The Play of Death

A Hangman's Daughter Tale, Book 6

By: Oliver Pötzsch, Lee Chadeayne - translator

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

The mysterious sixth entry in the Hangman's Daughter series.

It is 1670 and Simon Fronwieser is in the town of Oberammergau to bring his seven-year-old son to boarding school. As he bids his boy a tearful farewell, news comes of a shocking murder: the man who was to play the part of Christ in the town's Passion play has been found dead, nailed to the set's cross. As there is no doctor in town, Simon is brought in to examine the body. The opportunities to spend more time with his son and to investigate the murder quickly convince him to stay.

Soon he is joined by his father-in-law, Jakob Kuisl, the Schongau hangman, and the two begin piecing together the puzzle of the actor's death. Was he murdered by a jealous rival? Are the recently arrived and unpopular immigrant workers somehow involved? Or is it a punishment from God for the villagers' arrogance in trying to schedule the play four years earlier than prescribed by ancient custom? Once again it looks like it is up to the Kuisls to unravel the mystery and bring a town's dark secrets to light.

©2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2017 Lee Chadeayne.; 2016 Oliver Pötzsch

Always surprised!

Love all the Hangman books! I love the characters, the humor, history and clever stories!

Another great entry

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series from the first book. This one is no exceptio. indeed, I think it may be the best of the series.

another great hangmans daughter book

I really enjoy these book. they get harsh at times but they also show the beginings of compassion and caring in a society. the narration is perfectly suited to the story.

Hangman's daughter series

I have really enjoyed this series, unlike most books set in that time this series describes the filth that was common on the streets, human waste etc. The characters are easy to follow, this is not a series where you know the plot within the first chapter, making it fun to read along and try to figure out who the culprits are. I hope you enjoy these books as much as I have.

good story

well done. the last book made me worried the series was getting schmultzy but this was a perfectly executed rendition of actual circumstance manipulated by fictional characters.