The Body on the Beach: An Island Mystery, Book 1

Detective Investigator Lena Lorenzen grew up in a resort area by the sea, but she moved away to pursue a career in criminal justice. She's had her professional ups and downs, the most notable disappointment was being taken off a case of a missing young boy. She is surprised when her superior suddenly offers her a chance to investigate a somewhat suspicious death on the island where she grew up. She doesn't really trust the boss, and wonders if she is actually being set up to take some kind of fall. Eventually, she agrees to accept the assignment, seizing the opportunity to reestablish her reputation as a top-notch investigator. Back home, she will be eager to see her beloved Aunt Beke, but hoping to avoid her old beau Erck. Seeing her father is something she steadfastly refuses. As conjured up by author Johannsen, our protagonist detective is a very complicated character. I found myself badly wanting to understand her relationships and her ambitions. Her boyfriend Joe doesn't figure very prominently in the story, but readers learn he is a lot more serious than she is. I especially enjoyed Lena's interactions with Sergeant Johann Grasmann, a younger policeman assigned to assist her with the possible homicide investigation. Grasmann seems to be in awe of Lena's work style and professional skills. Lena reconnects with former flame Erck while she is in town.As for the investigation, the death of a local citizen, supposedly from a heart attack, does indeed seem suspicious. A suspect list grows quickly in light of the man's shady business dealings, unpredictable temperament, shaky finances, and roving eye. I turned the pages a little faster hoping to find out who might have committed the murder and how did they cover it up. Will Lena be able to catch the culprit? Will her career once again be at risk if she crosses some higher-ups along the way? Johannsen's plot is very compelling. The action accelerates as Lena's computer hacker helps her navigate the dangers of the Dark Web, where she sets up an elaborate sting operation. The ending comes rather abruptly, but if that sounds like a criticism, let me clarify that the mystery's fast culmination was satisfying enough that I am looking forward to finding out what comes next for Detective Investigator Lorenzen in Island Mystery Book 2.

It's a murder mystery, but light-hearted enough (not noir) set in the North Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast of Germany (just below Denmark). The female detective from the state police is likable and believable, the interactions with people genuine, and the friction with her bosses back at the state capital in Kiel realistic (to me). The locals don't stonewall her too much because she grew up on one of the islands. I'll spare you the details other than the dead guy and his wife ran an orphanage and the case is forensically a hard nut to crack -- as in, was it a murder at all? All in all it's an enjoyable B+ read. If you want it in the original German, Kindle has that too.

The subject matter is Hard Reading. The criminals the Worst of the Worst. But the story is well told, and the investigators were very good to read.

This is a very good mystery story about a body found in the Beach and his death was not natural causes

This book keeps you reading. Just one more chapter then I will put it aside and go to bed. Not to sleep of course, the book follows me. The story revolves around Lena, a very good detective with some personal baggage. You cannot help but like her and her determination. Plot moves forward with the characters well rounded. My only problem, this is the only one translated into English. All the others, so far, are in German. Please have the other books in the series translated into English soon. I am so looking forward to reading the other books in the series. The translator did a great job in transferring the story from German to English. Smooth reading.

What a pleasure to read a well written & translated murder, without the blood, gore, sex & bad language so prevalent in stories today. I’ve got a new favourite author & hope she will add many more to this series. Unlike the “cops & robbers” of bang, bang, bang guns blazing etc, this came over as good police procedure, well planned story & well worth reading.

The story is great, but all the unknown previous drama is disruptive to the flow and pace of the story. It took awhile to get used to the language differences, but overall, I enjoyed the story. It was darker than I thought, but a bit predictable. Looking forward to reading the next book!

The is a new author for me and I was pleasantly surprised. The story was well constructed with intelligent dialogue and characters. It was a story inside a story and not what it appeared to be at the beginning. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading others by the author.

'The Body on the Beach' is the first of a series of novels by Anna Johannsen featuring DI Lena Lorenzen. As such it can be read as a 'standalone story' which is rather convenient as the other books in the series have not yet been translated into English (hopefully, something that will be rectified soon!).The story opens with the discovery of the body of Hein Bohlen, director of a children's home, on a beach on Amrum, a small island off the coast of Germany. Hein's wife, Sabine, is not convinced her husband had died of natural causes. Lena spent her early life on Amrum before moving to Kiel, so when the early findings from the forensic examination suggests foul play probably contributed to his death, Lena is sent to investigate.What I particularly enjoy about this book is the setting (a small isolated island community), the intricacies of the investigation where, as we follow Lena's investigation, we discover plenty of the residents have something to hide. There are also a number of sub plots, some of which are clearly left open for later books in the series to explore (but which do not spoil the main story-line which is fully resolved by the end of the novel). I also liked the way that every once in a while you get a small snippet showing the killer's observations about how the investigation is progressing.This is an easy book to read. There are no gory or gratuitous scenes. I particularly like the clever juxtaposition between the seriousness of the criminal investigation and Lena's relationships with her police colleagues, with more light-hearted aspects relating to her re-kindling of past relationships with childhood relatives and friends.The story starts a little slowly as the author introduces us to the principal cast of characters, but it doesn't take long for it to pick up a head of steam. My only criticism about the plot concerns the degree to which Lena is willing to use some quite dubious methods to acquire some of her evidence (e.g. hacking of email accounts to name just one). While these certainly help move the plot along, I found myself wondering to what extent such actions would compromise any prosecutions that could follow ... but then this is a work of fiction so why should one let such small matters spoil the enjoyment of what is a really intriguing police procedural story?So, if you like crime thrillers that are easy to read and have intriguing plots that hold your interest, then I think you will enjoy 'The Body on the Beach'. I certainly did and can only hope that we do not have to wait too long for the other books in the series to be translated into English.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down. There were lots of interesting twists and turns to keep you guessing. I would definitely recommend. Ideal holiday read but it was a read with a good story and substance.

........ this wonderful author and thoroughly enjoyed this first in the island series. I do love a good who dunit and this one certainly kept me guessing, I enjoyed finding out about the characters and their stories plus I also loved that it wasn’t over the top on the gore / violence side as so many are these days. Most of all I loved the setting, so beautifully described - I had to do a google search which improved my geography (not difficult to do!) and has added that area to the ‘I would love to visit’ list. I am off to read the second book 😊

Loved it- an amazing read. It was a little slow to begin with but by chapter 4 I could not put this book down. Precise and detailed twists and turns of a dark plot along with some lovely descriptions of a fascinating and little known area of Europe.Please could we have the rest of the series transcribed as my German isn't good enough to follow the subtle details.

A well written or should that be translated novel. Engaging from first to last page, a modern day but somewhat old fashioned Police procedural, in as much as only one body to investigate. Set in the North Frisian islands, atmospheric clever descriptive intelligent with a terrific cast of characters, especially our smart brave feisty heroine.WARNING : Story does involve investigation of child abuse and while not graphic could not be to some readers taste.Recommended