Showing results by author "Oliver Pötzsch" in All Categories

It is 1648, a small village in the Alps: In the thick of a blizzard,a town priest discovers he’s been poisoned. As numbness creeps up his body, he summons the last of his strength and scratches a sign in the frost that will lead the town hangman, his daughter, and the town physician in pursuit of a treasure of the Knights Templar. But the priest’s murderer is already on their trail, and he’s not the only one after the legendary fortune: a dark monk is not far behind,and a band of thieves is roving the countryside, attacking solitary travelers and spreading panic.

Lukas wants only two things: to rebuild his castle home in time to make it through the coming winter and to reconnect with the sister who was stolen from him in a plot against his family. But then an astrologer appears with foreboding news: his old adversary, Inquisitor Waldemar von Schönborn, has stolen three royal artifacts, which are required to coronate a new German emperor. With these valuable objects - the sword, the crown, and the scepter - he could blackmail the empire. The treasures are currently hidden in three different places in the old imperial city of Prague.

1662: Jakob Kuisl, the hangman of a village in the Alps, receives a letter from his sister calling him to the imperial city of Regensburg, where a gruesome sight awaits him: her throat has been slit. When the city constable discovers Kuisl alongside the corpse, he locks him in a dungeon, where Kuisl will experience firsthand the torture he’s administered himself for years.

1683: Das Reich ist in Gefahr, denn das osmanische Heer steht kurz vor Wien und ein vernichtender Krieg scheint unausweichlich. Auch um den alten Henker Jakob Kuisl steht es schlecht, körperliche Schmerzen und Sorgen plagen ihn. Umso erstaunter ist er, als er einen Brief von seinem früheren Weggefährten Nepomuk erhält, der ihn bittet, nach Passau zu kommen, um bei der Bergung eines Schatzes zu helfen.

In 1668, hangman Jakob Kuisl, his daughter Magdalena, and her husband Simon are traveling to the town of Bamberg. But what was planned as a family vacation soon becomes a nightmare: there is a murderer in Bamberg leaving the severed limbs of victims in the trash outside the city. When rumors quickly spread that the murders are the work of a werewolf, Jakob Kuisl must prove the superstition wrong and embark on a search for the "devil of Bamberg".

The year is 1672. Hangman Jakob Kuisl and his family travel to Munich, the cosmopolitan heart of Bavaria, for a meeting of the prestigious Council of Twelve, the leaders of the empire’s hangmen’s guild - prestigious for dishonourable hangmen at least. But something dark is happening behind the scenes: in the past weeks, young women have begun turning up dead. At first the authorities assume they are a rash of suicides, but when Kuisl notices that each woman possesses a matching amulet, suspicions arise that someone is murdering them.

1524. Die deutschen Lande werden von den Bauernkriegen zerrissen. Dem Adel droht der Verlust der Macht, dem Volk Hunger und Tod. Vier Menschen suchen ihre Bestimmung: Agnes, die Burgherrin der einst mächtigen Stauferburg Trifels, will ihr Erbe bewahren. Mathis, Sohn eines Burgschmieds, träumt vonder Gleichheit der Menschen und schließt sich aufständischen Bauern an. König Franz von Frankreich strebt nach der Kaiserkrone.

It’s the fifteenth century and only heretics are curious about the universe. Germany, 1494. Born under a rare alignment of the stars, Johann Georg Gerlach, "the lucky one" to his mother - is fated for greatness. But Johann’s studies and wonder at the sky have made him suspect. Especially in wake of the child disappearances that have left the God-fearing locals trembling and his one true love trapped in terrified catatonia. Her only words: "I have seen the devil..."

1666: The monastery at Andrechs has long been a pilgrimage destination, but when the hangman's daughter, Magdalena; her doctor husband, Simon; and their two small children arrive there, they learn that the monks have far larger concerns than saying Mass and receiving alms. It seems that once again the hangman's family has fallen into a mysterious and dangerous adventure. Two monks at the monastery experiment with cutting-edge technology, including a method of deflecting the lightning that has previously set the monastery ablaze.

It is 1670 and Simon Fronwieser is in the town of Oberammergau to bring his seven-year-old son to boarding school. As he bids his boy a tearful farewell, news comes of a shocking murder: the man who was to play the part of Christ in the town's Passion play has been found dead, nailed to the set's cross. As there is no doctor in town, Simon is brought in to examine the body. The opportunities to spend more time with his son and to investigate the murder quickly convince him to stay.

In 1524, in what is now Germany, hundreds of thousands of peasants revolt against the harsh treatment by their aristocratic overlords. Agnes, the daughter of one of these overlords, is not a typical 16th-century girl. She refuses to wear dresses and spends more time with her pet falcon than she does trying to attract potential suitors. In fact there is only one man who interests her: Mathis, a childhood friend whom she can never marry because of his lowly birth.

While putting away books from an estate sale purchase, rare book-dealer Steven Lukas finds a box he's never seen before wedged between books on a high shelf. In it he discovers what looks to be a small diary written entirely in code, a lock of hair, and old photographs of the Fairytale King. It isn't long however, before his excitement turns to fear as he realizes that mysterious others want the diary too - and will apparently kill to get it. Suspecting that his find may contain the secret truth behind Ludwig's death, Steven consults with art historian Sara Lengfeld. Soon they find themselves on the run together, investigating each of Ludwig's three castles for clues....

Rome, 1518. The church is tarnished by greed. Peasants are rebelling. Tumultuous times demand drastic recourse - before the devil gets his due. Johann Faust is a renowned magician, astrologer, and chiromancer traveling through Germany with his successful troupe: the orphaned juggler Greta and his loyal companion Karl. The avaricious Pope Leo X now requires Johann’s services to replenish the papacy’s drained coffers through alchemy. But the devil, with whom a regretful Johann once agreed to an unholy trade for fame, wants something else.

Germany, 1660: When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play in his small Bavarian town. Whispers and dark memories of witch trials and the women burned at the stake just seventy years earlier still haunt the streets of Schongau.

Wenn in Wien der Tod umgeht, gibt es nur einen, der ihm alle Geheimnisse entlocken kann! Ein spektakulärer Kriminalroman von Bestsellerautor Oliver Pötzsch. 1893: Augustin Rothmayer ist Totengräber auf dem berühmten Wiener Zentralfriedhof. Ein schrulliger, jedoch hoch gebildeter Kauz, der den ersten Almanach für Totengräber schreibt. Seine Ruhe wird jäh gestört, als er Besuch vom jungen Inspektor Leopold von Herzfeldt bekommt. Herzfeldt braucht einen Todes-Experten: Mehrere Dienstmädchen wurden ermordet - jede von ihnen brutal gepfählt.

In this thrilling adventure by bestselling author Oliver Pötzsch, thirteen-year-old Lukas has been trained as a swordsman by his father, a nobleman who was once a famed Musketeer. When the threat of war and accusations of witchcraft spread across the land, Lukas's life is forever changed. He flees his home and vows to find his missing sister.

June 16, 1692. Relic dealer Georg Ayndorfer is found slain in the Chapel of St. Quirinus of Tegernsee. Was it the holy rage of St. Quirinus himself, or was Ayndorfer murdered by jealous colleagues? Georg Asam, a famous artist commissioned to paint a fresco in the chapel, feels compelled to investigate.

Oliver Pötzsch: Der König des historischen Kriminalromans - Teil 2 der beliebten "Henker"-Saga. Ein vergifteter Pfarrer. Ein geheimnisvoller Sarkophag. Ein berüchtigter Geheimorden. Der Schongauer Henker Jakob Kuisl, seine Tochter Magdalena und der Medicus Simon suchen den legendären Schatz der Templer - und dabei sind sie nicht allein. Denn nicht nur eine Räuberbande, auch ein unheimlicher schwarzer Mönch hat schon längst die Verfolgung aufgenommen.

Kyle's great-grandfather once possessed a silver lance that, according to legend, gave its owner invincible power. The lance is now missing, and Kyle is always looking for it, but so are his worst enemies: the robber Rasputin and the evil magician Balduin. Luckily, Kyle has the help of his friends, including Lady Constance (who is as brave as a dragon), Dragobert (who really is a dragon), Elf Aurin (whose harp playing, unfortunately, puts Kyle to sleep), and Prince Nepomuk (who protects his friends and his wardrobe).

Fesselnd bis zum Ende. Als Lukas’ Mutter als Hexe angeklagt wird und sein Vater beim Versuch, sie zu retten, stirbt, ändert sich alles. Während er selbst vor dem Inquisitor Waldemar von Schönborn fliehen kann, bleibt seine kleine Schwester Elsa zurück. Auf sich allein gestellt, hat der junge Grafensohn nur noch ein Ziel: seine Schwester zu finden und Schönborn zur Rechenschaft zu ziehen. Auf dem Weg durch ein zerstörtes Deutschland findet Lukas neue Freunde und ein neues Ziel: Zusammen wollen sie die sagenhafte Fechttruppe seines Vaters um Hilfe bitten – die Schwarzen Musketiere.