Dusseldorf prostitute Emma Gross has been murdered and the police have charged Peter Kurten – the “Vampire of Dusseldorf”, the first man ever to be called a serial killer. Murderer, yes, but did he commit this particular crime? The arresting officer, Thomas Klein, thinks not, even though Kurten has confessed. These are the dying days of Weimar Germany, the police force is increasingly divided between right and left. It is a dangerous time. Klein thinks that the real killer is somewhat closer to home. Yet the only people who can help him include a Communist journalist, Gross’s friends, and others in the underworld who hate the police. This is a novel of obsession set in the wild days of Weimar, doomed to end with the Nazi takeover.

One of the highlights of my holiday reading – Stuart MacBride

There is a name that should be on every crime fan’s reading list and it’s Damien Seaman – Tony Black, author of Murder Mile

Damien Seaman lived in Germany for several years. He has a degree in Modern History from Oxford and has worked as a Parliamentary Assistant, security guard and financial analyst. His short crime fiction, interviews and reviews have appeared on many crime ezines and websites, and he has been published in the New York Times. Brought up in Lincolnshire, he now lives in Birmingham.