Andrea Maria Schenkel

Unscathed by the ravages of war, the small village of Tannöd reels from news of the brutal murders of a local family and their newly employed maid. With the killer still at large, questions remain about whether a member of this tightknit community could be capable of such a monstrous act. With fond memories of a past summer spent in the peaceful farming village, the book´s (unidentified) narrator is troubled by reports of the ´murder far´ and returns to uncover the truth behind this senseless tragedy.

It takes four days before someone raises the alarm and discovers the four bodies barely concealed under a thin layer of straw in the cowshed and the two in the house. One after the other, three generations of Danners and their maid were killed in cold blood with a pickaxe. The testimonials of the locals depict the Danners as a strange and secretive family who were regarded with suspicion and were the subject of many rumours. Old Danner was the family patriarch, a proud, cruel and miserly man who married his wife for her assets and treated most he encountered with open contempt, including his wife. After years of abuse, the long-suffering Frau Danner´s only consolations were religion and her two grandchildren. To the outside world her resignation came across as rudeness and lack of hospitality. The nature of old Danner´s relationship with his daughter Barbara has also been the subject of much speculation, as well as the paternity of her two children. This, and Barbara´s perceived promiscuity and pride are frowned on.

Andrea Maria Schenkel´s well-paced and sparingly written debut novel is a fictionalised account of the unsolved 1922 Hinterkaifeck murders, which have been the subject of several books and films. Schenkel doesn´t stray far from the facts of the case or the circumstances of her victims, except in her decision to set the story in the 1950s, and her decision to reveal the killer´s identity.

The author also allows the reader to enter the minds of five of the six victims in the hours and minutes before their deaths. It is here that we see a more sympathetic side of Barbara and her mother, who are often so unflatteringly portrayed by their peers. Schenkel also gives us an insight into the mind of the killer in the days after the murders, as he returns to the scene of the crime to calmly tend to the animals. Unlike the townspeople, Schenkel never judges her characters. With the exception of old Danner, she shows that they are all victims of one kind or another, even the killer. Adding to the eeriness, is the sprinkling of haunting verses from the funeral prayer, the “Litany for the Comfort of Poor Souls”, which seems to reach a fever pitch as the story careens towards a climax. Schenkel´s decision to do away with the first person perspective and the back story of her narrator is inspired. Through this device, or lack thereof, her readers can enter the role of the unseen interviewer, making it a much more immediate experience. Through various testimonials, which also create a strong sense of place and atmosphere, she puts the reader at the centre of the mystery. The reader becomes the surrogate sleuth, helping to solve these unspeakable murders. As Schenkel once said “if you take the reader with you, you don´t have to write it”.

The author´s decision to move the action to just after the Second World War may also be a comment on uncovering Germany´s atrocities after the war. This small town turns a blind eye to the incestuous relationship between old Danner and his daughter and the family´s cruel treatment of a Polish worker that ended in her suicide and ends up paying a high price, their trust and security. Schenkel seems to question how well we know our neighbours and what they get up to behind closed doors. It is easy to see how this book became an international best seller and the basis of a film of the same name released in Germany in 2009. Initially, the non-linear narrative is a bit disorienting, jumping between witness-style statements, to the unmarked musings of the killer and his victims, but it doesn´t take long to get into this new rhythm and then it is almost impossible to put the book down.

Compared to Truman Capote´s “In Cold Blood”, and with an excellent translation by the accomplished Anthea Bell, Schenkel cements herself as a talented and innovative crime writer. This impressive debut will delight fans of the genre and win a few new followers. Her second book “Ice Cold” is also based on the real case of a sex killer and has received high acclaim. Andrea Maria Schenkel is definitely one to watch.

The Book

Schenkel, Andrea Maria: The Murder Farm / translated by Anthea Bell – Quercus, 2008. - 181 pages, ISBN: 978 - 1847243669.
Original title: Tannöd (German)