The setting is very atmospheric -- medieval Cologne and the construction of the famous Gothic Cathedral is a fascinating backdrop to a fast paced historical crime novel.

The plot concerns the mysterious death of the orginal architect of the Cologne Cathedral, Gerhard Morart. Morart's death by murder is witnessed by an enterprising thief and roustabout named Jacob the Fox.

The plot is best when focusing on the conflicts and shifting alliances between merchants, church and aristocracy. Cologne was hardly unique in this regard - archbishops, kings and guilds fought it out throughout medieval Europe, but the Rhenish intrigue, mendacity and backstabbing is particularly astounding.

The characters were cartoonish and predictable. I think the author, Frank Schatzing, deliberately modeled the two main protagonists, Jacob and Jaspar, after the two well known Cologne "ne-er do wells," Tünnes and Schäl. The Jacob character even shares a physical resemblance with Tünnes (short, squat, carrot top). Like those well known Cologne comedians, the vaudevillian banter between Jacob and Jaspar (and Jaspar's sidekick, Goddert) is overlong and tiresome.

I could not read about Morart's assasin, Urquhart, without thinking of the blond albino monk from The DaVinci Code. And like The Davinci Code, this book involves one clue after another being miraculously solved based on improbable hunches.

The finale is unsurprising and a letdown. From the very beginning, we know who is bankrolling Morart's murder, and there is no surprising twist at the end to provide a more interesting angle to their motives.

All in all, I would recommend you read it you are interested in early Medieval Europe. Schatzing clearly has done his homework when describing the physical layout, political tensions and everyday sights and sounds of 13th Century Cologne. As a work of crime fiction, however, it leaves a lot to be desired.

With high hopes of this so-called "Historical Thriller", I had envisioned something as fantastic as Frederic Lenoir's Angel's Promise. This book was far from thrilling, in fact so boring I quit half way. One specific gripe I have is that the translator was not that adept, many grammatical errors, quite a few typos, and of the worst offense, the contemporary slang dialog using words and phrases that simply did not exist in this time period. I don't believe they used the term "Every Tom Dick and Harry" in the year 1200. Besides the translation and the out of period dialogue, the story starts out exciting but very, very quickly peters out into a real dull, uninspiring yarn. What is initially interesting and what seemed was going to be a fast pace cat and mouse chase, quickly slows down to a dull roar not even half way through, and the reader is bored with digressing topics of past history and the dreaded views of religion of the time. A little of this to enhance the picture of the times could have gone a long way, a lot of it made me close the book. In addition, character development was non-existent, I felt the leading players flat. They did not in any way invoke my curiosity, compassion or interest. The idea of the story was a good one, but unfortunately the author could not carry it of with polish or great achievement.

Having read this book in german and in english I might say the translation into the english version is a poor and very clumsy one. I can only hope this won't keep people away from reading further translations.

But however, reading over this sad choice of wording in the translation (it's not the whole book that suffers from that) helps a lot and makes a fabulous, inspiring and suspenseful mystery. :-)

Murders and mayhem in Medieval Germany. Seeking power, political advantage or revenge, a group of wealthy patricians form an alliance to reinstate them or their families to a previous status. Their plan requires an assassin - an assassin that seems more shadow than form, more devil than man.

A man falls from a cathedral under construction. It's dark, it's late but there is a witness where no witness should be. The witness warily goes to the dying man and hears his last words-then runs for his life. He is now a new target for the assassin.

Jacob the Fox, named for his blazing red hair, is fast and quick-witted but is too easily identified by his hair. He lives by stealing and scrounging what he can to eat, and lives under the arch of the great wall that surrounds Cologne, Germany in 1260. He knows when and where to hide from irate merchants but this new threat appears to function outside mortal capabilities.

Finally, injured and hurt, and against his better judgment, he seeks help from Richmodis, a cloth dyer's daughter who had been kind to him earlier. When Jacob tells his story to Richmodis, her father and her uncle, a physician and a professor of cannon law, become unlikely allies in the dangerous task of discovering why Urquhart, the assassin, has come to Cologne, who has brought him here and who is the ultimate target. The people behind Urquhart are powerful, ruthless and willing to sacrifice lives to achieve their goal and Cologne becomes their hunting ground.

This is an engrossing mystery and suspense story that weaves in the political and philosophical thinking of the period along with a portrait of the time. Author Schatzing gives historical background that adds atmosphere and weight to the plot and gives it credibility.

This novel was published in Germany in 2003 and was first for this author who has since won several book awards in his country. Death and the Devil has just been translated into English and readers of this book will be very grateful.

Armchair Interviews says: Amazing first book for this author.

With the runaway success of The Swarm originally in Europe and now in the United States, Death and the Devil, Shatzing's first novel, has been translated and published. It's a medieval thriller; a murder mystery set with the back drop of thirteenth century Cologne. This is a completely different genre and story line for Schatzing after the sci-fi/horror of The Swarm, nevertheless he delivers his unique storytelling style in Death and the Devil.

It is the year 1260, and the crowning achievement of Cologne - the great cathedral reaching to the heavens - is almost complete. Its architect, Gerhard Morart, is a proud and respected man in the city. That is until he is pushed from the one of the windows high up in his beloved cathedral. He plunges to his death, whisper two words in his crushed form, and then dies. The people of Cologne believe it an accident or suicide, except for one young boy, Jacob the Fox - so called because of his noticeable red hair - who happened to be sitting in a tree stealing apples when Morart fell. Only Jacob saw Morart high up in the cathedral and he also saw the black shadow behind push the architect out of the window.

Now Jacob is on the run from this shadow that he believes is somehow the devil, chasing him, and will not stop until he is dead. Jacob must use the city to his advantage, make as many allies as he can, and always keep one step ahead of this chasing shadow, or he will be done for. The shadow is in fact a cold-hearted killer, a cruel assassin who will not stop killing until all proof of Morart's murder is erased.

And so the chase continues set in the richly detailed medieval city in the style and texture of Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose, as well as Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth, Death and the Devil is a story that will both educate and terrorize the reader, for Schatzing has done his research well: the reader will learn of medieval life in a big city, the different classes, the power of the nobles over the poor, the power of the church; at the same time they will be biting their nails in fear and excitement each time Jacob the Fox barely escapes the cruel black nails of the man he believes is the devil. Death and the Devil is a thriller that will delight any fan of this genre.

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