Sins of the fathers…
Bad Wolf
Nele Neuhaus
St. Martin’s Press
Minotaur Books
ISBN: 9781250043993
Description:
On a hot June day the body of a sixteen-year-old girl washes up on a river bank outside of Frankfurt. She has been brutally murdered, but no one comes forward with any information as to her identity. Even weeks later, the local police have not been able to find out who she is…
Then a new case comes in: A popular TV reporter is attacked, raped, and locked in the trunk of her own car. She survives, barely, and is able to supply certain hints to the police, having to do with her recent investigations into a child welfare organization and the potential uncovering of a child pornography ring with members from the highest echelon of society. As the two cases collide, Inspectors Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein dig deep into the past and underneath the veneer of bourgeois society to come up against a terrible secret that is about to impact their personal lives as well.
In Bad Wolf, tensions run high and a complex and unpredictable plot propels her characters forward at breakneck speed.
My View:
Not for the faint hearted.
This is a narrative about particularly heinous crimes and the brutally of life. We all wish to believe in the essential goodness and kindness of others, Neuhaus makes it blatantly clear that we cannot always rely on appearances or position in society when judging our neighbours and she suggests it is often those closest to us that do the most damage. We are asked to stop and consider the world we live in and the injustices that abound. This is a powerful and at times horrific story of abuse and corruption, it is hard hitting, brutal, confronting, graphic and challenging. And it is a powerful work of crime fiction that could easily and comfortably mimic many a current TV or news report where ever you are reading this.
Be very scared of the Big Bad Wolf…
Reading, Writing and Riesling 
Carol – It certainly does sound like a novel to read when one is ready for ‘unflinching.’ It sounds as though there are some important social and other questions to be considered, too, and I always find that interesting. Definitely something to think about for one of those ‘brave’ reading times.
Hi Margot – this novel doesn’t hold back on presenting some dire issues.
I’m finding every second book at the moment is about child abuse – it’s become a kind of fashion in crime fiction. This one sounds too dark and graphic for my tastes, I’m afraid.
There is a definite trend at the moment…I suppose it is good that the subject is being discussed…