I did not realize at first that this is an English translation of the first book in a German series by Anna Johannsen. “The Body on the Beach” felt more like a mystery than a thriller, but I enjoyed it regardless. This is a promising start for a new series.

I requested and received an Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I downloaded this book from Netgalley, surprised to find a German mystery set in the northern Frisian Islands. During the August holidays I was going to visit other German islands on the Baltic sea (on the east side, where as the novel is set on the west side of the country in North Sea), so it was close enough! I love to read books set in the place I’m vacationing.

The protagonist is Lena Lorenzen, a police inspector in Northern Germany, who is ordered to the tiny island of her childhood to investigate a suspicious death. The body of the director of a children’s home has been found on the beach, but while the local doctor concluded to natural causes, doubts linger. Lena’s boss is not playing straight and she wonders why he has picked her for the job, but she is happy enough to return to the place she grew up and that she has not visited for quite a long time.

[Kinda Spoilers Ahead] Sadly, I didn’t warm up to the main character, nor to the plot. Because the victim is the head of a kids home, I was afraid that the plot would involve child abuse and sure indeed it does, even if it’s not graphic. But it annoyed me that the good guys could dismantle a whole ring of child abusers so easily, it messed with the credibility of the book.

The whole affair was mostly ok, but rather forgettable. I felt that I’ve already read things quite similar to it, and the setting didn’t add anything distinctive. Still, it makes me dream of visiting Amrun or Sylt one day!

I love reading books, especially thrillers, from different countries. The way each case is handled is different from others. I loved this book. Kept me hooked from the very beginning and kept me in suspense. I'll definitely be reading more from this author.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A death has occurred, but is it murder or is there something more sinister lurking around to take Lena down? She's been at odds with her supervisor and now he sends her to investigate a possible non-murder. A well woven tale of murder, intrigue and something a bit more sinister to delight and entertain you for hours. I absolutely love the strong female lead character and the supporting characters as well. They are well fleshed out with unique personalities that definitely bring more depth to the plot that is quite well done. The plot is woven with overlapping story lines to add depth and realism to the overall reading experience. The setting of Amrum also enhances the story as the author brings the beach and villagers to life in the descriptions through the eyes of the characters which makes everything so much more cohesive for the reader.

I am quite looking forward to more from this author in the future as this was my first introduction to her writing. I certainly hope this is the beginning of a long reading relationship for these characters and me!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for a review copy of The Body on the Beach, the first novel to feature DI Lena Lorenzen of the Kiel police, set on the North German island of Amrum.

Lena is sent to Amrum, the island she grew up on, to investigate the mysterious death of Hein Bohler, the owner of a children’s home. With no obvious suspects or motive Lena and her sergeant, Johan, have to dig deep and uncover more than they bargained for.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Body on the Beach which is a good read with a really easy reading style and an interesting plot. It held my interest from start to finish. Apart from the odd short chapter from an unnamed, troubled individual it is told entirely from Lena’s point of view. There is good and bad in that as the unnamed writer is easily identifiable and allows the reader to guess a fair amount of where the plot is going but Lena’s narrative gives the reader solid information, putting the guesses on a firmer footing. I should point out that I didn’t read the blurb before starting the novel and thank goodness as it would have spoiled my read as, in my opinion, it reveals too much of the plot and is slightly misleading. Nevertheless, this is an undemanding but absorbing read.

I like Lena Lorenzen who is a tenacious investigator with good instincts and a soft centre beneath her hard as nails shell. I would gladly read more.

The Body on the Beach is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

The body  of Hein Bohlen,a social educator and the director of a local children's home,is found dead in a beach chair on Amrum, a small island of the coast of North Germany. At first sight it looks as if the man has died of a heart attack,but his wife has doubts and demands a post mortem where poison is suspected but not confirmed. DI Lena Lorenzen and sergeant Johann Grassman are sent to this beautiful island to investigate this death. They both realise that not everything is as it should be and that the alleged victim and other inhabitants have some very disturbing secrets indeed...

This is a very pleasant mystery situated on the gorgeous island of Amrum but perhaps the end was a bit too predictable. 

Still,this is the first in the series,in English at least, and I will definitely try another one.

Brilliant book. Absolutely thrilling and well written.

I hugely enjoyed reading this book which is my first by Anna Johannsen and I certainly be reading more.

By reading crime fiction from around the world you get to go and learn about places that normally you would never encounter. Here the reader will be taken to Amrun one of the North Frisian Islands on the German North Sea coast. The author Anna Johannsen has since childhood lived in Northern Friesland and it is the setting of her Island Mystery novels starring DI Lena Lorenzen.

By setting a crime mystery on a small island you can add an extra dimension to your story. You have the isolation, individual landscape and a close knit local community where everyone knows everyone else but also where dark secrets can lie buried. In The Body on the Beach we have DI Lena Lorenzen being sent to Amrun, the island where she grew up on but had not returned to in the last 14 years to investigate a possible murder.

The owner of a local children's home has been found dead on the beach and although at first it appears to be from natural causes new evidence has come to light that foul play may be involved. Rumours surround the deceased and soon as she digs deeper Lena is faced with something truly disturbing and shocking. This is a fast paced and well plotted thriller that due to its comparative brevity can be easily read in one or two settings. Ideal for a journey. I think this will satisfy most lovers of the crime police procedural genre and tempt (myself included) a few readers to perhaps pay a visit to the area.

This is a good story with strong characters and a lot of suspense.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is my first venture into German story telling as was not disappointed. Anna has created an extremely likable Police Inspector with the normal personal issues. Starting the book I was sceptical as to whether the story would hold my interest, but WOW as the story progressed I was waiting for the next turn. The subject matter was handled with the care that it deserved. What a relief to see them get what they deserved.
In short this is a book that should be read the public in general as it deals with child molestation in a very sensitive manner.. Anna Johannsen is now on my list of must read authors.

A great read, I enjoyed reading this book. I was not expecting the twists in the story kept me reading in to the early hours. Looking forward to reading more books by Anna

Perfectly serviceable mystery. I like the descriptions of the setting. Wasn't sure about the romance angle - but the mystery definitely had me hooked!

This was an ok book
I felt that it lacked depth and also was very predictable. I did enjoy the book but it was lacking the wow factor

The Body on the Beach by Anna Johannsen

On a small island off the coast of Germany, a body is found. DI Lena Lorenzen is investigating the case which takes her back to the isolated island she left 14 years ago. Lena and Johann work to solve the murder and their investigation leads them a children’s home where the find that the victim was abusive. This was a slow burn police procedural mystery, which was well written and I totally identified with Lena.

An enjoyable read and I loved learning about new places, but moved a little slow for me.

Thanks @netgalley for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

📚📚📚/5

The body on the beach is found on the North Frisian island of Amrum. DI Lena Lorenzen is sent to the island where she grew up, along with her colleague DS Johann Grasmann, to find out if it is a case of murder.
Hein Bohlen ran a children's home on the island, and is found dead in his beach chair. Was he poisoned, and if so, who did it?
Lena and Johann slowly unravel the case, discovering child abuse, the dark web and some unsavoury characters who could all have had a motive to murder Hein Bohlen.
The plot is well written, as are the characters, and the descriptions of the island of Amrum are evocative of summer holidays and carefree days on the beach. However, something much darker is going on and it is up to Lena and Johann to find out before more innocent children are harmed.
Well worth a read and I hope there are more cases in the future for Lena Lorenzen to solve.

DI Lena Lorenzen is a policewoman who will go the extra mile to solve her case. She has black marks on her record for doing her own investigations off the record. The case of the suspicious death of a local children’s home owner on her home island of Amrum takes Lena back to her youth. She is given support by her superior but only on the quiet so must use her own contacts to progress further. You will enjoy watching this strong female character stick to her principles and continue the case even when it looks like the case will involve senior public figures. The isolated island of her past adds to the atmosphere of the story and you will not regret picking this book for a lively mystery.
I was given an Arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

***** My first thanks must go to translator Lisa Reinhardt because I don't read German and would have missed out on this excellent procedural! DI Lorenzen of the CID is ordered to bring DS Grasmann with her to her home town to investigate a murder that had seemed like natural causes when it happened two weeks ago. She thinks that the assignment is a bit dodgy and lined up some colleagues to give a surreptitious hand if needed. The due diligence is assisted by a few sneaky tricks covered later by admissible means. Excellent read with twists and red herrings dealing with sensitive subjects, and also some personal interactions with friends from the past.
I requested and received a free ebook copy via NetGalley. Thank you!

this was a really interesting mystery book, the characters were great and the author was able to set a suspenseful mood.

This is a promising start for a new series. DI Lena Lorenzen returns to the small German town where she grew up to investigate the death of a seemingly well respected man. She’s not happy about it, since she has a complicated past, but with the help of a rookie, she will dredge up a lot of buried secrets. It’s not even clear whether the death was suspicious (it looks like a heart attack) so the twists that the plot takes are truly unexpected. This is a procedural in the classic sense. There is a cast of characters that may or may not have been involved in the shenanigans, and there are many skeletons in everybody’s closets. The final part is very suspenseful. I liked Lena. She is a little standoffish, but competent. Her rookie, Johannes, is still very green and their dynamic keeps the rhythm flowing. But it’s Lena’s relationship with her aunt Bekke that pulled at my heartstrings. I look forward to reading more stories about them.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Amazon Publishing UK!

As a fan of Scandinavian crime noir I was intrigued to find a similar genre but themed in Germany. A very good story line with a great translation and a very present day theme. I found it quite difficult to get into but well worth persevering with, a great read. Hopefully more from this author in the future.