The Play of Death
July 28, 2017
FICTION
View on Amazon
Have you ever liked the characters in a book more than the plot? Don't get me wrong, The Play of Death has a lot going on, many twists and turns, but I just love the characters so much. Jakob Kusil, a big, scary, hulk of a man, is the town hangman and executioner. Magdalena is his oldest daughter. Simon, a doctor of sorts, fell in love with her back at the series beginning and had to get permission to marry out of his class so they could be together. The author does such a wonderful job with these unlikely heros. He develops them so well, it's like they are people down the street, although the street would be in Europe in 1670. This installment springs from Magalena and Simon's oldest child Peter heading to school in a nearby town, where someone is willing to educate the hangman's bright grandson. It's at this moment, when we are just meeting Peter's new teacher, that we learn of a horrible murder that has just taken place. And so a mystery begins. Like I said, each character is well rounded and although they have faults, like Jakob killing people for a living, the reader still finds a way to like them and care for their many struggles. This is the sixth book in the series and although it isn't necessary to read them in order I think I might at least do The Hangman's Daughter first, as the back story of Jakob is just so interesting. (The book is graphic, as the setting is 1670)
