The Beginning

Description

The Bentheims of Berlin take in Till Anschutz, an orphan on the run, who quickly befriends twelve-year-old Max. The boys are intrigued by the office where Max's cold, distant father, Xavier Bentheim, writes his horror novels. And when they get up the nerve to explore, Max and Till are truly horrified by what they discover behind a hidden door...Till awakens strapped to a gurney. His belly is burning, and a young woman with dead eyes flicks her forked tongue against his face. "We've modified you - you'll like it," a familiar voice purrs...Inspector Konstantin Butz discovers the mutilated corpse of a woman; beside her lies a power drill freshly wrenched from her stomach. This latest in a series of connected murders launches Butz on an obsessive search for the killer, but the key could lie hidden with his own girlfriend...Claire Bentheim.

Born in Berlin in 1966, Jonas Winner lived in Rome and the United States before moving back to his home city to study philosophy. As a reporter and television editor, he shot documentaries and covered cultural affairs. His experience informed his work on screenplays, and several of his detective stories and thrillers have aired throughout Europe. He released his debut novel in 2011, followed by the seven-part Berlin Gothic series, which became one of Germany's first e-book bestsellers. Winner lives and writes in Berlin.