A very interesting book personally for me to read.I have Dutch family so this book piqued my interest immediately...I thought Friesland was Dutch, you learn something new everyday! Apart from the geography, this was a really good book which has been translated well. A first book in a series that can be read alone also. I thought the characters were well described so I almost felt like I could know them. A police procedural with all the right ingredients for me anyway, would like to read more from this author.

This was such an amazing read that I couldn’t put it down. It went everywhere with me. To the doctors office, the dentist, the eye doctor. IT WENT ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE. I was so sad when it ended that I immediately went and bought more books from this author!

Description
One victim. One murderer. Which of them is guilty? A man is found dead on a beach on a small island off the coast of Germany. The gruesome discovery rocks the close-knit community of Amrum: in a town where nothing stays secret for long, who among them has a motive for murder? DI Lena Lorenzen is brought in to investigate. For her, it is an unwelcome homecoming to the isolated island she turned her back on fourteen years ago. But now her past – and the island’s – is catching up with her. As her investigation leads her to a children’s home, where rumors of abuse by the murder victim are rife, she learns that the town she thought she knew housed secrets darker than nightmares. When it becomes clear that this is just the beginning, Lorenzen is faced with an unenviable task: in a case where the victims have blood on their hands, can she bring the true criminal to justice?

My Review:
The Body on the Beach is the story of DI Lena going home after fourteen years and being thrust into solving the murder of the director of the children's home in Norddorf. There is a reason why DI Lena has not returned home in all those years - but the real issue is what she finds out during her investigation.

I received this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion. As mysteries go this cover some sensitive issues, but overall it is very well written and I highly recommend it.

Really enjoyed this novel, the 1st of the island mystery series. I found Di lena lorenzen to have a very harsh interview technique. At the time of reading I didn’t realise it was a translation which probably explains it. That aside I am very much looking forward to hearing more from these characters and feel it has the beginnings of a very good series.

#TheBodyOnTheBeach #NetGalley
A dead body is found on a beach in Germany. DI Lena Lorenzen is assigned to the case. How she would catch the killer? The book is all about it.
Characterization is clever and it makes you guessing about the killer. A clever whodunit.

#NetGalley #The Body on the Beach #Amazon Publishing

The body on the beach is the first book in the Island Mystery series by Anna Johannsen. This is also the first book by Anna Johannsen that I have read. The story is fast paced, with plenty of twists and turns. It has a touch of romance too. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and can not wait to read more in this series.

I love reading mysteries set in foreign countries and The Body on the Beach by Anna Johannsen is no exception. It is set on the island of Amrum, Germany, where the lead character DI Lena Lorenzen is from. DA Johann Grassman is assigned from another police force to assist her.
Without giving away the plot the story centers on the death of a director of a children’s home under somewhat suspicious circumstances.
The story is interesting and the characters well developed. I especially liked DS Grassman and hope he will return in subsequent books in the series. Description of Amrum definitely makes you want to visit.
This is the first book in a series and I look forward to reading the rest of the series as they become available. I definitely recommend this book without reservation and thank NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Set on a small island off the north coast of Germany, THE BODY ON THE BEACH is the first in a new series by Anna Johannsen. The island of Amrum is one of the North Frisian Islands in the North Sea on the German coast and right away, there is a feeling of separation and isolation of a close knit community where everyone knows everyone but also where dark secrets can hide.

Hein Bohlen and his wife Sabine run a children's home on the island of Aumrum where both are social educators and Hein is a director. Then when Hein's body is found on a beach, local authorities write his death off as a heart attack. But his wife demands a post mortem and it isn't long before poison is suspected but not confirmed throwing a different light on the case.

DI Lena Lorenzen knows the island of Amrum intimately as it's where she grew up but has not returned back to for 14 years. So when her superiors send her off to the island from which she'd come to investigate a possible murder, she does so with mixed feelings. Lena left a lot of unfinished things behind on Amrum - things she would rather not have to face upon her return. Luckily, she has DS Johann Grasmann seconded to assist from Flensburg Police and it isn't long before he proves himself an invaluable investigator and asset.

It isn't long before Lena and Johann uncover several irregularities surrounding the case. Starting with the local police's arrival at the scene and the notification to the doctor who issued the death certificate. What happened in that missing twenty minutes? What was Sergeant Reimers hiding? And then there is the mystery of former teacher Anna Bauer's sudden resignation from the children's home. Why did she suddenly quit without notice? Were the rumours true about her affair with Hein Bohlen? And that she was pressing him to leave his wife? Or was she a victim of sexual harrassment by her employer, as another employee recently claimed a similar incident? Where did Isabel Muller come from prior to applying for Anna's job before the position was even advertised? And where did Hein Bohler really get the €800,000 he put towards the purchase of the home? He claimed he won the lottery, but after a quick and detailed look into the source revealed the letter he put forward stating the fact was indeed a forgery...and he he hadn't won the lottery at all. So where did that money really come from? And why had he taken large amounts of cash from his account over the last weeks before his death? And what of his wife Sabine? Is she as cold and heartless as she appears? But the questioned remained - who would want to kill Hein Bohlen?

With several rumours surrounding the deceased, the questions and irregularities facing Lena and Johann have them digging deep to discover the truth. But what they end up uncovering is something far more sinister, disturbing and shocking.

Well-paced, THE BODY ON THE BEACH is an excellent start to a promising new series. With the inclusion of Lena's childhood love, Erck, leaves the way open to explore more of her backstory hopefully in future books, as well as that of her Aunt Beke who was both a delightful and engaging touch to the story.

I hope we see more of Johann in future stories as I found he and Lena worked incredibly well together and I would love to see him permanently attached as her DS.

Apart from the addition of the odd chapter from an unnamed and rather troubled narrative, THE BODY ON THE BEACH is primarily told from Lena's perspective in the third person. I thought the identity of the unnamed narrative was somewhat obvious but then that could also have been a "red herring". While the reader may think they know where the story is headed, Lena's narrative does provide solid information that will leave readers questioning the truth. Nevertheless, this is still an undemanding and intriguing read.

I would also like to thank Lisa Reinhardt for her smooth translation from German to English. Many books that have been translated from their native tongue usually lose something in the translation making the story a little convoluted in parts but that was not the case here. It's as if the book had always been in English so fluid was her translation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to read this excellent procedural thanks to her effortless translation.

I would like to thank #AnnaJohannsen, #NetGalley and #AmazonPublishingUK for an ARC of #TheBodyOnTheBeach in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free electronic copy of this police procedural set on the islands of Germany from Netgalley, author Anna Johannsen and translator Danice Hamilton, and Amazon Publishing UK. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to recommend The Body on the Beach to friends and family. Lena Lorenzen is a character I thoroughly enjoyed.

Anna Johannsen brings us an excellent German police procedural, taking place on the small insular islands of the Kiel and Amrum. Our main protagonist is DI Lena Lorenzen, who is from Amrum, though she hasn't been home in years, or spoken to her father. When she is called into Detective Superintendent Joachim Warnke's office in her cop shop in Lubeck she assumes she's in it deep again, but instead he is assigning her to investigate a questionable death on the beach of her home island. She is smart enough to know there is something hinky going on, or she would have been at the bottom of the list of detectives for this job, and that goes double when she finds she will be working with Sergeant Walter Reimers who she knows she can't trust to have her back. But she finds DS Johann Grasmann, The Amrum police officer who will be working with her, is competent if perhaps a little too focused on coloring within the lines.

The body on the beach was first diagnosed as a heart attack - the victim, Hein Bohlen, had a history of heart problems. He was the owner and head of a residential children's school under a great deal of stress and pressure, and interviews with his employees and wife, GP and banker point to an uncontrolled constant edge of anger and frenzy in his final days that makes the heart attack sound more and more certain. But for Lena, it just doesn't fit. And there is so much else that just doesn't fit - the thirty minutes of lost time between Sargeant Reimers' arrival at the scene of death and the notification placed with the coroner. Why did Anna Bauer quit her job without notice after years at the school? One recent employee reported a heavy pass pressed on her by Bohlen - did Anna experience the same thing? Who is Isabel Muller who applied for Anna's job before an ad was placed for the position? Where did Hein Bohlen actually get the 800,000 pounds he paid for the school? Why didn't the bank figure out that he didn't actually win the lottery, which was apparent after a simple computer search? Why did he take out a shedload of cash from his account over the last weeks of his life? Is his wife simply well-controlled or cold and heartless? Who would have wanted to Kill Bohlen? More to the point, who wouldn't want to kill Bohlen?

Throw in a boyfriend getting too attached back home, and the re-appearance of the old boyfriend from long ago, also still too attached, and Lena has her hands full. But she can handle it. All.

New to me author and quite an interesting read. I enjoyed this story with its twists and turns, some unexpected some more predictable but overall a good read.

Thanks for my review copy to the publisher, author and NetGalley.

Really enjoyed this book by Anna Johannsen. Being the first book I have read by this author I am now a fan. A intense police procedural that has many twist and turns. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author.
#netgalley
#THEBODYONTHEVEACH

This was a quick crime read for me. Lena is a detective investigating the death of a man in her hometown, but there seems to be more hiding underneath the surface.

I did enjoy reading this book, but at times it felt a little too much like an episode of some TV crime show with the questions the detectives asked and how they led their questioning.

I liked that the main character, Lena, did have some extra levels to her by adding in family info and a love interest.

When a prominent director of a children's home is found dead, an investigation into his death begins by a local police force. Surprised that she is assigned to the case, DI Lena travels to her home island of Amrum to begin her investigation. She quickly realizes that she is in charge of this case because of her any means necessary approach to get the truth. She also learns that there is a lot more to than this one murder to get to the bottom of.

A quick and fast paces read, A Body on the Beach is a great crime drama with a well developed story and interesting characters. I look forward to more from this author.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel.

Inspector Lena Lorenzen is ask if she will go back to the island she grew up on and solve a murder. She is assigned Detective Sergeant Johann Grasmann from another town, she questions if they will be able to work well together but very soon she finds out he is a great worker. The victim was over a children's home. They question the staff and community members to find the murderer.
Lena comes across an old friend. Johann questions some of the methods that Lena uses.
I found this to be very interesting and look forward to other books in the series.

This was a solid police procedural. The setting was interesting and the main lead engaging. I felt the story developed slowly and sometimes seemed to drag. I feel like there is definitely potential in the main character and would read more in the series

An Island Mystery #1

When Hein's bodybwas found on the beach DI Lena Lorenzenhas een assigned the case. Heinz and his wife Sabine run a children's home. There are rumours that abuse was rife there. Lena had turned her back on the island fourteen years ago.

This book has been translated and it did take me a little while to get used to it. The characters are well developed. I really liked Lena and her partner, Johann Grassman. The investigation is complicated. A well written and sinister tale. The author does a great job describing the scenery in Amrum. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Amazon Publishing UK and the author Sibel Hodge for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A nice and smooth police procedural with a great setting and excellent characters. There could have been more suspense, but all in all a pleasant book.

The Body on the Beach by Anna Johansen is an enjoyable mystery novel set on an small island off the coast of Germany.

DI Lena Lorezen is tasked to return to her home island to investigate a suspicious death but with her knowing everybody and with her own chaotic life is she the correct person to lead the investigation?

The book is well written and hopefully there will be more books in the series. Recommended

I cannot quite put my finger on why I enjoyed this book so much, but certainly the characters had a lot to do with it. I couldn’t put it down and took every opportunity to read it. A man is found dead of a heart attack on a beach on Amrum, one of Germany's North Frisian islands in Schleswig-Holstein. DI Lena Lorenzen, who grew up on Amrum, is sent to investigate when traces of poison are found during a postmortem. She’s paired up with Johann, a younger policemen from a different district to investigate. Was the man murdered, or did he die of a heart attack? Those close to him are either difficult or elusive, and gradually it turns out that everyone is not quite who they seem. A mysterious narrator, obviously involved in the death, shares their thoughts and comments on the investigation, thus ramping up the tension. Is there also police skullduggery around the choice of Lena for the investigation? Is she being set up for failure? I was thrilled this book didn’t alternate between past and present. So many of the thrillers I’ve read recently have taken me back in time, often in alternating chapters, and I found this chronological read a pleasant change. It’s also relatively short, and an easy read. The Body on the Beach is not unique; indeed it’s about an unfortunately common theme, yet there was something really compelling about it. Lena is a wonderful character who, despite often being undiplomatically forthright and abrupt, has at least three men in love with her. So there’s a touch of romance wrapped up with the grittiness of the detective work and the horror of the unfolding story. This apparently is the first in a new series, An Island Mystery, and I look forward to meeting Lena again.

A slow starter to begin with. A murder mystery which personally I found to be rather annoying and very predictable. I liked the main characters and the setting. This book reads more like a cosy mystery. I am sure other readers will enjoy it more just not for me.
I would like to thank the author, Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.