Win a copy of The Ice Queen

The Ice Queen
Nele Neuhaus
Publisher - Macmillan Press
RRP - $34.99
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
Review by Esther.
It would be fair to say I almost inhaled the first half of this book, it was engrossing and well written. I couldn't wait for more - however from the half way mark, until about the final quarter I found it a bit of a slog - I'm not sure why...
Anyhow, this is a book about a cluster of killings that are all linked. The linkage is Vera von Kaltensee - a mega rich, mega control freak, mega matriarch. The novel explores the friends and family of this grand dame and the detectives who are attempting to solve the crimes.
As with all crime books there is some crime scenes, none of which (perhaps bar one) will offend most readers. It's not too grisly, but also not too ‘tame' - for me it struck the perfect balance.
It's an ultimate whodunit with a load of possible suspects, shady characters, skeletons in the closet and a WWII Nazi storyline in the mix as well. Set in Frankfurt I found the setting truly readable and the city felt like the perfect seat for this novel.
While there were some ‘clunky' bits - overall it was a great read - I'll not reveal why - but you too will struggle to guess who did it - once you're read it let me know if you were unsatisfied; I'm still not sure if I was or not!
What I found most interesting about this author is that most of her early work was self-published - she was then ‘discovered' by a large publishing house and now she is a world-wide best seller. She is a real inspiration for following your dream!!
I'd recommend this book happily for those seeking a good holiday crime book - especially those set in far-away cities and with historical (especially WWII) tie ins.
To win a copy of this book CLICK HERE Competition closes 30th Jan 2015. Open to New Zealand residents only.