Review: The Murder Farm by Andrea Maria Schenkel

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.

I received this book via NetGalley to give an honest review.

What really caught me to this book was the title, and then the blurb. At first I was a bit thrown off when I started reading the book as I wasn't sure of the time frame completely. But once I realized that the story was taken place after World War 2, it all made sense. I have to say I enjoyed reading everyone else's account on what they saw, what they think happened and what not. The ending I was surprised being as I didn't see that person. I had a totally different person in mind on who committed the crimes. 

This is a small mystery story, one that I will say stick with it. It is very short. 

The Danner's are a I don't want to use the word different kind of family. But they are not normal in a way. There is some talk about incest, but not to the point to where you are like OMG what am I reading? Nothing like that. You get the story of why they keep to themselves in way. It is shameful in every way.