News From the Continent

 Westerhever—A Place for Murder and Other Crimes

Crime Reading Retreat November 2023

Find a wonderful area. You should be cosy and pursue your favourite hobby
 –  READING CRIME NOVELS –
without any distraction.
This was the task for the reading retreat of the Murderous Sisters.

The ideal retreat was found in Westerhever on the coast of Schleswig-Holstein –  a terp house from the 17th century that offered enough space for six Sisters. Three of us had their own rooms; three shared an apartment. Murderous Sisters love to read crime fiction and we were looking forward to recommending the books we had read to each other. We also planned a game of cards in which a murder is reconstructed. A crime dinner was to be the highlight.

The first act was to go to the supermarket and buy what we needed to keep our bodies going while reading. On the way back it was already getting dark. Chatting in a happy mood, the driver nearly overlooked the warning sign for a detour and almost minimised our group. From then on, four pairs of eyes looked intently onto the street. At the time, no one knew what would happen in the next four days …

Immediately after moving into the former farmhouse on the terp, one Sister noticed that the paths to the house were quite long. The rain was also pouring down. After all: this was November! A solution had to be found to get us and all our groceries into the house without being drenched. Alone and without leaving a note, Sister One checked the basement. She looked here and there, not paying attention to the muffled sound of the fire door snapping shut. Unfortunately, the handle on her side was missing. There was no turning back...

Sister Two was looking forward to exploring the area on her rented bike. As the weather improved, she went on the dyke to the famous lighthouse almost all German calendars show as a picture-perfect motive. She was longing to look at the sea from high above. Unfortunately, the nautical mark was being renovated and mounting the normal stairs seemed impossible. Without further ado, she climbed the scaffolding instead. She was sure no one would mind as it was a weekend. After all, there was no one around. Those were probably her last thoughts when she slipped and was no longer able to grab hold of the damp metal bars. (This starts looking like Agatha Christie’s “And then there were none...”, does it not?)

Meanwhile, Sister Three enjoyed the peace and quiet of the house, then explored the 
surrounding area. She came back home freezing and brewed herself some delicious 
tea. It had to be healthy, contain natural ingredients and, above all, offer relaxation. 
The water bubbled and she poured it over aromatic berries and leaves from the nearby
meadow. They exuded a fruity bouquet. Alas, she was not able to empty the tea pot; 
a tiny bit of thimble had done its work too quickly.

The three Sisters that shared the apartment didn’t notice anything because of all their reading. Totally absorbed, they were following their own plans and went to bed early. Two of them immediately sank into deep dreams. The third, however, heard an eerie scratching sound. A monster seemed to be raging directly above her. Sometimes it scratched faster, sometimes it rolled over the ground. In any case, sleep was out of the question. Increasingly panicked, the Sister looked for shelter under the blanket. Still the monster could be heard. Should she wake the others? She didn’t dare. Her heart beat faster and faster until it …stopped…

On Tuesday morning the sun shone in the most beautiful way. Fog still shrouded the meadows, but this promised to be a perfect day. The fifth Sister hastened her breakfast and called to no one in particular: “I’m off to the sea.” She didn’t wait for an answer and ran up the dyke. She reached the top a little out of breath and looked around in surprise: Where was the sea? Something glittered in the far distance. Determined, she set off into that direction across the mudflats. But the expected waves were still out of sight. I’ve already mastered more difficult hikes, she thought to herself, and kept going. but the sea is treacherous. Sometimes it retreats and then it creeps up behind you through tidal channels. She should have known that...

The sixth Sister had listened to an audio book that very morning and had heard 
nothing else. She wanted to have breakfast with the others and went into the kitchen. 
She listened for sounds but heard nothing but silence. Not even the slightest creak
indicated the presence of another human being. Late risers, all of  them, she thought
brewed herself some coffee and dived into an exciting thriller. The novel was about 
a small group wanting to retreat to a lonely house for nothing but reading, reading, 
reading. Little by little, one after the other died, What nonsense, thought Sister Six. 
The others would have noticed! 

Heike Stepprath is a PR consultant by profession and a Murderous Sister from Hamburg, Germany. Book blogging is her passion. Since 2002, she has been publishing her reviews online. In 2016, this became the blog named “Frau Goethe liest” (“Mrs Goethe reads”). She reads about 120 books a year and reviews about 80. She loves sharing opinions about her favourite topic with others. You can also listen to her on a podcast. There are interviews with authors and sometimes topics helpful for book marketing.