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The Ice Queen: A Novel (Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein, 3) Paperback – December 29, 2015

by Nele Neuhaus (Author)

4.2 524 ratings

Book 3 of 4: Bodenstein & Kirchoff series

Editors' pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

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Nele Neuhaus's The Ice Queen is a character- and plot-driven mystery about revenge, power, and long-forgotten and covered up secrets from a time in German history that still affects the present.

The body of 92-year-old Jossi Goldberg, Holocaust survivor and American citizen, is found shot to death execution style in his house near Frankfurt. A five-digit number is scrawled in blood at the murder scene. The autopsy reveals an old and unsuccessfully covered tattoo on the corpse's arm―a blood type marker once used by Hitler's SS.

Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver Bodenstein are faced with a riddle. Was the old man not Jewish after all? Who was he, really? Two more, similar murders happen―one of a wheelchair-bound old lady in a nursing home, and one of a man with a cellar filled with Nazi paraphernalia―and slowly the connections between the victims becomes evident: All of them were lifelong friends with Vera von Kaltensee, baroness, well-respected philanthropist, and head of an old, rich family that she rules with an iron fist.

Pia and Oliver follow the trail, which leads them all the way back to the end of World War II and the area of Poland that then belonged to East Prussia. No one is who they claim to be, and things only begin to make sense when the two investigators realize what the bloody number stands for, and uncover an old diary and an eyewitness who is finally willing to come forward.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Intriguing...Corpses turn up amid hefty doses of sexual intrigue. Readers need to pay close attention to this solidly plotted and densely populated drama full of red herrings, lest they miss key clues.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Lies and revenge are the driving forces of this intelligent mystery. Neuhaus manages a large cast of characters while skillfully executing plot twists. Newcomers to this series will have no problem jumping in with this book and will likely be interested in reading more.” ―Library Journal

“...action packed [and] darkly mysterious. With surprising depth and some downright funny moments, The Ice Queen is a perfect balance of the humorous and the macabre.” ―Shelfawareness

“A meaty and substantial novel, enlivened by the personal lives of the principal characters and the genuine-sounding relationships among the detectives.” ―Critics at Large

“The Ice Queen is a totally engrossing story. If you haven't found this series yet, you're missing some great reads.” ―Bookloons.com

About the Author

NELE NEUHAUS is one of the most widely read German mystery writers and the author of Snow White Must Die and Bad Wolf. More than four million copies of her books are currently in print. She lives near Frankfurt, Germany.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Minotaur Books; Reprint edition (December 29, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250081300
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250081308
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.82 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,387,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,778 in International Mystery & Crime (Books)
- #17,745 in Murder Thrillers
- #18,385 in Police Procedurals (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 524 ratings

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Nele Neuhaus

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Nele Neuhaus is one of Germany’s most widely read crime authors, thanks to her thrillers featuring the investigative duo of Oliver von Bodenstein and Pia Kirschoff, which were recently launched in English with Snow White Must Die. A longtime resident of the Taunus Mountains, her novels have been translated into twelve languages. To learn more about her, visit www.neleneuhaus.de

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4.2 out of 5

524 global ratings

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Georgiapoet

Addictive Crime Novel with WWII Interest

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2015

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I stayed up till 2:00 am, skipped a party, and was lost to my family in the two days that it took me to read this book. The novel is full of unexpected plot twists and character revelations that upend what you've thought while reading. I particularly liked the focus on WWII perpetrators and victims, and the questions about guilt and justice with which the novel engages. Yes, the villain is ultimately a bit too over-the-top-evil, with not enough nuance, and yes, the array of characters is dizzying and I had to make notes to myself as I read. I'm still not exactly sure why one character is killed, and the body count is high. However, the novel isn't gory or gratuitously violent. Of most interest is the dialogue and the very likeable central characters, especially the smart main female detective, Pia. I loved the German setting as well. In short, a fun escape, well-translated.

3 people found this helpful

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gammyjill

Good German police procedural...

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2015

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"The Ice Queen", by German author Nele Neuhaus, is the seventh in the "Kirchoff/von Bodenstein mystery series. I have not read the preceding six. Set in the Taunus area, north of Frankfurt, the book is similar to the police procedurals from the UK which feature a chief detective and his group of underlings, charged with investigating a very gruesome crime. These series tend to follow the lives and careers of the police from book to book. For a reader, reading a successive book in a series is often like catching up with old friends.

An old man is found shot to death in his home, execution-style and Bodenstein and his crew are brought in to investigate the murder. The victim, a Jewish man who had survived the Holocaust and then moved to the US and made a fortune, has returned to the Frankfurt area to live out his last years. But during the autopsy, it's discovered that this Jewish man was not exactly Jewish. He has a tattoo, sure, but it's not that of a concentration camp prisoner; it's the blood-type tattoo of a member of the Waffen-SS. Soon, two other old people are found shot in the same style and careful examination at their pasts also turn up Nazi connections. A local family of wealthy industrialists are at the center of the investigation and as the bodies pile up, Bodenstein is tasked with putting the disparate parts together. The "Ice Queen" is the matriarch of the family. Many of the book's characters are not who they say they are and the sins of war time are brought forward seventy years. The murders occur in Frankfurt in the 2010's but are echos of those which took place in the 1940's in the eastern area of Prussia.

Nele Neuhaus is a good writer. She has written interesting characters and the plot, while a bit convoluted, holds together nicely. Curiously, she did not use or expand on the most interesting plot point - a Nazi SS officer who escapes after the war by assuming a Jewish identity. Years ago, the author Robert Fish, wrote a fascinating novel called "Pursuit", which was the story of an SS officer who plans to evade the Allied forces after WW2 by adopting a Jewish identity, including undergoing plastic surgery to make himself look more Semitic. It's no longer in print, but if you can find a used copy, it's well worth reading.

"The Ice Queen" is the first Neuhaus book I've read, but I'll be back for more.

9 people found this helpful

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joy white

Great mystery with a gripping plot.

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2015

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This is the best book I have had the privilege to read in a long time. Historically correct with a complex plot that is gripping from start to finish. Prussia in 1945 plays a pivotal role in this utterly absorbing and riveting thriller. The characters are believable with a meticulous attention to detail that holds the reader spellbound. Germany in 1945 had thousands of S.S. members - all of whom were trying to hide their identity, thus allowing for this multilayered thriller. The collaboration of of the collected will of investigating officers, who are obsessively determined to find the truth ,go back to the place where it all began and disclosure of evidence draws this intricately and gripping novel to a brilliant end. I am now reading a second book, Bad Wolf by Nile NeuHaus. Have good things to say. Love that I have discovered this amazing author!

2 people found this helpful

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Ray J. Palen Jr.

Unique thriller that falls just short of greatness.

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2015

The latest novel by the best-selling author of SNOW WHITE MUST DIE, German writer Nele Neuhaus, starts off with a bang and an exciting premise. Regrettably, it gets bogged down along the way with too many characters and plot-lines and the tension abates dramatically in place of soap opera-like events.

At the opening of THE ICE QUEEN we are met with an elderly man, recently having moved back to his home country of Germany after decades in the United States, who is soon brutally murdered in his own home. Ninety-two-year-old Jossi Goldberg was a Holocaust survivor. How ironic that he should escape that horror only to meet his end in such terrible fashion.

Detectives Pia Kirchoff and her boss, Oliver Bodenstein, are on the case and they uncover some remarkable things at the crime scene. First off, nothing was taken and there is no evidence of forced entry. There is also the series of numbers scrawled in blood on the floor near the body. When additional bodies turn up, all featuring the same gruesome message written in blood, Pia and Oliver realize the murders are all related.

What their investigation turns up is something decidedly unexpected. When the son of the first victim arrives with a caravan of lawyers to whisk away his father's body there is suspicion that they are seeking to hide something. Imagine that the victims were not all Holocaust survivors but actually members of the Nazi regime --- possibly even members of the SS?!?!

This plot twist is indeed an interesting one and plays into the moral and social conscience of the entire country of Germany still seeking to escape from the atrocities committed during WWII. When it appears that a rich and powerful German socialite may be behind the murders, the so-called Ice Queen of the novel's title, all focus of the investigation shift to her and her family and how they all interconnect with the victims.

It is at this point where the novel runs slightly off the rails as so many new characters and plot-lines are introduced you will need a scorecard to keep everything straight. This diminishes the intensity that the opening of the novel promised and was a disappointment. Thankfully, Neuhaus begins to bring it back around in the latter part of the story and is able to throw a few surprises in as well.

Overall, a unique plot and interesting idea for a thriller that falls just shy of being a great novel. The interaction between Pia and Oliver is believable and well-drawn and this is enough to keep the reader interested even when the mystery elements get a bit muddled.

Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Dace Lubiņa

👌🏻

Reviewed in Germany on July 8, 2023

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J Bannion

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2022

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Pia Kirchoff and Oliver Von Bodenstein begin by investigating the murder of an old Jew, but soon find themselves with more than they had bargained for. As one murder follows another, the discovery that the original victim was not a Jew but a member of Hitler's SS squad, points to a long, forgotten story in the final days of the Third Reich. As the old, deadly secrets are eventually exposed, danger lurks on every corner. An amazing storyline linking the present with the past, which I found very satisfying. Fortunately, there were a lot less acronyms on this one.

Andy

Good

Reviewed in Canada on January 22, 2018

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This is one of the better Scandinavian detective novela

Benin

Sje is one of the best author.

Reviewed in India on August 7, 2017

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wow...I just loveher books.....I just cant keep my book down....Sje is one of the best author....and the book is Super Awesome....Love it a lot