The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch

Asked to read this by my boss, I complied. It was a difficult start. This is to be read by those with a strong stomach and a forgiving heart. Painful throughout, segments of torture, gross stupidity, mass hysteria are occasionally punctuated by short elements of rare human kindness.
The story takes place in the mid 1600's in rural Germany near Bavaria. Organized torture, murder and corruption rule the populace. Ignorance and superstition are so rampant, one wonders how the human race has survived. Witch trials were a thing of the past but are creeping again to the fore in this community.
The good guys are few and rules are distinctly assinine.
Strangely, the local hangman is the good guy even though he is the one charged with torturing and slaying anyone accused of upsetting the local mindset.
Predictably, the midwife, a close friend of his family, comes to be his next victim, at the insistance of the town council. Murdered children, greed and rampant fear ignite mass stupidity into quite a tangled web of deceit.
The hangman's friend, an ostracized doctor's apprentice, and the oldest daughter set about to resolve issues before the midwife is burnt.
Redeemably, for those with interest in herbs and plants, some historical information about a number of useful herbs is intrinsic to the story line.
If you have the stomach for this, it is intricately woven and well-written. Only two or three typos, and one obscure translation difficulty were encountered as I labored through this book.
If you do not know how to effectively purge hideous images from your psyche, then do not read this book. If you believe you are strong enough to handle it and come away unharmed, then enjoy the intricacy of the plotting and the scenery of the Black Forest and the depictions of buildings and a five-hundred year old community. If you are German, as am I, you may feel some shame directed toward ancient ancestors. 
If you are of a philosophical nature, it will get you wondering again as to the source of cruelty in the human species. But that's another whole topic for one of our other Blogs...
Be forewarned, this is not just a novel, it is historical fiction based upon the author's family history and genealogical  research.
Within the tale resides the evidence that although mass thought is worse than criminal intent, there does lurk within our species an element of compassion and even empathy. The ability to think for one's self is crucial to human development and social advancement. Can we grasp these fundamental necessities? Can we reach the tipping point we need to embrace the concepts we find in the acronym WWJD or the movie Avatar?
And for all my criticism, I nominate it for classic status.