The Ice Queen

November 24, 2014
In German author Neuhaus’s intriguing third series thriller to be published in the U.S. (after 2014’s Bad Wolf), Det. Insp. Pia Kirchhoff and Supt. Oliver von Bodenstein of the Hofheim Regional Criminal Police in Hesse investigate the shooting murder of David Goldberg, a former White House adviser and revered member of the Frankfurt Jewish community. When an autopsy uncovers an SS tattoo on Goldberg’s left shoulder, it becomes clear that the old man is not the Holocaust survivor he claimed to be. Enter Goldberg’s friend, the wealthy matriarch Vera von Kaltenese, and her dysfunctional family members, who resist helping the detectives. Kirchhoff and Bodenstein discover a hidden trove of Nazi memorabilia and question a host of dubious characters, including down-on-his-luck pornographer and biographer Thomas Ritter. More 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.