Anatomy of a Killer - Romy Hausmann translated by Jamie Bulloch

 

As always Romy Haussman defies, not genre per se, but genre convention. This is a story about a murderer, a serial killer. Another one, you might be thinking? But when it’s in the hands of Ms. Haussman you just know it’s going be different. She seems to have that uncanny knack of turning events upside down and inside out.

Walter Lesniak, a renowned academic, is arrested on suspicion of several murders of young girls in the Berlin area. His daughter, Ann, refuses to believe he is guilty of such heinous crimes. She is determined to prove his innocence. 

With no punches pulled an enigmatic, yet informative prologue launches the reader into this immersive thriller. As one might expect from Romy Haussman, the plot is intricate, detailed and requires the readers’ full attention. 

The narrative takes us back to the past and into the present seen through Ann’s eyes primarily but there are sections that are of somebody else’s voice. Other devices used are interview transcripts, newspaper articles and some writings from Ann herself as a child that describe her appreciation of a range of human emotion. They are, quite endearingly, written from the child’s perspective. Hats off to the translator, the inimitable Jamie Bullock, who has done a fantastic job throughout the whole book, but I love what he’s done with these pieces from Ann where there’s missing punctuation and some childlike spelling. 

I think another aspect of Hausmann’s writing is that it’s rarely linear storytelling. The psychological make up of the characters plays a large part in how the narrative plays out and shows the author to be an astute observer of human behaviour. But it also shows an understanding of the psychological thriller genre, and how you can, in a sense, attempt to manipulate your readers into thinking things are a certain way when actually they’re not. As you read, you find yourself asking questions of Ann and her state of mind. And you will never ever sure if a father is guilty of the crimes which has been accused. That is curiously unnerving and throws you off balance.

It’s a substantial work. And it’s a curious phenomenon in a lot of ways because it’s one of those books that you don’t want to put down, you want to carry on reading in that way that many thrillers and crime stories have you do simply to find out what happened, or who ‘Dunn it’ yet you’re not often required to think a great deal along the way. It’s an entertaining exposition.  But here, there is more depth in terms of character and motivation that has you thinking all the way through. I’m not going to give away any of the salient points or twists of the plot but the final denouement is an eye-opener. And again it gets you thinking. It is such a satisfying experience to read a Romy Hausmann book. 

My thanks to Ana McLaughlin at Quercus Books for a gifted proof