They call him a murderer...but how could he be...?

Oh my. I was so disappointed with this book sadly. I read and totally loved "Dear Child" so I was thrilled to see this one come up for request. It sounded intriguing. But...

Ann's father is in prison awaiting trial for the murders of several girls over a fourteen year period. Despite the evidence against him, Ann refuses to accept her father's guilt and so embarks on a journey to prove his innocence.

I didn't get that far.

Flipping burgers on Christmas Eve then going home with a customer/friend (still can't work out what he was meant to be) where she got drunk and confessed to the allegations against daddy dearest and her quest to see him free. I honestly couldn't get much past that. I really struggled with the format and the whole story just didn't gel with me. Ann was unlikeable and I found it hard to sympathise much with her. I found her internal dialogue and flashbacks somewhat confusing. But then that could be down to being lost in translation.

I must congratulate the translator as I can't even begin to imagine the task of translating an entire book page by page, line by line, word for word and maintain the integrity of the original. The inclusion of Ann's diary entries that were written phonetically, I think the translator did an astounding job.

At the end of the day, we can't like every book we read. That's never going to happen. You win some, you lose some. I may give this one another go further down the track but as it stands right now I just couldn't get into it. A shame really because "Dear Child" was the bomb. Totally brilliant. But then it was always going to be tough beating that one.

I would like to thank #RomyHausmann, #Netgalley and #QuercusBooks for an ARC of #AnatomyOfAKiller in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

Prepare to be swept away on an exhilarating journey with this extraordinary piece of writing. From the opening lines to the final page, every twist and turn is orchestrated with remarkable finesse, keeping readers like myself entranced and eagerly turning pages.

The author's ability to craft unexpected twists is nothing short of brilliant. Just when you think you have the story figured out, a surprising development sends your assumptions spiraling, leaving you in awe of the narrative's ingenuity. These twists aren't mere gimmicks; they are woven seamlessly into the fabric of the story, enriching the experience and igniting your curiosity.

What truly sets this writing apart is its remarkable talent for turning seemingly insurmountable challenges into beacons of hope. The way the characters confront impossible odds and navigate through adversity not only tugs at your heartstrings but also showcases the resilience of the human spirit. It's a testament to the author's skill that they can elicit such a range of emotions, from tension to elation, all within the span of a few pages.

The pacing is impeccable, offering moments of quiet reflection and intense anticipation in perfect harmony. The world-building is richly textured, providing a backdrop that feels vivid and immersive, enhancing the overall reading experience. The characters are multifaceted and relatable, making their journeys even more impactful as you cheer for their successes and empathize with their struggles.

In an age where predictability often plagues storytelling, this writing stands as a beacon of originality and creativity. It's a rare gem that reminds us why we fall in love with stories in the first place - for the excitement of the unknown, the thrill of discovery, and the power of imagination. If you're seeking a literary adventure that will leave you breathless, hopeful, and hungry for more, look no further. This writing is a masterclass in weaving words into a tapestry of emotions that will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.

I thought this was very unique story and read anything like it before, which is so Important in the popular thriller genre. Creepy story with a dark history. Thoroughly enjoyed this xx

"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 Berling 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.

Whilst I was intrigued by the the blurb on Anatomy of a Killer I didn’t find the novel lived up to the expectations, told over three time lines it seemed muddled to me and the ending was an anti climax, not one of my favourites.

‘They call him a murderer - but how could he be?’ - cover tag line.

My thanks to Quercus Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Anatomy of a Killer’ by Romy Hausmann. It was translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch.

Berlin, 2017 over the past fourteen years a number of young girls have been disappearing. Red ribbons have been placed showing the police the way to their bodies. Yet to date there's been no evidence to lead them to the Ribbon Killer’. 

Then one evening internationally renowned philosophy professor and anthropologist Walter Lesniak is arrested on suspicion of the murders.
The tabloid press are calling him ‘Professor Death’ while Lesniak himself refuses to cooperate with the police.

His daughter, Ann, is certain this is all some kind of mistake and decides that she will prove it, beginning her perilous journey into the unknown . . .

This is the third novel by Hausmann that I have read and so was aware that it would require a closer reading than the majority of crime fiction. The narrative moves about in time following both Ann’ story as well as the sinister voice of the serial killer.

Overall, I found ‘Anatomy of a Killer’ a complex, slow burn of a crime thriller with plenty of twists and turns along the way.

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.

Anatomy of a Killer by Romy Hausmann

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Really lucky I got to read an ebook copy of this early thanks to NetGalley!

The book sounded so interesting and right from the opening I was really into this! The book stayed fast paced all the way through and had some great surprises!

I definitely did guess a couple of plot points within the book but it was still a really enjoyable read! It had some unique elements to it too (no spoilers) but there are some pretty unique insights into Anni’s childhood throughout the book, as well as some fast-forwards to present day that really helped where the book was at in each part!

When Ann Lesniak's father is arrested accused of killing 10 young girls she is determined to prove his innocence. This story follows Ann's determination to prove the actual killer is someone else. The story is told from the point of view of Ann in 2017, her youth, 'US' and recordings made in 2021 between someone who is trying to get to the root of the murders with the protagonist. There are twists and turns galore and it is a definite page turner.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Romy Hausman/Quercus Books for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

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.

✨Imagine living a life withou-✨

Hold your horses. I’m not revealing the plot twist in this book.

Romy Hausmann has done it again. Anatomy of a Killer was an engrossing thriller about a woman, Ann, whose father has been arrested on the suspicion of several murders of young girls. From this begins Ann’s journey to prove her father’s innocence.

Look. As soon as you drop the words serial killer, you’re going to have me. But this one gave me serious Truly, Darkly, Deeply vibes because we read from the perspective of the daughter of the man who was arrested. This angle made the book so compelling because we sympathise for Ann and want her to uncover the truth. After all, no one wants their dad to turn out to be a murderer.

Read if you:
· Love a good serial killer
· Are fascinated by people who are not who they say they are
· Think cold weather is the perfect setting for a crime novel
· Have a compulsive need to know why people do the things they do

How far would YOU go, driven by familial loyalty?

Told from three perspectives, this is really interesting story. It took a little time for me to settle, as a reader, into switching between various voices, but the narrative remained compelling throughout.

It is 2017 in Berlin, and for the last decade and a half young girls have been disappearing, with no suspect in sight. They are found with a trail of red ribbons leading to their bodies, but the serial killer responsible has yet to be apprehended.

Until, that is, a middle-aged philosophy professor is arrested on suspicion of being the 'Red Ribbon Killer'. As Walter Lesniak is taken away in front of her, his daughter Ann vows to prove him innocent, beginning a crusade where almost nothing is off the table.

Of the three voices, Ann's tugged at me most strongly, although the insight provided into the killer's mindset is also compelling. This was a brilliant idea for a novel - and while not entirely unflawed in its execution, it nevertheless made for a gripping read.

Ann's father, Walter Lesniak, has been arrested as a serial killer. One who took children, killed them, leaving their bodies marked by red ribbons. She is completely convinced that he is innocent but is confused that he is not fighting the arrest charge. So she does the only thing she can, she starts to investigate herself... She has an alternative suspect, she just has to prove it was him instead...
As well as what is happening in the present, we also re-visit Ann's past. We see a scene play out and then examine the emotion around it from Ann's point of view at whatever age. It's interesting to see how she changes, matures, as she grows up.
And then there are "interviews" with the killer... these add a whole other insight into what is going on as the rest of the book plays out.
I have to admit that Ann did frustrate me along the way. Some of her motivations and actions did seem questionable at the time, but I guess, as I got to know her better as the book and story progressed, I did get to understand her and, maybe, like her a bit better...
And all those things together give credence to the eventually ending which is both shocking and satisfying. And also gave me food to do some more reading up about the subject. Spoilers prevent me mentioning anything here but it's so very fascinating, Please do also read the Afterword.
It's clever and disturbing and emotional, pulling no punches along the way. But it's also fascinating and compelling and made me keep reading. I've already read and enjoyed Dear Child and Sleepless by the same author so, if you do like this one, you could move on to them too.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I wanted to like this, but I couldn't even get past 6% - especially because I was reading on the kindle and it was so poorly formatted it was impossible to read - even words were cut off on one line and finished on another. It was not possible for me to continue anymore because of this formatting. Such a shame.

Overall I did enjoy the suspense of this book.
Multiple narratives which I do like.
Dark Story, fairly predictable ending I found.
I did enjoy the killers interviews that were intertwined.
Few twists to keep the reader interested. Found it quite fast paced.

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.

A brilliant dark read I couldn’t put down. I really enjoyed this book #AnatomyOfAKiller
The story is told in 3 POV’s but mainly through Ann as she begins her own investigation to prove her dad’s innocence. But he his keeping quiet.
I love the authors writing style. It’s just brilliant at describing situations of feelings and it adds a creepy element to the story creating a dark, suspenseful atmosphere. The storyline kept me gripped and I loved the twists.
A brilliant rollercoaster of a story. Definitely recommend.
Can’t wait to read more from this author @RomyHausmann.
Thanks to #NetGallery and @quercusbooks for an arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Book publishes 3 August 2023.

Oh I am so disappointed, I wanted to love this novel so very much but it just was not for me.

The blurb sounded amazing a right up my street, but I could not seem to get into it and found myself really confused. The novel changed pace quite rapidly and I think that this is what really threw

The reader follows main character Ann, her father has been arrested for the awful murders of young girls and Ann believes her father is innocent. Ann starts looking at other potential people that may be the real killer and I found the character to be quite overly head-strong whilst doing this.

As many other reviewers have mentioned, the translation seemed well done but for me I think it just really threw me off the story, as I found that I was re-reading chunks of text. to find out what was happening.

Thanks to Netgalley, Romy Hausmann and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my review.

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

I was looking forward to reading this after reading ‘Dear Child’ also from the author Romy Hausamann. I intrigued by the premise of the story of Ann daughter of Walter Lesniak, who us accused of being ‘Berlin ‘red ribbon’, murderer. Who killed 10 girls. She knows he is innocence, so she goes above and beyond to clear his name. I was hooked from the start but as I carried on reading and just got confused in the story going back and forth in time. So I lost connecting to it and struggled though the latter of the story 3 stars.