Tainted Love

In the forests at the edge of the country, where murder isn’t just a fairy tale

It is the summer of 1986 in northern Hesse close to the border with the GDR. The air shimmers with the heat, as the forest quietly dies. The region is an enchanted idyll, where villages have fairy-tale names and the border with East Germany marks the end of the world. This is home to Martin Ritter, a librarian with a penchant for photography, and his girlfriend, Christine Lehmann, a sharp-eyed journalist. They are seekers who met and came to love one another on a terrible night when a little girl disappeared.

The sun, which has been scorching the forests for weeks, now reveals a luxury car submerged in a lake. Who sank it? What became of the driver? As Martin and Christine search for answers, they uncover sinister signs of love . . . and murder.

The opening volume of an atmospheric crime series set during special times and in a hidden place

The era of the 1980s in an enchanted, idyllic setting

For fans of Liz Moore and Martin Walker