In Hannover, Germany in the early 1920s, there was a rumor that the River Leine was filled with the
bodies of dead children
. When the river was finally dredged,
over 1,500 human bones were found
in the foul-smelling sludge. All the flesh had been carefully removed from the bones. What had been done with it? Who had committed these horrific murders? And why hadn't he been caught sooner?
Readers beware,
this story is not for the faint of heart
.
"270 missing children, do you realize that there have been 270 disappearances in one year!" barked Police Chief Retz, beside himself, addressing a room full of bewildered police officers.
And the numbers kept growing and growing... A
serial killer
nicknamed the Ogre of Hannover was able to operate in the city, unchecked, for years.
Local businessman Fritz Haarmann, always so polite and well dressed, greeted everyone in his neighborhood with a smile. He was even on friendly terms with the chief of police.
Such a nice man was above all suspicion
. How could anyone imagine that he was the one abducting children, let alone that he was killing and dismembering them and dumping their bones in the river at night...? With an average of
one murder per week
over the span of years, his arrest couldn't come too soon.
This chilling story has been impeccably researched and tactfully dramatized
by Viviane Janouin-Benanti, the author of over twenty
captivating historical true crime novels
. In telling this story, Janouin-Benanti does not glorify the sordid details of this serial killer's crimes. She tells us the facts and names his victims, sharing their tragic stories as well.