Death on the Beach

This book reminds me a bit of Death in Paradise. Good book but did get bored halfway through. This was maybe just me will try and reread at another time

Another great story in the ‘crime noir’ genre. Anna Johannsen has in her lead detective Lena Lorenzen a very down to earth investigator who does not let her own personal life affect her work. A very believable storyline covering several aspects of modern life. A well recommended read

I thought Death on the Beach was going to blow me away but honestly I got bored and dint finish it. Synopsis is really promising but I couldn’t get past how slow the story is.

Giving this 3/5 since it would be unfair to give a low rating since I didn’t complete.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free copy. An easy read and clearly building a running character story line, but I had to try remember what happened in the first book from time to time.

Second in series of detective stories set on the German Friesian islands. A girl from a fundamentalist church goes missing, and is then found dead. Her family and community close ranks ....... Lena Lorenzan and her colleagues investigate, whilst dealing with local obstructions. Any more detail would give things away.
This book is easy to read, one wants to find out what happens. The characters are all rounded, and one cares for them, because (or despite) their flaws.
Recommended to anyone who likes mysteries.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Mercer for an advance copy.

I thought this book was slow, It didn't seem to go anywhere. The investigation was slow and tedious. I didn't feel much connection to any of the characters except Maria the murder victim, her life was given in much detail. I didn't really like the reveal of the murderer as it feels unfinished. There wasn't a confession or any major kind of reveal. #DeathontheBeach #NetGalley

A well written cop drama, set on an island in the North Sea off of Germany. Caught my attention, as my ancestors came from that area. Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and the story lets the reader be a fly on the wall as Lena and her team try to figure out who killed a local 14 year old girl. A lot of red herrings, and interesting characters lead to a good story. The only thing I found a little distracting was Lena's relationships with her boyfriend and her colleague Ben, who she had a brief affair with in the past. Didn't see the worth in so much personal details of her, and wished the book would have stayed more focused on the murder investigation. Would highly recommend though, as I found it hard to put down.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advance copy of Death on The Beach, the second novel to feature Inspector Lena Lorenzen of the Kiel Police.

On holiday on the German island of Amrum Lena is sent to the neighbouring island of Föhr to help investigate the disappearance of a fourteen year old girl, Maria Logener. When Maria’s body is found on the beach with her wrist slashed Lena is not as sure as the others that it is suicide.

I enjoyed Death on The Beach, which is an interesting police procedural with some unusual circumstances taking it out of the everyday. The island setting obviously limits the parameters of the investigation and the fact that Maria belongs to a strict evangelical order adds a certain twist to proceedings. Nevertheless the author handles it with aplomb.

The novel is told from Lena’s point of view so the reader can dive right in, identify with her and not get distracted by other voices. This is my favourite kind of reading so it held my attention from start to finish. Lena’s investigation is very nebulous throughout, be it the lack of cooperation from her parents and their order or Maria’s missing tablet which means they have no digital footprint to follow or even Maria’s own secretiveness which meant she had no confidantes so she has to rely on piecing together small snippets of information until the big breakthrough at the end. Is it a bolt from the blue? Not quite, but it is a sudden turn. I imagine that it’s reflective of real police work but it does seem a touch contrived.

This is not a high octane read but rather a painstaking examination of Maria’s life and last few weeks. I couldn’t help but feel heart sorry for her circumstances but at the same time I never felt that she came alive as a person. This too, I imagine, is reflective of real police work - too many people with different views of the same person.

I like the novel as a police procedural as I enjoy the gradual triangulation of facts and theories into a cohesive case and I think the author does a good job of it. I’m not so keen on Lena Lorenzen whom I find rather dreary. There is no doubt that she is a smart, intuitive investigator with great people skills but her love life which she examines ad nauseum is a bore. Talk to him and thrash it out.

Death on The Beach is a good read that I can recommend.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a honest review, thank you for that.
I enjoyed this book, compared to the first in the series the author has improved :)

A suicide -murder mystery with a lady detective as lead. The entire story is said in a woman’s perspective, you can feel the detective’s confusion, her fear and her thoughts. Death on the beach is a second book in the series, but it can definitely be read as a standalone. The author has truly captivated the “community thinking” in this book. The language is good, not much of thrilling moments, but good amount of mystery. The only drawback was that the story is slow moving for a murder mystery!
Thank you NetGalley, Amazon publishing and Anna Johannsen for reader’s copy of the book. The review is my own and was not influenced in any way.

Detective Lena Lorenzen is spending a few days reconnecting with her ex Erick, when she is sent to deal with a missing teenager as a favour to her boss. Lena isn’t getting any cooperation from the girls parents, who are deeply religious. When the girl, Maria, is found dead, it presents as a suicide, but Lena isn’t convinced.
There is also what’s happening between Lena and Erck, who wants to make their relationship more permanent. Lena isn’t sure, especially when an officer she had a one night stand with is assigned to the case. I enjoyed this book, although I didn’t feel any empathy for any of the characters, other than the victim. It seemed as though Lena and Ercks relationship problems weren’t really relevant to the story. It may have worked better for me if I’d read the first book in this series. However, still a good stand along story.
Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is the second book in the series, another fantastic read which I enjoyed and couldn't put down. I am looking forward to reading more in the future.

Death on the Beach by Anna Johannsen is a murder mystery set on the German island of Föhr. Inspector Lena Lorenzen of the Kiel Police is sent to Föhr to investigate the case of a missing fourteen-year-old student, Maria Logener. She was soon found on the beach with her wrists and arms sliced where she had bled out. The local police accept the death as suicide, but Lena has suspicions there is more to the case. The investigation is met with little information due to the religious family and community who are hesitant to open their doors for questioning. Also, Maria was bullied by some students at her school and she had very few friends. The book has interesting characters and Lena has a personal conflict with her boyfriend who wants a more permanent relationship. Ben, an investigator who helped Lena on a previous case arrives to help to determine if this is a suicide or murder. Lena had a brief relationship previously with Ben and now she feels as if her personal life has become more complicated. I thought she sent mixed signals to both men, Erck and Ben. Also, I felt the questioning of Lisa was weak. The prejudice against the religious community was very prevalent in the story. There was never any true indication of violence within the evangelical community.
Publication Date: May 15, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

I didn't love this book- it was slow and felt like it just kind of ended without any build up. It focuses on Detective Lena Lorenzen, who is a detective called to investigate the disappearance of a 14 year old girl, Maria, on a remote island. They soon find the girl's body and Lena believes it's a murder rather than a suicide. The girl's parents are part of a religious sect and may or may not be holding secrets, causing them to not be that helpful to the investigation.

I didn't feel like I really got to know any of the characters in the book. I found out later this was part of a series so maybe I needed to read the other(s) to get more background. I was frustrated by Lena's constant indecision around whether to continue her relationship with her boyfriend, Erck; and didn't think that any other character was that well developed. There was also a lot of focus on the religious "cult" of which the dead girl's family was a member, but it felt only loosely tied to the overall story. The book reads like a police procedural, and felt like they are identifying and dismissing various culprits, then moving on to the next one, then the story ends. There wasn't a feeling of mystery to me.

I do think the translator of this book was fantastic! Often I find the language to be stilted when books are translated into English, but I would have not known this book was originally written in another language if I hadn't read about it.

Overall, this wasn't the book for me, but may be better for others who like the police procedural genre and/or are fascinated by unique religious beliefs. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Small island life on Fohr where Detective Lena Lorenzen arrives to take charge of the investigation of missing school girl Maria. She finds a very religious closed community who close ranks when a body on the beach is found. This is a good solid police story where our Detective follows the clues but has to switch off any prejudices against how Maria had been raised in her deeply religious family. Had she tried to rebel or had something more terrible happened. Our police officers will find their own relationships and childhood will influence them in this investigation. A great setting which really gives you the flavour of how many secrets can be hidden on a small Island.
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I am going to be honest, I had to make myself finish the book. I had a hard time becoming vested in the book. It was lackluster at best, the story was all over the place. There was no connectivity in the flow of the book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.
#Netgalley
#deathonthebeach

#DeathontheBeach
#NetGalley
A good solid read. A twisty mystery that will keep you turning the page.

Anna Johannesburg has tried to write the typical who dun it, plenty of clues, plenty os suspects and a detective who just has the instinct to find out the truth, so why am I disappointed? A true who dun it lets you solve the crime from the story line I defy you to solve this crime

The second in the series featuring Inspector Lena Lorenzen of the Kiel police finds Lena sent to the island of Fohr to help find a fourteen-year-old girl Maria Logener. Maria is a member of a local religious group who stays pretty much to themselves and is an honor student with no known enemies. Her body is found on the beach in what at first looks like suicide, but Lena determines that this is a homicide, and now the police work begins. I enjoyed the story and look forward to the next in the series. Thank you to #NetGalley for the arc of this novel.

While Detective Lena Lorenzen is visiting her long distance boyfriend, she is called in to run an investigation of a missing girl on a nearby island. As the investigation deepens, she tries to find answers from an unhelpful close knit community.

This is a slow lead most likely due to the translation. Also the mentioning of every village on all the islands is very distracting and unnecessary.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. .All opinions expressed are my own.. I have not ready anything by this author and this book I believe is the second in a series, that said it did not matter and novel certainly stands alone. I loved the plot in this book and the characters and will certainly read more by this author I would recommend this book to others.

Second instalment in the "Island Mystery" series, "Death on the beach" is a good example of a pretty entertaining police procedural.

Once again the story takes off almost from page one, diving straight into a missing person investigation that soon becomes a murder one. The investigation turns out to be pretty complicated because the dead girl's family belong to an evangelical cult and they don't seem too keen on helping the police. Besides DI Lorenzen is dealing with some personal issues, and that's my main problem with the story and the character. I understand she can have doubts about her relationship, but stop leading him on if you don't know what you want in life. Talk to him and stop ruminating about your love life!

The other issue I had with this story was the ending. While not being completely out of the blue it felt a bit unsatisfying.

It was an entertaining enough police procedural but I would have liked a bit more personal growth on the main character, but hopefully we'll see some of that on book 3.

3.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a terrific police procedural.

Anna Johannsen certainly knows how to write a mystery. The plot is about a missing girl, so many questions very little answers. Going through the processes of interviewing and finding out what actually happened is written very well and I think most people will be hooked.

I received an advanced copy from Net Galley. I liked the plot and how it unfolded as you read. There is a balance to be found between the murder/crime and the detectives’ personal life. I found in this novel that at times the main detective’s personal life over shadowed the murder plot. I also found the main character to be overly authoritative. It was a captivating read because you wanted to find out who the killer was, but by no means were any of the breaks or suspects in the case overly surprising. It is probably more like 3.75 stars, but I rounded up.

Detective Inspector Lena Lorenzen is having a few days off on her home island of Amrum with boyfriend, Erck when she is alerted to a missing fourteen year old girl. Requested to intervene by her boss Lena takes charge, calling in her partner DS Johannn Grasmann to assist.

As the investigation begins the detectives are shocked by the lack of cooperation from anyone including the girl's parents and find themselves battling to get answers when time is obviously of the essence.

I enjoyed this book very much for the most part, the two main characters were well written and interacted in a natural and believable manner. Neither was perfect but their foibles weren't debilitating and made them seem far more realistic. It wasn't a heart stopping, page turning, rollercoaster of a read, instead it seemed in tune with the slower pace of island life. Things were worked at, clues were discovered, verified and they moved on to the next step. It made a nice change to be able to enjoy a slower paced novel without it descending into lethargy. I would give it a 3.5* rating if I could so have rounded it up as it's definitely more than a 3.

The problem I had was with the breakthrough moment, it seemed contrived, almost as if the author had written themselves into a corner and needed to either re-write or use a less than ideal scenario to solve things. After all that had gone before it was a bit of a let down. I am hopeful of a third book in this series however, and will definitely be on the lookout for it and I am sure I will enjoy that too.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who read the first book or who enjoys European crime fiction. In both cases this is a good read.

Death on the Beach is a second book by German author Anna Johannsen in her Island Mystery series featuring detective Lena Lorenzen. It has been masterfully translated into the Queen’s English by Jozef Van Der Voort, whose words flow seamlessly.

It can be read without knowledge of the first book.

Lena Lorenzen in on holiday on her home island of Amrun, after a first case during which she rekindled her relationship with her boyfriend of fourteen years ago. Her Superintendent asks her, as a favour, to help local authorities to look into the disappearance of a teenage girl on the neighbour island of Föhr, whose parents belong to a extreme conservative free church considered a sect by most of the islanders. Her relationship with her DSU having improved thanks to her first case, she accepts the assignment.

She very quickly gets stonewalled by uncooperative parents, mistrusting of authorities, and feeling persecuted for their faith. Even the mother isn’t cooperative at first, as it’s customary for wives to bend to the will of their husbands among their brethren. The investigators will frustratingly get the same hostile treatment from all other members of the flock.

However, when the girl is found dead, Lorenzen takes charge of the investigation, and things start to change.

This is a complex case, as events turn the inquiries into new directions, and more people get probed. The victim herself, Maria, turns out not to be who everyone thought she was, and the investigation can’t go anywhere without learning to know the victim.

Lorenzen went to the same school as Maria, and knows the principal. Two teachers, apparently a little too close to the girl, quickly become persons of interest, but so do several of the students, and some members of the church. Meanwhile, Maria’s real personality is slowly unveiled by the investigators, and so are her movements in the last days of her life, in a way reminiscent of Laura Palmer’s in David Lynch’s cult series.

A lot of time is also spent on Lena Lorenzen’s personal life. But, she doesn’t appear as very likable to the reader at first, Her behavior towards local police, for example, is rather harsh, bordering on bullying, which seems unwarranted. We learn about her relationships with her family, her estranged father, her love interest, and an ex-lover, while the secondary characters aren’t much developed, if at all. It would have been interesting to get to know some of them a little more, such as Leon, the grumpy hacker whiz. Instead, we stick with the one main character.

The whole police procedural part of the book is captivating, and it’s not a book you want to put down. It unfortunately all leads to quite an anticlimactic ending, making the reader feel like he spent time working to solve the puzzle for nothing. Not that it isn’t realistic, in a police investigation sense, but realistic doesn’t always make for good crime books endings.

In spite of this, it was a good quick read, and I’ll be back for the next entry in the series, hoping for more secondary character development, and an ending to root for.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Thanks to Thomas and Mercer, Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley for the ARC provided in exchange for this unbiased review.

Detective Lena Lorenzen returns in Death on the Beach which is the second book in the series by Anna Johannsen.

Like the first book it is an engaging and enjoyable read with the main crime story moving along at a good pace whilst the main characters are allowed to grow.

Overall definitely a book I would recommend

A fast-paced crime thriller!

This was my first read by Anna Johannsen and it is certainly a fast-paced crime thriller! It is the second book in ‘The Island Mystery Series’ which can also be read independently.

The main setting is on the small island of Fohr, in the North Sea, off the coast of Germany. I found the plot really riveting from the outset, when Maria, a 14 year old teenage girl, is reported missing.

The investigation is led by DI Lena Lorenzen, and immediately she finds defiance and resistance from all directions. She and her colleague, Johann, make a great team. Soon they discover that Maria has actually been murdered and even her parents resent Lena’s probing questions. They belong to a rather puritanical religious cult, and so do many of the islanders, all with their strident beliefs.

It is interesting to note that Lena’s own complicated private life becomes entangled in her professional investigation, which for me added to the enjoyment of the plot. Throughout it all, Lena showed her tenacious character to finally reveal who committed this heinous crime. There are several red herrings, leading to a dramatic conclusion.

I would like to add that I’m impressed with the translator, who changed the German language into English. Thanks also to the author Anna Johannsen for a great page turner

Galadriel.

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book for review.

Stylish thriller but had a typical ending. This novel is your basic mystery/thriller. The characters were mostly interesting but the story didn’t really have any punch to it. I had figured out who the killer was very quickly and that made the book only so-so for me. I liked the main character though and plan to try another book in the series down the road.

A slow burn mystery set in the German islands. There is a cult/religious angle that is interesting but was lacking in details. I also felt that the book could have focused on the investigation and not the detectives personal life..

Average crime novel with almost no suspense and typical ending. The characters aren't very convincing but the scenery is stunning; Frisian islands.

3 Stars.

This was an entertaining read, but there's nothing exceptional or exciting that stood out here.

A 14 year old girl is found dead on the beach, she's a member of a highly devout religious sect. The police procedural part was what is to be expected. Lena Lorenzen is in charge of the investigation, pulled away from her vacation with her long lost childhood sweetheart. Again, the story was good, but nothing heart pounding that stood out.

I look forward to checking out the next book in the series.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, and Anna Johannsen for providing me with an ARC.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review. Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Death on the Beach is book 2 in Anna Johannsen's Island Murder series. I hadn't read book 1 in the series, but feel that the story continues well enough that you can read this as a stand alone book. There were some references to a previous case and previous relationships, probably discussed in the first book, but the book could stand alone.

Lena Lorenzen is a detective in the German police and just starting her vacation time when called in to help search for a 14 year old missing girl, Maria, on the small island of Föhr. Lena experiences some resistance from the local police force, , but begins organizing searches and conducting interviews. The missing girl is a child of a family in the Brethren religious organization, similar to the Mennonites in the USA, and her father doesn't seem concerned that his daughter is missing. When a body is found on the beach, Maria's mother works behind her husband's back to talk to Lena and work with the police force. While the first impression is that of a suicide, Lena has a feeling there is more to the story, and won't stop until she's got the whole picture.

I could tell this was part of a series; character descriptions and relationships just seem to be more defined and detailed in a series. That slowed me down a bit on this book. And this book is translated from German to English, but as with many books translated out of their native language, some of the word usages and phrasing is a bit awkward, and the story just doesn't flow for me as much. But overall, this was a good police procedural book, exploring a bit of different cultures, and it was good to see a book in Germany not set in Berlin! I haven't read others by this author, but I have put book in in this series, The Body on the Beach, on my to be read list.

Death on the Beach was a very intriguing story about murder, mystery and a possible suicide. This is the second book in the series but I really feel you can read this as a stand alone.
The lead character is Detective Lena Lorenzen. She has a boyfriend that she can’t make up her mind about....her indecisiveness started to get a bit tiring to read about. Overall, I really enjoyed the story plot and writing style. I very much look forward to reading the next book in this series.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and give my honest review about this book.

This is the second book I have read in the series and I have loved both of them. The characters are realistic and you feel empathy for them. When they go visit a family in this book I felt like I was there with them.
A girl goes missing and her very religious family don't know where she has went without letting them know. They soon find out she is dead on the beach.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Island Mystery Series #2

DI Lena Lorenzen is investigating the disappearance of fourteen year old Maria who lived on the remote island, Fohr. Maria's parents are part of a religious sect. The girls body is soon found and it ,looks like she's been murdered. Lena and her partner DS Johann Grassman are shocked by the lack of cooperation from the religious cult, including the girls parents.

Thenstory is narrated by Lena. I was pulled in from the first page. The investigation is complex due to everyone being tight lipped. Lena is also,dealing with some personal issues. Theres plenty of twists in this gripping read. I did feel a little disappointed with the ending.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK and the author Anna Johannsen for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really good book! Although this is book 2 of the series and I have not read it i was able to follow this book but I do feel that reading book 1 would probably get some insight into her relationship. This is a detective book and the storyline was awesome. There were parts in this book that were slow and boring though. There were no big surprises or wow moments in this book which I did not like all that much. This book also had a love story in it also along with the mystery aspect of it. I felt like the book rushed through the announcement of the murderer. I also felt like the ending was rushed. However, the majority of the book was great and I did really enjoy it. I look forward to reading the next book.

I received this book from Amazon Publishing UK, through Netgalley, for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Set in the island of Fohr, Germany, this is part of the DI Lena Lorenzen series. A devoutly religious family is missing their young daughter but have not reported her missing. Their estranged eldest daughter hasn't heard from her sister in days. When a body is discovered on a local beach, this tight knit and closed off community features a host of suspects. I felt it best for the reader to read series in order as I missed some background details. Also it needs the scene for next book. Relationships are deeply plumbed, both familial and romantic. Good and fast read from an author and setting new to me.

Title: Death on the Beach
Author: Anna Johannsen
Publisher: Amazon Publishing UK
ISBN: 9781542018975
Edition: E-Book
Publication date: 15/05/2020

Content:
Maria, an only fourteen-year-old girl, suddenly disappears on the small Island Föhr. Detective Lena Lorenzen, who is nearby is called in for the investigation. Eventhough the bodie of the girl is found with vicious wounds on the wrist, Lorenzen immediatelly thinks that I can't be suicide and Maria must have been murdered.
None of the local residents, even the girl's parents, want to cooperate with the Detective. The cult, devoutly religious islanders, are definitly hiding something, but what could it be? Has it something to do with the murder?

Opinion:
In my opinion the book was at the beginning and in the end really thrilling. I was totally in this book and I felt for the Detective. In the middle it was a little boring, but the thrill got back after a while. The protagonists were described more than well and the story itself gave me goose bumps. I felt so sorry for this little girl that I nearly cried. At the same time I got very angry about her parents, especially her father for blocking off the Detective and holding back information that was important for the investigation.

Conclusion:
All in all, I really liked the book, although the story was pretty tough and sad. I would definitely recomment it to every thriller fan.

Review

Death on the Beach by Anna Johannsen

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟💫

I’m a bit of an armchair sleuth. I love a good mystery or police procedural show. Much to my husband’s dismay, I often holler out who I am certain the culprit is when we are only 20% of the way through the program. If you’re a fellow Nancy Drew, this book was a fun read.

It follows the murder of Maria, a young girl from a deeply religious family. Detective Lina investigates the days and weeks before Maria’s death, but is faced with a lot of stonewalling from Maria’s community. They are used to judgment and aren’t particularly receptive to outsiders. As Detective Lina is making her rounds through the community, I felt for both her and the community at large. People often judge that which is different from what they know, and I hurt for the community that they felt scrutinized by virtue of their faith.

As any fellow detective (that’s me, not Lina) knows, the first 48 hours are critical. I stayed up until 11 PM last night (this is huge), trying to track down the killer. My palms were sweating, my pulse was racing and I’m sure my face was flushed (could also be related to the wine).

The reason, I didn’t make this a 4 🌟, is simply that I felt the end was rushed. The body of the book was excellent but I felt like when it came to exposing the killer, the author was ready to hang up her hat. I needed a bit more at the end. That taaaa-daaaa moment you remember about the book weeks later.

Either way, I will definitely give this author another read. It seems this is a series and this particular novel was published today!!! Thank you to #netgalley and #amazinpublishingUK for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book which is the second is the series. It is mainly set in the Frisian Islands. Detective Inspector, Lena Lorenzen is part of the Kiel CiD in Schleswig-Holstein. Lena goes to spend a few days with her boyfriend on the island of Fohr. Her break is interrupted by news of the disappearance of a schoolgirl, Maria. Lena starts to investigate. Maria’s body turns up on a beach a couple of days later. At first it appears to be suicide but Lena is not convinced. Maria and her parents belong to a religious cult connected to the Mennonites. There are many suspects. Can Lena find out what happened?

I knew nothing about this part of the world and found all the descriptions of Fohr and Amrum islands so interesting.. I would now like to visit them. The author has excellent characterisation skills. I felt I knew everyone. I kept suspecting so many people but I was wrong. It was a roller-coaster ride. I shall now buy book 1. I am grateful to Net Galley for introducing me to this author and this part of the world.

DI Lena Lorenzen is on holiday with her boyfriend on the North Frisian island of Amrum when her boss calls. DS Warnke requests her help to look for a missing teenage girl. Maria Logener seems to have disappeared from a nearby island and Warnke’s wife is acquainted with her parents. The case is sensitive because the Logener family are members of a very conservative church which many consider to be a cult. Nobody on the small island of Föhr, especially Maria’s parents, are cooperative in the investigation and Lena runs into one obstacle after another. However, she sees herself in the fourteen-year-old and won’t give up until she gets to the truth about what really happened to Maria.

This book is the second in a series, but I didn’t read the first one. I feel I missed out on some of Lena’s background, but was still able to enjoy the book. Lena is a complicated character. She is a caring and excellent detective, but sometimes makes questionable choices in her personal life. I don’t always like Lena, but I do respect her intelligence and her strength. I wasn’t familiar with the setting of the book, the Northern Frisian Islands, but I enjoyed learning about this area of the world.

The mystery of what happened to Maria is suspenseful and the procedural elements of the book are very well done. Even when I didn’t understand some of the things Lena did in her personal life, I loved the way she handled the investigation and all the complications which arose. The investigation goes in circles for a little bit since so many of the local residents didn’t want to tell the police the truth. When everything finally comes out, it was a bit of a letdown considering the build-up throughout the book. However, I enjoyed the characters and the unique setting, and I would love to read additional books in this series.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Thomas and Mercer. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Death in remote Northern Freisland!

A solid, enjoyable, Scandi noir read! Detective Lena Lorenzen is called out to the suicide of a fourteen-year-old girl on the small island of Föhrn part of the North Frisian islands. An area Lena is very aware of, an island she grew up on and left long ago.
It's the beginning of her leave. Six days she was going to spend with Erck. A relationship that's only be rekindled for a few weeks after a fourteen year break. A call from her boss Detective Superintendent Warnke puts paid to that. Warnke has asked for a favor. The girl was a member of a strictly devout free church that the rest of community views as a cult and has little time for.
On the surface Maria Logener death is a suicide. Something bothers Lena about it and she has a forensic team flown over with autopsy findings fast tracked. That suicide is a murder.
Meanwhile on the personal level Lena is having trouble with committing long term to Erck. And then when additional members are added to the investigation from the mainland, a former officer Lena met at a conference and had a one night stand with, turns up as part of the team. Complications indeed!
A death has occurred. The religious group Maria was part of is unhelpfully set against any outsiders, the rest of the island community are starting to feel their reservations about the group are justified and things could go very badly very quickly.
Apart from the ugly circumstances around Maria's death, also exposed are the community's prejudices, bullying, and less than stellar police work.

An Amazon UK ARC via NetGalley

Death on the Beach by Anna Johannsen is the second in the series of police procedurals, which take place in islands off the coast of Germany. The detective in charge is Lena Lorenzen who arrives as a consultant in the case of a missing girl and quickly becomes the head of a team searching for a murderer. It's a difficult investigation primarily because the girl's parents won't cooperate: they are members of a small, conservative church community who eschews cell phones and normal teenager things. The girl, Maria, was fourteen years old and already her parents were on the verge of arranging a marriage for her. Her best friend, Lisa, has her own secrets, as does her drama teacher and friend. Other islanders are reluctant to talk and reveal the thinly disguised prejudice against these people, making it nearly impossible to make headway. Maria has an older sister who has escaped the community but her own life had kept her from her sister of late and so she could be of little assistance. Lena's own situation with her boyfriend, Erck, on another island close by, makes concentrating all the more difficult.

This was an excellent novel, all the better because of the fine job of translating by Josef van der Voort. Too often translating ruins the book. It did not. Lena is a complex character, as are most people by their early thirties. She loves her career, despite it being a bit odd for a young woman. She misses her mother, who has been dead for years and she hates her father, with whom she has lost touch. She has recently rekindled a romance that had been dead since her teen years, but she is not sure that is what she wants, either. She loves the puzzle she has to figure out. He colleagues respect her and for the most part, cooperate with her. She has "friends" in to backup offices used by her department: forensics, the morgue, a computer expert, all of whom make her job doable. It was an excellent example of the genre. I enjoyed reading this book and hope to read more. I recommend it.

I received a free copy of Death on the Beach from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #deathonthebeach

This is a really good and interesting read. The setting was atmospheric and I thought that the storyline was really good and believable. I read the first book in this series and enjoyed it as well. I hope there are more books to come.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This story takes place on The Wadden Islands in Northern Friesland (Germany) and is excellently translated from German.
DI Lena Lorenzen works for the CID in Kiel and is about to start her holiday on Amrum (the island she was born and raised on) with her childhood love Erick, with whom she only recently reconnected when she receives a call from her DSU. On Fohr, the neighbouring island, a 14-year-old girl has disappeared and he wants her on the case. It’s a delicate matter as the family belongs to a very strict Mennonite church and community. It’s the sister that left the island when she was 18 that reported the girl missing, not the parents. Those behave very hostile towards the authorities. Later, the girl is found with slit wrists on the beach but it’s clear that a third party is involved.

This is a well-constructed but complex story. The characters are well developed and realistic. They have problems and doubts and don’t always agree on procedure or lines of investigation, but Lena steers a tight ship and has the last word on those things. Usually, she’s right, as well. She has her own personal problems on the islands though. There’s her father with whom she hasn’t spoken in years that wants her forgiveness. Her island boyfriend may want to move their relationship up to the next level, as long-distance relations are far from ideal, but Lena is not quite ready for this. On top of that, a former one-night-stand joins her team for the investigation and he also might want more. She can relate very well to the victim, being brought up on the secluded islands that can feel as a prison and without the religious content though.
The problems brought on by such a strict religious community are better understood by DS Johann Grasmann who was raised in a similar strict catholic village. He connects a bit too well to the victim’s sister but is honest enough to admit this when Lena confronts him about it. He’s happy that he can work again with her and is a good, clever policeman and a skilled researcher. His hunches may not always be right but he usually knows when someone isn’t telling the whole truth.
I didn’t know that there are still Mennonites living in Germany, but it shouldn’t surprise me as Switzerland and Germany are the places where they originated. I think that their community is fairly depicted. Showing both the positive sides of community sense and family values as well as the difficulties of growing up in those circumstances, the anti-society/authority sentiment, arranged marriages at too young ages, distrust of outsiders and all-over secrecy.
All the elements are presented as they occur and you’re never certain if a person is only a witness or a suspect after all. The smells of sea and salt on the islands are mentioned on several occasions, as are the culinary delights but I miss the visual descriptions of both nature and village. But of course, it’s not a tourist guide or documentary. I certainly want to read more books from this writer and it’s a shame that they haven’t been translated into Dutch (to my knowledge) as the other half of the Wadden Sea belongs to The Netherlands. Not that they’re not good enough to merit a translation on quality alone.
I thank Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for their free ARC; this is my honest and unbiased review of it.

This is the second book in this series and it was an enjoyable, but predictable read. Since there are only three books in this series, I will read the last one to see how the series ends.

Island Mystery Series #2
I did not read the first one. It can be read without knowledge of the first book.

I was pulled in from the first page. The investigation is complex due to everyone being tight-lipped. Lena is also, dealing with some personal issues. There's plenty of twists in this gripping read. The whole police procedural part of the book is captivating, and it’s not a book you want to put down. It, unfortunately, all leads to quite an anticlimactic ending, making the reader feel like he spent time working to solve the puzzle for nothing. Not that it isn’t realistic, in a police investigation sense, but really doesn’t always make for good crime book endings.

I may go back and read the first one now

This novel was good but I felt like it lacked the punch I was looking for in a normal thriller. The characters were just okay, unfortunately I figured out whodunnit early on and was pretty let down by that.

Book 2 in this Island Mystery series. This second novel has for me established this as a new crime / police procedural set of stories set among the North Frisian islands.
DI Lena Lorenzen is the lead investigator who holds it all together with her personal links to the locations and her thorough police methods. Managing and leading her team with passion, diligence and long hours of hard work.
Due to her local knowledge and as a safe pair of hands. Lena is asked to oversee the hunt for a missing teenager. It is a sensitive case as the young girl’s family belong to a conservative religious congregation. Her boss declares an interest in avoiding negative publicity and allows her a wide scope of investigation with resources when it appears the young woman may have been murdered.
The locations are stunningly shared within the story. The subject matter always a difficult one is approached with great insight and respect. The death is treated with care and without sensational detail. The family links as well as the closed Christian sect are explored in an open and honest way. Judgemental opinion and views are set aside as understanding and tolerance are built into the story.
This is a tragic case that is solved to give the parents closure and along the way relationships are brought into focus. This provides for an interesting drama that tackles bullying, family secrets, personal desire above conformity.
All the characters are well presented, motives are unpicked and flaws highlighted. This isn’t so much the story of random evil and a cruel unpredictable world but a quest for independence and a means for reconciliation.
You never feel in reading this book that it has been translated into English which demands a shout out for the work of Jozef van der Voort.
I commend this author to you and feel in Death on the Beach that Anna Johannsen, has announced herself fully into the world of crime fiction.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. You can get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZYMRFMR/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Sometimes, I fail to realize that a book is part of a series when I initially request it. Unfortunately for me, this was the second in this series. I wasn't totally lost, but I think that I definitely could have benefited from reading the prior book, unless that is the American in me.

We begin this book with Lena catching a ferry to end up in Amrum to spend six whole days with Erck. Sleeping, going for walks, cooking and talking. After fourteen years, they have rekindled their relationship over the past eight weeks. She has barely arrived at her destination and receives a work call and we learn that she is a Detective Inspector. Her boss informs her that there is a 14- year old girl that went missing on Fohr. Lena is quickly enlisted to run the search the next day, as the current officers searched and did not find her. Fohr is only an hour from where she is, so why not help out? It quickly is revealed that the girl's parents belong to a free church, a deeply devout free church. We are then on the adventure of finding what exactly happened to Marie Logener when her sister reported her missing. That alone is something- not her mother, but her sister called it in!! Lena, as a woman who was once a teen manages to uncover some of Marie’s secrets that her mother never even could imagine. So much drama in this book! As a mother of a daughter, I cannot even imagine how awful all of this could be to someone.
It was definitely a mystery as to what occurred.

I was bummed to find out this was a 2nd book in a series, but as I read it, was surprisingly delighted that I didn't feel like I missed anything by not reading the 1st book - MAJOR WIN in my eyes.

In my opinion, this is your typical mystery/whodunnit investigative novel, and was glad that the writing kept me interested throughout the story. Unfortunately though, the ending fell short of anything spectacular and left me disappointed that there wasn't more to it. I'm thinking to give Anna Johannsen another shot in case this was just a one-time-occurrence and perhaps the next book will round out spectacularly!

Thank you Anna Johannsen, Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. Always so grateful for the opportunity to read complimentary books!

An ultra conservative religious group, closing guarding their members from any attention is not the ideal group when a teenager of one of their families is found murdered on the beach. Seen as uncooperative and unwilling to divulge any information, not allowing access to their houses, cars is not helping the detectives on the case.

Set on an island off the Danish coast, the people are already well known to each other. Everyone seems to be stone walling the detectives and pressure is mounting to solve the case at the earliest. Even in this day and age arranged marriages within the community, implicit obedience, and the husband as head of the house prevents the detectives from getting any information vital to the case.

At the onset it seems as if the parents do not care - her father did not even join the group in its initial search and this strikes most people as odd but Lena the detective knows there is more than meets the eye. Is everyone actually shielding the murderer and how do they unravel the very few pieces of evidence they have to link to their killer.

It was a good story but I figured the killer very early on which is not always the case for me! I also liked that Lena had a personal life and this was very much part of the story as well. It added a different perspective to the story too.

Interesting read. Nice setting.

This is the 2nd book I have read by this author. It is refreshing to read a book set somewhere a little different and I have been inspired to visit this part of the world.
A young girl from a family who are part of a religious sect is found dead on the beach after running away from home. It is clearly a suicide.......or is it? There is a background story about the lead detectives love life, but you don't need to have read the first book to enjoy this one.
It seems there are other books by this author but sadly they have not yet been translated to English.

2nd book in a serious. I enjoyed reading the book . But I’m going to have to get ahold of the first book in the series just for my own sanity. Great story and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t feel lost or as if anything was missing.

Detective Lena Lorenzen is on holiday when she is asked to investigate the disappearance of Maria, a fourteen year old girl from the nearby island of Fohr. Her superior has interrupted her holiday because the girl belongs to a religious sect that his wife supports. Lena finds Maria's parents very difficult to talk to, as their attitude is far from helpful! Maria's sister, who is estranged from her family is the one desperately keen to find her. A body is found on the beach. At first suicide is suspected but then it is proven that it is murder. Who would want to murder her & why? Lena has a hard time trying to find out the truth.

This was a good police procedural in an unusual setting. It was a good read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Enjoyed this second book but am hoping in book #3 that Lena makes some decisions about her future and sticks to them Acts very weak in her personal life.

Quite a fun police procedural. My first book by this author, though third in the series. I quite likked Detective Lena as she investigated a missing child even on a holiday.

The author could keep my interest alive in the entire book. I was eager to know what had happened to the child. Lena was quite determined to get to the truth.

A good read.

I want to start by saying this is not a bad book, this review is based solely on personal enjoyment. The things I really liked about this book were the writing style which was unique and enjoyable, the island setting which is one of my favourites for a murder mystery and I loved the protagonist, detective Lena. We got to see not only her journey through the investigation but also her home life with family drama, relationship struggles and personal growth.

I did however decide to not continue with this book at the 60% mark and this was due to the fact that I was not engaged with the story and it got to the point where I didn't actually care how the story ended. I realised that I had enjoyed what I had from this story but I wasn't going to get anymore from it and had to choose to leave it.

If a murder mystery is something you're looking for then this book does have great potential, for some reason I just didn't click with it!

This is my first book by this author, and i found it nicely put together. The writing was good, but it was topical thriller/mystery.. don't take me wrong there nothing bad with the topical, actually it makes reading easy.
The best thing about this book is, you don't need to have read the first book to enjoy this one 😉

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I did enjoy the book but I did find it rather slow in places and not that gripping. It also seemed to concentrate on the main characters private life rather than the plot, which was a shame as the concept of the storyline was good and I felt a lot more could’ve been introduced to make it more gripping

Enjoyed this book. Obviously translated from German but that did not affect the story in any way.
I will look for more from author Anna Johannsen

Lena Lorenzen left the island over 14 years ago to settle on the mainland and has many memories of her life there. When a teenage girl goes missing and is later found dead on the beach Lena is placed in charge of the investigation. A large number of inhabitants are members of a religious cult and the parents of the missing girl dont react as expected when their daughter’s body is found. Although there are several suspects nothing will stop Lena from tracking down the killer even if it is one of the islands own.
Lena has recently rekindled a relationship with Erck on the mainland. Although she has no doubts about his love for her she struggles with the commitment involved escaping into her work as a way of avoiding any confrontation.
I can understand why Lena would want a career and that having a man who loved her wasn’t enough to make a commitment. Including their relationship problems made the story seem more realistic and I wished she could be more open with Erck. I guess that’s no different from what happens in real life.
This is the second book in The Island Mystery series and readers who enjoy crime/police procedurals should put this one on their reading list. It has an interesting mix of characters, a great setting and a plot to keep you hooked right to the end.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Very Good UK Detective Mystery

Detective Lena Lorenzen is taking a few days vacation to stay with her boyfriend,when she receives a call from her superior to investigate a fourteen year old girl who went missing on an island village off the coast of Germany nearby where she is visiting. Lena is a dedicated detective and when she hears the missing person is a child she drops everything to help on this case. Lena is unprepared for the uncooperative reactions from the girl's parents and neighbors until she finds out that they all belong to a religious sect that has alienated themselves from the regular townsfolk and Lena will have to dig hard to find out why all the secrecy and cold indifference to her looking for information about the girl. A few days later the body.of a young girl is found dead on the beach. Now the detective will have more suspects than she can handle and why didn't the parents report their daughter missing and why was it their other estranged daughter Johanna who had alerted the police about her missing sister instead of their parents.

This was a very enjoyable book for me. I loved reading about the different cultures of other countries, expressly small coastal village life and their close communities. I enjoyed the detective Lena character and her young sidekick Johan who closely worked with her and their fun relationship. The story shows the difficulty that sadly still goes on today of being a woman detective in a previously man's role and some of the hostility she receives while working in this community where they follow the old biblical roles of the man will be the ruler of the house and his family and the woman will be submissive to his word and will. The struggles Lena encounters are enormous and are putting a tremendous strain on her personal relationship. I hope there will be other books following these interesting characters because I will surely be in the line-up to read them.I

I sincerely want to thank "Amazon Publishing UK" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this terrific ebook and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I would definitely recommend this interesting book and have given a rating of 4 Intriguing 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Stars!!

Death on the Beach - Anna Johannsen- “A fourteen-year-old girl disappears on the small island of Föhr, and Detective Lena Lorenzen is called in to investigate. When the girl’s bloodied body is found on the beach with vicious wounds to the wrist, Lena immediately suspects that what’s been made to look like suicide was in fact a brutal and calculated murder. But the local residents—even the girl’s own parents—won’t cooperate with her investigation. The devoutly religious islanders are clearly hiding something. But what ungodly secret could possibly lead to the murder of an innocent teenage girl?”
I thought this book was slow moving. The girl is certainly dead, not in a pleasant way and they are debating suicide or murder. Her family is part of a strict religious community and they refuse to cooperate. On top of murder and religious strict rules, the author slips in some romance between the detective and her friend on the island. Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced reader’s copy.

The fast-paced storyline follows Detective Inspector Lena Lorenzen from CID in Kiel, Germany, as she leverages her no nonsense and tough-minded investigative skills to this intense drama to find the murderer of a fourteen-year-old girl on an isolated German island.

Lena is a complex character to understand, one of the reasons she so indomitable with her work and challenged with her personal life. A focused police professional every step of the way, Lena pushes her boundaries to the limit to get answers. She suspects everyone, trusts few, but has strong sensitivities to the feelings and motives of other.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Really good book, kept me guessing for most of the book and like the characters

The second book in the Island Mystery series by German author Anna Johannsen, DEATH ON THE BEACH has been masterfully translated Jozef Van Der Voort so that the story and its prose flow seamlessly. You lose nothing in translation and it feels as if it has been written in the Queen's English. The prose is so atmospheric I felt as if I was on the North Freisland island myself.

DI Lena Lorenzen has returned to her home island of Amrum for a much needed break to relax and enjoy some downtime with boyfriend Erck, with whom she had rekindled her relationship. Five whole days of rest and relaxation. But no sooner has she arrived and before she can put her feet up, she receives a call from her superior Detective Superintendent Warnke asking for a favour.

A 14 year old girl, Maria Logener, has gone missing on the island of Fohr. Her parents belong to an extreme conservative free church known as the Bretheren which is locally considered a cult by most of the islanders. Due to her local knowledge of the islands, DSU Warnke entrusts Lena with the investigation knowing that she will deal with it sensitively and avoiding any negative publicity. As it is, their working relationship has improved since the previous case and Warnke allows Lena a wide scope of resources to be hers for the asking as and when she needs them.

From the outset, Lena and her partner DS Johann Grasmann come up against unco-opertive parents who refuse to allow access to Maria's bedroom and deny any rebellion on their daughter's part. "Maria is a good girl" they claim. However Lena is no stranger to a parent's denial but the Logeners are different. As is their faith, the man is the head of the house with their wives and children deferring to their husband and/or father in every situation. And in accordance to their faith, Maria did not disobey her father and showed respect at all time. Unlike her older sister Johanna who turned her back on the Bretheren and her family to study pharmacology on the mainland. But what Lena finds interesting to note is that it was Johanna who raised the alarm and reported Maria missing...not her parents. And Lena wanted to know why. The first 48 hours are crucial and yet the Logeners have wasted precious time by not reporting her missing, refusing to believe Maria would leave the fold.

But then Lena receives the call she had been dreading. Maria's body has been found on the beach. Her death an apparent suicide. But something is bothering Lena and she suspects foul play. When Lena breaks the news to her parents, it seems the island's grapevine is quicker than she had anticipated and Maria's father denies that his daughter would take her own life. Lena believes Frau Logener knows more than she's saying due to the Bretheren's conservative views on wives deferring to their husbands at all times. So she devises a ruse to speak to her in private. No mother would want to sit back in an investigation into her daughter's death.

The case turns out to be a complex one with enquiries leading them in new directions and further questioning ensues. It appears that Maria Logener was not who everyone thought she was...but of course the investigation can't move forward without the victimology. Soon witnesses become persons of interest - teachers, friends, students - as the last days of Maria's life is slowly revealed.

On a personal level, Lena battles with her committment to Erck whilst having to deal with a former one night stand joining the team from the mainland. Then there is her estranged father who desires to reconnect with his daughter though Lena refuses to have anything to do with him. Meanwhile, I sympathise with poor Erck who is loving and patient with Lena despite her sometimes casual treatment of him. He wants to commit to her but he won't push her and yet she seems to want to enjoy the benefits without the committment. Isn't that a guy's line? I didn't find Lena particularly likeable in this regard.

Whilst it is a police procedural, I found the procedural story a little slow-moving. I couldn't care less about Ben's wanting to pick up with Lena where they left off after that one night. He doesn't seem to want to take no for an answer and yet at the same time, Lena is sending out mixed signals.

The setting is atmospheric that I found myself googling these little known islands off the coast of Germany so I could see their beauty for myself. The locations are stunning and I felt as if I was truly there...on the beach beside Lena, puzzling out the mystery alongside her.

However, I found the ending to be somewhat anti-climatic and wondering where the result came from. All that time spent on puzzling it out for something and nothing? It felt a little out of left field and disappointing.

Despite this, DEATH ON THE BEACH is a nice quick read. I read it in an afternoon/evening. I'll be back for the third installment, hoping for something more decisive in the way of Lena's relationship...because I like Erck.

A good quick read with a seamless translation from German. Perfect for those who enjoy Scandi-noir crime fiction.

I would like to thank #AnnaJohannsen, #NetGalley and #AmazonUK for an ARC of #DeathOnTheBeach in exchange for an honest review.

When I requested this book, I hadn’t realised that it was the second in a series of books and that might have helped me understand the back story to Lena and her ex, Erick.

The story is set around Lena, who is a detective, reconnecting with her ex. Whilst, visiting her ex, she is assigned to a case (as a favour) fof a missing teenage girl. She can’t get the parents, who are extremely religious to cooperate with her and Maria (the girl) turns up dead. Whilst it might look like suicide, Lena isn’t so sure.

It’s a fast paced story, which will maintain your interest and is definitely worth a read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

I liked this as much for the setting as the mystery. It's hard to investigate a murder- even of a young girl- when the community has so many secrets. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good procedural.

This is the first book I've read by this author, but it won't be my last. Her book was very well written, and kept me glued until the end. Recommended.

Great thriller that kept me engaged from start to finish. Fabulous plot and characters, and author I will definitely read more of!