Three Great Books by Oliver Potzsch

In April I devoured three great books by Oliver Potzsch, a German author.  The series and first volume were entitled The Hangman's Daughter.  The Dark Monk was the second followed by The Beggar King.  The fourth book, due out in the U.S. July 16, 2013, is The Poisoned Pilgrim.

The setting is primarily in Schongau, Germany beginning in 1659.  The main characters are Jakob Kuisl and his daughter Magdalena.  Jakob is a hangman, an "untouchable" second class citizen with a rigorous and important job.  I enjoyed learning about the day to day life of the time as well as the use of medicinal herbs common among hangmen and midwives.  These books are, in fact, very intriguing mysteries. Since herbal and homemade cure or preventatives appeal to me I found myself  highlighting a lot of passages in my Kindle. 

This book series appealed to me on another level as well.  Actual people are the key figures in the books as Oliver Potzsch is a descendant of Jakob Kuisl.  Potzsch used family and public records to help flavor his books and develop his characters.  I've researched a lot of family history but have not found characters as captivating as the Kusil family.

A third dimension to the books is a travelogue of sorts in the back of the books which describes the areas you can visit to day and some of the historic building that still stand from the 1600's. 

All of these great attributes could not hold my attention if it were not for Potzsch's remarkable storytelling and mystery development.  Grab one of these books (I would suggest The Hangman's Daughter), and maybe a nice herbal tea, then enjoy a great story.  You do have time to read all three before book four is available to U.S. audiences.