Thank you for a change to read this amazing book, a gripping and raise the hairs on the back of your neck type thriller, twists and turns galore, highly recommmend.

Review of "Anatomy of a Killer" by Romy Hausmann

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Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of "Anatomy of a Killer" by Romy Hausmann. This thriller, touted for its twists and turns, delves into the arrest of Walter Lesniak, a renowned philosophy professor suspected of a series of murders spanning over a decade in Berlin.

The novel unfolds through the perspective of Ann, Walter's daughter, who is determined to prove her father's innocence despite overwhelming evidence against him. As the media dubs him "Professor Death," Ann delves into her father's past and the mysteries surrounding the disappearances of young girls marked by red ribbons.

Hausmann's narrative is intricate and layered, blending suspense with psychological depth. However, the pacing felt slow at times, testing my patience before unveiling key revelations. Despite this, the novel's payoff is worth the wait, with twists that challenge assumptions and keep readers guessing until the final pages.

The character development is nuanced, particularly Ann's transformation from disbelief to a relentless pursuit of truth. Walter's enigmatic persona adds complexity, raising questions about guilt and innocence. The exploration of family dynamics and the impact of suspicion on relationships adds depth to the storyline.

Overall, "Anatomy of a Killer" is a solid thriller that balances intricate plotting with compelling characters. While it may start slow, the novel rewards perseverance with a satisfying resolution and thought-provoking themes.

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“Anatomy of a Killer” by Romy Hausmann is a gripping thriller that delves into the dark corridors of crime. Set against the backdrop of Berlin in 2017, the story unfolds with a series of chilling disappearances of young girls over fourteen years, each marked by red ribbons leading to their bodies. The narrative takes a dramatic turn when Walter Lesniak, a renowned philosophy professor and anthropologist, is arrested under suspicion of these heinous crimes.

The plot thickens as we follow Ann, Lesniak’s daughter, who is thrown into a tumultuous journey of discovery and denial. Despite the mounting evidence against her father, Ann is adamant about his innocence and sets out to prove it. Her quest for the truth is a harrowing one, leading her through a labyrinth of lies and revelations that challenge her perception of the man she thought she knew.

The characters are intricately drawn, with Ann’s internal struggle providing a poignant counterpoint to the external investigation. The novel’s structure, with its shifts between past and present, adds depth to the narrative, revealing layers of complexity in both the characters and the plot.

“Anatomy of a Killer” is a dark and disturbing read that offers a compelling mystery and a deep dive into the effects of crime on individuals and families. It is a thought-provoking novel that explores the boundaries of familial loyalty and the lengths to which we will go to protect those we love.

This was a pacy, gripping, tense + captivating thriller that I flew through. The twists kept me engrossed and the writing style was brilliant. It kept me guessing till the end!

Thank you Netgalley + the publisher for my ARC!

Ann is only a young girl when her father is charged with murdering several children aged between six and ten and imprisoned . The killer’s signature was a red ribbon placed at the scene of each crime to signify another killing had taken place. Ann believes he has been wrongly convicted and sets out to prove his innocence.
This was a very interesting concept which I felt the writer handled very well and I enjoyed reading something a little different.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

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!

I liked this then I didn't then it was unbelievable then it wasn't.
I'm not sure about this book, but I read and finished and it was well written.

Good mystery book. Young woman starts an investigation looking for a serial killer who killed 10 little girls, because her father is in jail accused for this crime. I loved the characters and the story line.

I wanted to love this one, but the story was confusing and hard to follow. I found it hard to connect to the main character.

I loved the author last book and was really looking forward to this one. however it fell short for me, set over confusing timelines, it just couldn't keep me engaged. I may pick it up and try again but for now it really wasnt for me.

I do love a new Romy Hausman book and I feel like I’ve been waiting for this one for a while. I found myself pulled into this one by the dramatic opening.

There were times I felt a little lost, however, I quickly became fully engrossed and unwilling to put this one down. I devoured this in just one sitting – with only the regret of not being able to experience this as a first read all over again.

Ann is presented perfectly. As a reader, we experience Ann’s thoughts, feelings and fears. These ooze from the pages and you really feel each aspect. Hausman takes us on an emotional rollercoaster as we go to the depths of the dark.

Ann becomes desperate to prove the innocence of her father which takes us on a journey throughout this one. The multi narrative is an interesting element because it raises questions and keeps you hooked on this one.

This flows at a great pace and is easy to become lost in. I have been sucked in completely. This is a great book and one of my favourites by this author.

I will definitely be recommending this book to fans of the genre.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A gripping but slightly confusing read but one that I couldn’t put down! A good follow up to dear child but perhaps not as good! I

They say he's a murderer.

But how could he be?

Ann's father has been arrested for a string of child murders taking place over the last 14 years.

How could it be true?

Her father, no way! A renowned, highly respected Professor and well known prominent figure, a killer?

Ann simply cannot believe it to be true and she is intent on finding out the truth, at all costs.

A multi pov, whodunit thriller with plenty of twists and turns! This one is quite a dark read, the subject content is a bit grim and I found it very tense at points but, it absolutely kept me on my toes and I was desperate to find out the truth behind the infamous Red Ribbon killer!

Well written, engaging and utterly terrifying! You just don't know secrets people are hiding. People who appear completely normal, those you would and could not ever suspect could actually be capable of such awful things.This one definitely made me think and left me pondering for days.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to reading more of her books.

I wasn't expecting myself to enjoy this book as much as I did, purely because I found books that are translated quite difficult to read but I was hooked on this story.

Told from 3 perspectives, we meet Ann Lesniak, whose father Walter has been arrested and named as Berlin's infamous 'Ribbon Murderer'. According to the police and media he is suspected of murdering 8 young girls all under the age of 12. However, Ann is convinced that her dad has been set up and she is desperate to prove his innocence. Throughout the book we also hear from young Ann and a sinister 3rd perspective that isn't revealed under the end of the book.

Initially the language felt quite laboured but as I became more intrigued by the book the more I enjoyed it. At times it was very fast paced and confusing as so much was going on and everytime I had a theory I was proved wrong.

I would have preferred a slightly different ending but overall I enjoyed reading this book and found it quite captivating.

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. 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 - a university lecturer in philosophy and anthropology - 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.

Hausmann opens the book beautifully with Ann describing her own death (though it's a metaphor of sorts). It's a technique Hausmann adopts a lot. Perhaps too much... in that a scene plays out (potentially a shocking one) but then we learn it's not what happened. It's often Ann's worst nightmare... not realised.

This unfolds via several voices. Ann, of course, as well as someone talking to the children they're (ummm) 'caring' for, and finally an interview with the killer. And in the latter we're not initially told who the interviewer or interviewee are. Hausmann also intersperses the novel with notes written by a young Ann, about feelings and you can see her father has encouraged her to acknowledge and explore sadness, anger, 'ditermination, 'confidens' and 'frite'.

What I particularly liked about this book was that - despite Ann believing her father incapable of such crimes - she sees the obvious connections or coincidences, including her father's anthropological interest in the crimes... wondering if the children knew they were about to die, for example. But Ann asks herself,

'Who would I be - what would remain of me? - if everything I've been up till now turned out to be a lie?'

Dear Child was spectacularly twisty and this is no different. I had a few questions that went unanswered but suspect that's the nature of crimes such as these. Sometimes the 'why' makes no sense at all.

Suspicion and secrets intertwine in this heart-pounding thriller that leads you down a rabbit hole of twists you won't see coming.

A bit of a mix for me. I found the writing style a bit strange to read and not sure if this was the German or the translation. Anyway, the story is good but it's written in quite a strange way. I can't and won't say more than that as it's just not mu cup of tea but I think the basic story is good.

This book was interesting and I liked it. A little harder to read for a person whose second language would be English, but it didn't bother me at all and I could understand the action of the book very well. I also liked the author's way of writing, and the characters were interesting and complex (in my opinion), which helped a lot to create a truly unique story. It is unlikely that you will get bored reading it and I recommend it from the bottom of my heart.

I didnt like that it was set in Germany, However the story was intriging and I didnt really like the characters,

This author is one of my favourites, so I couldn't wait to read this.
I was a little disappointed. and there were one or two things I wasn't keen on.
Anne's father is arrested for the murder of young women over 14 years.
She decides to find the killer herself.
The story is told from different viewpoints which I wasn't too keen on.
Also the flashbacks to Anne's childhood which were essential to the story confused me a little wondering how it all fits together
There is a lot of violence, so be warned!

The characters although well drawn were not always pleasant, so connecting with them was hard for me.
The story is good and as always, the author keeps the tension at a maximum
If you like psychological thrillers, this is a good one to read.
And although I am a fan of the author, this wasnt really one of her best