The Play of Death is the sixth book in Hangman's Daughter, the
million-copy bestselling series.
It is 1670 and Simon Fronwieser is in the town of Oberammergau to bring
his seven-year-old son to boarding school. As he bids his boy a tearful
farewell, news comes of a shocking murder: the man who was to play the
part of Christ in the town's Passion play has been found dead, nailed to
the set's cross. As there is no doctor in town, Simon is brought in to
examine the body. The opportunities to spend more time with his son and
to investigate the murder quickly convince him to stay.
Soon he is joined by his father-in-law, Jakob Kuisl, the Schongau
hangman, and the two begin piecing together the puzzle of the actor's
death. Was he murdered by a jealous rival? Are the recently arrived and
unpopular immigrant workers somehow involved? Or is it a punishment from
God for the villagers' arrogance in trying to schedule the play four
years earlier than prescribed by ancient custom? Once again, it looks
like it is up to the Kuisls to unravel the mystery and bring a town's
dark secrets to light.