Stasi Child: The award-winning Cold War crime thriller

Description

East Berlin, 1975. When Oberleutnant Karin Muller is called to investigate a teenage girl's body at the foot of the Wall, she imagines she's seen it all before. But when she arrives she realises this is a death like no other. It seems the girl was trying to escape - but from the West. Muller is a member of the People's Police, but in East Germany her power only stretches so far. The Stasi want her to discover the identity of the girl, but assure her the case is otherwise closed - and strongly discourage her from asking questions. The evidence doesn't add up, and it soon becomes clear the crime scene has been staged. But this is not a regime that tolerates a curious mind, and Muller doesn't realise that the trail she's following will lead her dangerously close to home... Stasi Child is David Young's brilliant and page-turning debut novel.

David Young was born near Hull and - after dropping out of a Bristol University science degree - studied Humanities at Bristol Polytechnic. Temporary jobs cleaning ferry toilets and driving a butcher's van were followed by a career in journalism with provincial newspapers, a London news agency, and international radio and TV newsrooms. He now writes in his garden shed and in his spare time supports Hull City AFC.

An exceptionally fluid mystery that holds the reader gripped. Reminiscent of Fatherland and AD Miller's Snowdrops, Stasi Child heralds a bold new voice - and character - in historical crime. NetGalley Book of the Month Deep and dark, this debut is utterly gripping, sucking you in straight from the get go. Fascinating backdrop, well observed characters and a corker of an ending. Superb. -- Nikki Owen (author of The Spider in the Corner of the Room) Stasi Child is great read - not just for the story itself (exciting and gripping as it is) - but also because it brings back most vividly a time that most of us have forgotten ... David Young has researched the book extensively, and its believability shines through. tripfiction.com Stasi Child captures the mood of the time, place and ideology brilliantly ... The fact that Stasi Child is a debut novel makes it all the more remarkable. I really hope Karin Muller returns, and in the not too distant future ... a deeply atmospheric and haunting read. For Winter Nights