

This book is told through multiple POV’s and timelines, as we follow Ann who is convinced her Father has been wrongly accused of being one of the most prolific serial killers of her time, and her journey to prove his innocence.

Several of the POV’s are from sources that remain unknown until the end of the book. This provides the reader with an uneasy feeling, as you remain unsure who to place your trust in.

I did note that unfortunately the prose seemed to flip between past and present, as well as between various voices, much too frequently to be considered completely intelligible. This ultimately left me feeling quite disjointed and at times confused as to where the plot was heading.

However, I will say though that one of the twists definitely took me by surprise and further encouraged me to attempt to keep going. It’s a shame that this bombshell ultimately seemed to not have any relevance to the plot.

There were several characters featured within the novel, that equally seemed to have no or very little relevance to the plot too- this added to the feeling of disorganisation to the book.

Overall, an interesting and (at times) philosophical take on the journey of a daughter tasked with exonerating her father’s reputation.

Would I recommend it? Unfortunately not.

[Alyson Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

After Ann Lesniak’s mother died from cancer when she was young, she has been very close to her father Walter, a university professor of philosophy and anthropology. He’s a calm and quiet man, never raising his voice or losing his temper when she has occasionally gone off the rails. So how can this caring father be the killer of young girls over the last fourteen years, one who leaves a trail of red ribbons to lead to the bodies? When the police arrive and arrest Walter just before Christmas 2017, Ann is determined to prove his innocence and sets out on a quest to find the real killer, especially since her father refuses to talk to police or his lawyer, her godfather Ludwig. Teaming up with her childhood friend Eva and reporter Jakob, the journey takes her from Berlin to a small remote town when another girl is reported missing.
The story is told in several ways which combine to produce a story brimming with suspense and intrigue - Ann’s account as she searches for the truth, her reminiscences of life with her father, snippets from the abductor as they take another girl and interviews in 2021 with the jailed killer. The story is very twisty and brimming with red herrings for the reader to stumble over as the truth is finally revealed. Dark, disturbing and excellently written with some very “interesting” characters, this deep and powerful thriller kept me gripped throughout.

[McBreakneck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romy Hausmann is best known for Dear Child, which I haven't read. I enjoyed Romy Haussmann's Sleepless, so was looking forwards to this.

An unusual angle on a serial k*ller mystery thriller.

Ann's father is arrested for multiple child m*rders, she In convinced of his innocence and determined to find the evidence to clear his name. What happens the crimes don't stop even though the main suspect is behind bars?

I like different angles and unusual characters. There are quite a few named characters and aside from Ann I didn't especially connect with them. The presentation didn't really help the flow, whole pages of text without paragraph breaks.

It's reasonably interesting, but the pivotal question of her father's guilt or innocence wasn't really enough to carry the story for me.

I was hoping for more for more but it kept me reading, I'll happily admit I may have missed something as I didn't find it the easiest book to follow.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

***this was an arc from the publisher - thank you!!!!!***

3/5 stars for this book⭐️⭐️⭐️

this book was such a whirlwind and there were just so many twists and turns i didn’t expect! i had thought that ann was the killer all along - for me to be super duper wrong😂 the plot was pretty interesting and i didn’t expect it to go that way - it was super intense!

i really enjoyed the second latter of the book because things were making sense and i wasn’t confused! honestly it took me a while to get into the book because the way the book was formatted was so confusing and there was really weird spaces and gaps (though this might just be my copy) so it felt super disjointed and it didn’t help with me trying to get into the plot. also sometimes sentences didn’t make sense or flow well - this could be because this is a translation of the book.

anyway for my first thriller novel, this was fun to read and i hope to read more in the future!

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first thought I have with finishing this book is that there is too much going on and too many threads. This detracts from the story and makes finishing the book more of a chore rather than wanting to find out who the killer was.
Ann’s world falls apart when her father is arrested on suspicion of being the “red ribbon serial killer” responsible for abducting and killing 10 young girls, so the girls can be found he leaves a red ribbon tied to a nearby fixture. Ann cannot believe her kind, gentle, loving father could be capable of this and sets out to find the real killer.
Like I mentioned there is a lot going on in this book. Several different narratives, many different time frames and lots of characters. All together it, for me, detracted as apposed to adding to the story. Of course it all comes together at the end but by that stage it’s like….who cares.

#AnatomyOfAKiller. #NetGalley