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New essays by leading scholars examining today's vibrant and innovative German crime fiction, along with its historical background. Although George Bernard Shaw quipped that "the Germans lack talent for two things: revolution and crime novels," there is a long tradition of German crime fiction; it simply hasn't aligned itself with international trends. Duringthe 1920s, German-language writers dispensed with the detective and focused instead on criminals, a trend that did not take hold in other countries until after 1945, by which time Germany had gone on to produce antidetective novels that were similarly ahead of their time. German crime fiction has thus always been a curious case; rather than follow the established rules of the genre, it has always been interested in examining, breaking, and ultimately rewriting those rules. This book assembles leading international scholars to examine today's German crime fiction. It features innovative scholarly work that matches the innovativeness of the genre, taking up the Regionalkrimi;crime fiction's reimagining and transforming of traditional identities; historical crime fiction that examines Germany's and Austria's conflicted twentieth-century past; and how the newly vibrant Austrian crime fiction ties in with and differentiates itself from its German counterpart. Contributors: Angelika Baier, Carol Anne Costabile-Heming, Kyle Frackman, Sascha Gerhards, Heike Henderson, Susanne C. Knittel, Anita McChesney, Traci S. O'Brien, Jon Sherman, Faye Stewart, Magdalena Waligórska. Lynn M. Kutch is Professor of German at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Todd Herzog is Professor and Head of the Department of German Studies at the University of Cincinnati.
A companion to contemporary German crime fiction for English-speaking audiences is overdue. Starting with the earlier Swiss “classics” Glauser and Dürrenmatt and including a number of important Austrian authors, such as Wolf Haas and Heinrich Steinfest, this volume will cover the essential writers, genres, and themes of crime fiction written in German. Where necessary and appropriate, crime fiction in media other than writing (TV-series, movies) will be included. Contemporary social and political developments, such as gender issues, life in a multicultural society, and the afterlife of German fascism today, play a crucial role in much of recent German crime fiction. A number of contributions to this volume will comment on the literary reflection of these issues in the texts. The goal of the volume is to make available to English-speaking audiences, to students, teachers and to a wider circle of interested readers, a series of articles on genres, topics, authors, and texts that will help them understand the scope and depth of German crime fiction, its ties to international traditions and also the specificity of the German context, its historical development and contemporary situation.
“[A] tantalizingly disturbing debut...As enthralling as it is thought-provoking.” -New York Times Book Review Bustle Best Books of Fall 2020 Publishers Weekly Top 10 Mysteries & Thrillers of Fall 2020 She Reads Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2020 A woman held captive finally escapes—but can she ever really get away? Gone Girl meets Room in this page-turning, #1 internationally bestselling thriller from one of Germany’s hottest new talents A windowless shack in the woods. A dash to safety. But when a woman finally escapes her captor, the end of the story is only the beginning of her nightmare. She says her name is Lena. Lena, who disappeared without a trace 14 years prior. She fits the profile. She has the distinctive scar. But her family swears that she isn’t their Lena. The little girl who escaped the woods with her knows things she isn’t sharing, and Lena’s devastated father is trying to piece together details that don’t quite fit. Lena is desperate to begin again, but something tells her that her tormentor still wants to get back what belongs to him...and that she may not be able to truly escape until the whole truth about what happened in the woods finally emerges. Twisty, suspenseful, and psychologically clever, Romy Hausmann's Dear Child is a captivating thriller with all the ingredients of a breakout hit. “Chilling, original and mesmerizing.” —David Baldacci
You escaped. But he will never let you go. Now a major Netflix series A windowless shack in the woods. Lena's life and that of her two children follows the rules set by their captor, the father: meals, bathroom visits, study time are strictly scheduled and meticulously observed. He protects his family from the dangers lurking in the outside world and makes sure that his children will always have a mother to look after them. One day Lena manages to flee - but the nightmare continues. It seems as if her tormentor wants to get back what belongs to him. And then there is the question whether she really is the woman called 'Lena', who disappeared without a trace over thirteen years ago. The police and Lena's family are all desperately trying to piece together a puzzle that doesn't quite seem to fit. 'Chilling, original and mesmerising. Hausmann is a force to be reckoned with' DAVID BALDACCI 'Couldn't put this book down, loved every minute' 5* READER REVIEW 'A peerless exercise in suspense' FINANCIAL TIMES 'So many twists and turns, you can barely catch your breath!' 5* READER REVIEW 'Will haunt you long after the last page' ALICE FEENEY 'A nail-biting page turner' 5* READER REVIEW 'Keeps you guessing' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Addictive' 5* READER REVIEW 'Intelligent and original' SUNDAY INDEPENDENT 'Loved everything about this book' 5* READER REVIEW 'Claustrophobic, terrifying and fiercely compelling' DAILY MAIL 'If you loved Room you will love this' 5* READER REVIEW 'Disturbingly good' LESLEY KARA 'Gripping, astounding, heart-pounding' 5* READER REVIEW 'Gripping, suspenseful and beautifully written' JO SPAIN
Investigating Identities: Questions of Identity in Contemporary International Crime Fiction is one of the relatively few books to date which adopts a comparative approach to the study of the genre. This collection of twenty essays by international scholars, examining crime fiction production from over a dozen countries, confirms that a comparative approach can both shed light on processes of adaptation and appropriation of the genre within specific national, regional or local contexts, and also uncover similarities between the works of authors from very different areas. Contributors explore discourse concerning national and historical memory, language, race, ethnicity, culture and gender, and examine how identity is affirmed and challenged in the crime genre today. They reveal a growing tendency towards hybridization and postmodern experimentation, and increasing engagement with philosophical enquiry into the epistemological dimensions of investigation. Throughout, the notion of stable identities is subject to scrutiny. While each essay in itself is a valuable addition to existing criticism on the genre, all the chapters mutually inform and complement each other in fascinating and often unexpected ways. This volume makes an important contribution to the growing field of crime fiction studies and to ongoing debates on questions of identity. It will therefore be of special interest to students and scholars of the crime genre, identity studies and comparative literature. It will also appeal to all who enjoy reading contemporary crime fiction.
From Ferdinand von Schirach, one of Germany’s most prominent defense attorneys, comes a jolting debut collection of short stories that daringly brings to light the motivations stirring within the criminal mind. By turns witty and sorrowful, unflinchingly brutal and heartbreaking, the deeply affecting, quietly unnerving cases presented in Crime urge a closer examination of guilt and innocence. In “Fähner,” a small-town physician and avid gardener betrays little emotion when he takes an ax to his wife’s head, an act that shocks the locals but provides a long-awaited reprieve for the good doctor. Abbas, a Palestinian refugee who is cornered into a life of crime, finds true love and seemingly a saving grace with a beautiful student named Stefanie in “Summertime.” But when she is viciously murdered in a hotel room after having been paid to sleep with one of the country’s wealthiest men, is Abbas to blame or is it the man who seems to have it all? And in the startling story “Love,” a young man’s infatuation with his girlfriend takes a grisly turn as he comes to grips with his unconventional—and uncontrollable—impulses to truly know a woman. “Guilt,” writes von Schirach, “always presents a bit of a problem.” In this beautifully nuanced and telling collection, guilt is indeed never as clear-cut as the crime, and justice is more nebulous still.
It provides English-language readers with easy access to the history and development of German-language crime fiction for the first time. Contains a chronology of German-language crime fiction. Key dates, developments and texts are presented in a tabular form at the beginning of the volume. This is a unique selling point (new to the series) and provides the reader with an ‘at a glance’ overview of the volume. an introductory chapter that provides a comprehensive overview of the development of German-language crime and its key concepts and trends from the nineteenth century to the present day (including East German, Turkish-German, Jewish-German and regional crime). The chapter can be read as a standalone, but also acts as a gateway to the volume’s chapters. The chapters provide the reader with a wealth of information about key areas of crime fiction from around the German-speaking world. an annotated bibliography of published and online resources. This will be particularly useful for scholars in the field. a map of the German-speaking world that allows readers to see the majority of different geographical regions discussed in the volume.
The first broad treatment of German genre fiction, containing innovative new essays on a variety of genres and foregrounding concerns of gender, environmentalism, and memory. Some of the most exciting research and teaching in the field of German Studies is being done on "genre fiction," including detective fiction, science fiction, and what is often called "poplit," to name but a few. Such non-canonical literature has long been marginalized by the German tradition of Bildung and the disciplinary practice of German literary studies (Germanistik). Even today, when the examination of non-canonical texts is well established and uncontroversial in other academic contexts, such texts remain understudied in German. And yet, the trend toward "German Studies" and "cultural studies" approaches within the field has raised considerable interest in theanalysis of genre fiction, resulting in both a great deal of new scholarship and a range of new courses. This first broad treatment of German genre fiction brings together innovative new scholarship, foregrounding themes of gender, environmentalism, and memory. It is an ideal companion to research and teaching. Written in accessible English, it speaks to a wide variety of disciplines beyond German Studies. Contributors: Bruce B. Campbell, Ray Canoy, Kerry Dunne, Sonja Fritzsche, Maureen O. Gallagher, Adam R. King, Molly Knight, Vibeke Rützou Petersen, Evan Torner, and Ailsa Wallace. Bruce B. Campbell is Associate Professor of German Studies at the College ofWilliam and Mary. Alison Guenther-Pal is Assistant Professor of German and Film Studies at Lawrence University. Vibeke Rützou Petersen is Professor Emerita of Women's Studies at Drake University.
I am Your Judge, the latest Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein novel from internationally bestselling author Nele Neuhaus, is tightly plotted, and delivers surprise twists at every turn with a story that is ripped from the headlines. Police Detective Pia Kirchhoff is about to leave on her long-delayed honeymoon when she receives a phone call from police headquarters: An elderly woman has been shot and killed while walking her dog. Neither her grieving daughter nor any of her acquaintances have an explanation for the horrifying murder. Ingeborg Rohlehder was well-liked and a generous, loving woman. A short while later, another murder is committed and the modus operandi is eerily similar — a woman is executed by a precisely aimed bullet to the head that smashes through her kitchen window while she is baking cookies . . . and in both cases the same weapon fired the shot from a distance only a trained sniper could manage. Two more murders follow in short order. None of the victims had enemies and no one knows why they were singled out. As fear of the Taunus Sniper grows among the local residents, the pressure rises on Detective Kirchhoff. She and her partner, Oliver von Bodenstein, search feverishly for a suspect who appears to murder at will, but soon realize that “The Judge,” as the sniper calls himself, seems to have a mission—a mission that has not reached its conclusion yet. As the investigation progresses, the police officers uncover a human tragedy that will shake them to the core.
With the growth of printing in early modern Germany, crime quickly became a subject of wide public discourse. Sensational crime reports, often featuring multiple murders within families, proliferated as authors probed horrific events for religious meaning. Coinciding with heightened witch panics and economic crisis, the spike in crime fears revealed a continuum between fears of the occult and more mundane dangers. In Crime and Culture in Early Modern Germany, Joy Wiltenburg explores the beginnings of crime sensationalism from the early sixteenth century into the seventeenth century and beyond. Comparing the depictions of crime in popular publications with those in archival records, legal discourse, and imaginative literature, Wiltenburg highlights key social anxieties and analyzes how crime texts worked to shape public perceptions and mentalities. Reports regularly featured familial destruction, flawed economic relations, and the apocalyptic thinking of Protestant clergy. Wiltenburg examines how such literature expressed and shaped cultural attitudes while at the same time reinforcing governmental authority. She also shows how the emotional inflections of crime stories influenced the growth of early modern public discourse, so often conceived in terms of rational exchange of ideas.