Hugo Fischer - Ashes in the Snow (Hugo Fischer, Book 1)

By Oriana Ramunno, Translated by Katherine Gregor

A beautiful, moving detective story set in Auschwitz in the Christmas of 1943.

A young Jewish prisoner…
Auschwitz, 1943. It’s snowing outside and Block 10 looks even bleaker than usual. Gioele Errera, a young Jewish boy imprisoned in the camp, finds the body of an SS officer.

A detective with everything to prove…
Hugo Fischer is sent to investigate the unexplained death of the renowned Nazi. But Hugo is hiding a secret – he is suffering from a degenerative disease. The only way for him to survive is to give his support to the Reich and hide his condition.

A confrontation with pure evil…
In Auschwitz, Hugo comes face to face not only with a complex murder, but with a truth – that of the Final Solution. And he is forced to decide what is most important to him – and who, if anyone, he should try to save…

What readers are saying about Ashes in the Snow

‘A haunting, emotionally dynamic and poignant mystery’

‘I cannot recommend this book too highly, it is well-written and interesting, horrifying details are interwoven with the story keeping me on the edge of my seat’

‘This book is powerful, interesting and horrifying’

‘This is an excellent book,.a complex case, interesting and often unpredictable characters and an ending that I certainly didn’t see coming’
‘An incredible book, reminiscent of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas but with a detective story twist’

‘Well written, beautifully paced and unputdownable – brilliant!’

‘A moving, human account of life in the most inexplicably evil place ever’
‘ A book I shan’t forget in a hurry’

‘A chilling but compelling read which leaves the reader with much to think about’

‘All I ask is that you read it – please’

Format: Paperback
Release Date: 14 Sep 2023
Pages: 336
ISBN: 978-0-00-849557-2
Price: £9.99, £9.99 (Export Price) , €None
ORIANA RAMUNNO (Melfi, 1980) lives in Berlin with her husband and three kids. Following a number of awarded crime novellas and short stories in various magazines, she pursued the writing of her debut thriller Ashes in the Snow inspired by the story of her grandfather, who was detained in the Flossenbürg concentration camp. She dedicated this book to him, a book she describes as “the last act of love in a long journey”.

“A novel that moves … beyond the crime genre to which it appears initially to belong” The Times -

“There is no doubting the power of the story and the righteous anger of its telling” Shots magazine -