The Hangman's Daughter, Potzsch - C+

                                         This first novel of a series about the Kuisl family of Bavaria proves you can write mysteries about just about anything.  The time is the years immediately after the end of the Thirty Years War (1618-48). The author's ancestors were the designated executioners in their town.  Apparently, the chores included torture and a mastery of the the many means of ending someone else's life.  The Hangman in this instance is a good guy who saves a woman accused of witchcraft and sorcery.  This book  seldom strays from the storyline and provides very little background or information about the era.  The Thirty Years War was fought over religion and the Peace of Westphalia established that a communities form of worship was up to its ruler.  We know Bavaria remained Catholic, but there is no mention of it in this book.