September 1960. In the Spandauer forest Detectives Max Becker and Bastian Döhl, from the Berlin Kriminalpolizei, find a naked, tortured man tied to a tree. A cryptic message hangs from his neck. When another body appears, Max is sure it won't be the last. The press dub the killer, Der Waldscharfrichter (The Forest Executioner) and graphic tattoos on the bodies suggest that the victims are Russians with a criminal past.
In this first thrilling Max Becker novel, meet the detectives that first appeared in 'Girl Hunter'. As compellingly researched as a Robert Harris novel and fast-paced as a Chris Ryan thriller, the world of Max Becker is never dull!As more bodies and messages appear, they lead Max and his team to a horrific past event, wounds that run deep in the Berlin psyche, plunging Max into a conflict between his sense of duty and justice.
[In the early hours, there has been a great thunderstorm, the rain so heavy that it has put out fires burning around the city]***
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(Slugado Press, 30 July 2019, 420 pages, ebook, copy from the author and voluntarily reviewed)
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I really enjoyed this book. I'd never heard of the author before so had zero expectations. The book is set in the 1960's Berlin and revolves around a series of macabre murders haunting the city, the bodies left with strange and bizarre messages. You find out who the killer is fairly early on which almost disappointed me until their motivations are revealed piece by piece. I thought I knew what was going on but had no real idea. This book offers an interesting take on the effect and impact of PTSD and shows everything is not as simple as it would first appear. Angel Avenger is well researched and well written.