Description

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A gripping and atmospheric Black Forest Investigation featuring Detective Inspector Louise Bonì.

"Oliver Bottini is one of the most sophisticated crime writers of modern times" Sunday Times

In a Berlin hotel a man is beaten up, but it's more than a random assault and the attacker escapes undetected. When the trail leads to Freiburg, Chief Inspector Louise Bonì is sent to investigate.

It's a complex case, a professional job. The victim is a secret service informer, the only witness knows more than she's saying, and the intelligence service is hovering in the background, refusing to cooperate. Industrial espionage appears to be at play, focused on the booming solar-energy sector.

"Taut writing and pacy events" Sunday Times

Bonì's investigation is repeatedly obstructed, and again she has to rip up the police handbook in her attempt to find out how the different threads of the web tie together. But by the time she discovers the truth, it's already too late for one of those involved . . .

"Bottini is a terrific storyteller" Sunday Express

The fifth in the Black Forest Investigations featuring Louise Bonì - by the five-time winner of the German Crime Fiction Award

Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch

About the Author

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Oliver Bottini was born in 1965. Five of his novels, including ZEN AND THE ART OF MURDER and A SUMMER OF MURDER of the Black Forest Investigations have been awarded the Deutscher Krimipreis, Germany's most prestigious award for crime writing. ZEN AND THE ART OF MURDER was shortlisted for the 2018 CWA International Dagger. He lives in Frankfurt. www.bottini.de.

Praise For…

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Oliver Bottini is one of the most sophisticated crime writers of our times . . . [his] plots are always original, and this one is as intriguing as ever—Sunday Times

Oliver Bottini is one of the most sophisticated crime writers of our times . . . [his] plots are always original, and this one is as intriguing as ever—Sunday Times

The Black Forest investigations are emblematic of the European crime scene, with the striking southwest Kirchzarten region the backdrop to cruel malfeasance.—Financial Times Summer Crime Picks

The Black Forest investigations are emblematic of the European crime scene, with the striking southwest Kirchzarten region the backdrop to cruel malfeasance.—Financial Times Summer Crime Picks

Bottini is a terrific storyteller—Sunday Express

Bottini is a terrific storyteller—Sunday Express

Bottini has established himself as a strong new voice in crime—Book Noir

Bottini has established himself as a strong new voice in crime—Book Noir

Bottini's novels are infused with his knowledge of the darker corners of European history, showing its impact decades after the horrific events that drive his plots—Sunday Times

Bottini's novels are infused with his knowledge of the darker corners of European history, showing its impact decades after the horrific events that drive his plots—Sunday Times