Der Ausbruch [literally: The Eruption or The Break-Out] is a small short story collection by Petra Hammesfahr. There is no English translation (yet).
Finished on: 9.6.2025

Hammesfahr is one of the most prominent German crime writers. Der Ausbruch is a tiny book that collects three short stories that I grabbed many years ago because I am always interested in female authors and it was cheap. But, despite being well written, the collection proved to me once again why I am often right to be wary of crime as a genre since the overarching theme of the three stories is about men mudering women because they (think they) love them. Definitely not for me.

Read more about each of the stories below.

Der Ausbruch [The Eruption or the Break-Out]

Harry has been married to Nina for a while, but then there is Helen. She is new at his work and she seems drawn to Harry. Harry is definitely drawn to her.

The story really drew me in at first, but the ending, unfortunately, ruined it for me. Poor Helen didn’t deserve any of this. And it just seemed like a really cheap twist. But the description of how much Harry hates Nina was fantastically horrible, Hammesfahr really made sure you felt the violence of his hatred.

Der Blinde [The Blind Man]

Content Note: ableism, anti-sex worker

The narrator is blind but he found love with a sex worker. But she has a hard time leaving her old life behind.

Well, I saw that one coming (no pun intended). And in combination with the first story, this one made me fear the last one, suspecting that it, too, will have a man murder a woman out of some perversion of love. In addition, the entire set-up – that nobody could ever love a blind man, and that the sex worker cannot be trusted, tasted of various -isms to me. The best thing about it was the setting in that old coal mining town, very vivid and evocative.

Der Hausmeister [The Janitor]

Content Note: stalking

The janitor of an apartment building becomes obsessed with a new tennant, Vanessa, a young single woman.

Yes, we are 3 for 3 stories where men kill the women they profess to love. I don’t know if Hammesfahr always writes stories like that or if they made the decision to choose these three stories precisely because of that similarity, but I don’t want to read shit like this. And that Vanessa basically plays with fire in this story, smacks of victim-blaming.

Summarizing: No, thanks.