Edwardian Murder Mysteries
historical mystery
Series · historical mystery
Hannah Vogel
The Hannah Vogel series by Rebecca Cantrell has 4 books and is best read in publication order, starting with A Trace of Smoke (2009).
- Books
- 4 books
- First published
- 2009
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: A Trace of Smoke (2009) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
A Trace of Smoke
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Trace of Smoke - Book 2:
A Night of Long Knives
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Night of Long Knives - Book 3:
A Game of Lies
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Game of Lies - Book 4:
A City of Broken Glass
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A City of Broken Glass
About the Hannah Vogel series
Hannah Vogel is a crime reporter working in Berlin as the Nazi party tightens its grip on Germany, using her press credentials and her nose for a story to investigate crimes the authorities would rather leave buried. A Trace of Smoke (2009) opens the series as Hannah discovers a photograph of her missing brother in the police files of unidentified dead -- and has to investigate his death herself while hiding the fact that he was gay, and that she is raising his son, from a regime that would kill them both for either secret. A Night of Long Knives (2010) plunges Hannah into the actual historical purge of the same name, Hitler's 1934 killing of political rivals, forcing her into direct danger from the machinery of the Nazi state.
A Game of Lies (2011) and A City of Broken Glass (2012) continue Hannah's story through the escalating terror of the 1930s, culminating around Kristallnacht, as she works to protect her adopted son and the people she loves while the country around her collapses into open persecution. Rebecca Cantrell, an American writer who spent years living in Berlin, grounds the series in careful period research, and the Edgar Award-nominated series is as much about ordinary moral courage under an increasingly totalitarian state as it is a conventional mystery.
Frequently asked questions
How many Hannah Vogel books are there?
Four: A Trace of Smoke (2009), A Night of Long Knives (2010), A Game of Lies (2011), and A City of Broken Glass (2012).
What order should I read the Hannah Vogel books in?
Publication order, starting with A Trace of Smoke. The series follows continuous character and historical arcs across all four books.
What is the Hannah Vogel series about?
A crime reporter in Nazi-era Berlin investigating her brother's death and, across the series, the escalating danger to her adopted son and the people around her as Hitler's regime tightens its hold on Germany through the 1930s.
Is the Hannah Vogel series historically accurate?
It's grounded in careful period research -- A Night of Long Knives is built around the real 1934 political purge of that name, and A City of Broken Glass culminates around the historical events of Kristallnacht.
Is the Hannah Vogel series connected to Order of the Sanguines?
No -- it's a separate, unrelated series by Rebecca Cantrell. Order of the Sanguines is her collaboration with James Rollins, tracked on its own series page on this site.
If you like the Hannah Vogel series
Reading order last verified .