The Murder Farm by Andrea Maria Schenkel

Author : Andrea Maria Schenkel
Title : The Murder Farm
Published : 2006
Publisher : River Run
Pages : 224
Genre : Crime thriller

     A whole family has been murdered with a pickaxe. They were old Danner the farmer, an overbearing patriarch, his put-upon devoutly religious wife, and their daughter Barbara Spangler, whose husband Vincenz left her after fathering her daughter, Marianne. Also murdered was the Danners' new maidservant, Marie, who was regarded as slightly simple. Despite the brutal nature of the killings and the small village where it has taken place, the police have no leads. Officially the crime is unsolved. And then a former resident returns home...The Murder Farm is an unconventional detective story. The author interweaves testament from the villagers, an oblique view of the murderer, occasional third-person narrative pieces, and passages of pious devotion. The narrator leaves the village unaware of the truth, only the reader is able to reach the shattering conclusion.

     The Murder Farm for me was one of those books that went noticed for a very long time. Here in England, I was completely unaware of this author's work. Although once again she is very big in her native country. Maybe we are all too fickle in the authors we choose to let in. For the most part her it is American on English authors that rain supreme. But I digress and should get back to the matter at hand. Recently I have delved into a few german authored books and have so far come away feeling good about the experience I have had with these authors. So I was looking forward to spending some time with this one.

     This book is definitely a strange one in the annals of crime fiction, or rather I should say it is a chimera. Two cells at its genesis from two somewhat different genres under the same umbrella. Schenkel has taken a real-life crime, one that I already had a passing idea about and brought it into the world of fiction. Why you might ask would she do such a thing? Well, this is one of Germany's most famous unsolved crimes. And as we all know us humans do seem to need answers to question even if we were not the ones to ask them. 

     So as we start on our journey with the Danner's for some there may be a little knowledge to hand for others this will be something completely new. So in the vein of a true-crime novels, we get to witness events from several different perspectives. So it would be hard to push forward anyone as the lead of our novel. I would say each encounter does give us a little bit more of and understanding of the family at the heart of this mystery. As they say, anything that is moved leaves a trace of its self. It is these glimpse that hopes to build to something much greater than it's parts. But much like any small village, how much you can trust is anyone guess. We never get to know any of these side characters enough to learn just how trustworthy they may be. 

     Due to its somewhat unique style, I think it is best to approach this as a true crime novel more than a fiction one. This for me is a better way to processes it in my head. It is an enjoyable little book to spend some time with if brutal brutal murders are you sort of thing. I felt the author very much understood where she wants to take the blending of narratives and for me, she a hundred percent achieved this. We have been given the facts of the case plus something more an unnerving vein that runs through us when she steps away from the witness statements. I suppose this comes from the fact it is based on some truth at least. 

     Whilst I would not say you can use this book to learn all the ins and outs of the real murder what Schenkel has done is woven an amazing yarn. Like I said at the start we all seek answers to questions. And here in the absence of any real ones she has created what would be a very plausible series of events that lead to the annihilation of an entire family.  

     For me, I think she has managed to achieve exactly what she set out to do. It is all credit to her that she has created a very intriguing story in such a short number of pages. Having read it in one sitting I can say that I was entranced from the get-go and what more could I ask for.