After the Curtain Falls
A Case for Berlin and Vienna
Published by Diogenes as Nach dem Applaus
Original Title: Nach dem Applaus
Neither of them can function without the other – the investigator duo that is Thomas Bernhardt and Anna Habel returns for another round. Already a star of the Austrian National Theatre, actress Sophie Lechner had her sights set on bringing down the house in Berlin, but her last, dramatic act comes far too soon. The young woman is stabbed in her apartment by Berlin's Lietzensee, loud opera music resonating out from her apartment even hours after her murder. Whether they want to or not, Berlin detective inspector Thomas Bernhardt and Viennese chief inspector Anna Habel have no choice but to join forces once more. Did one of Sophie's numerous lovers commit a crime of passion, or had the eccentric actress made enemies in the thespian world? When other people who knew Sophie turn up dead, the two investigators find themselves hot under the collar despite the arctic temperatures in their snow-deluged cities.
Crime Fiction, Contemporary Literature
400 pages
2013

978-3-257-30018-5
Claus-Ulrich
Bielefeld
Claus-Ulrich Bielefeld, born in 1947 in Bad Schwalbach, studied German, sociology and philosophy. He works as editor for literature for Berlin-Brandenburg radio, as well as a literary critic for numerous newspapers. He lives in Berlin.
Photo: © Bastian Schweitzer / Diogenes Verlag
Petra
Hartlieb
Petra Hartlieb, born in Munich in 1967, grew up in Upper Austria. She studied psychology and history in Vienna and later worked in public relations and as a literary critic in Vienna and Hamburg. Since 2004 she has also been run a bookshop in Vienna with her husband.
Photo: © Ulrik Hölzel

Quotes

Maren Schulze
Cellesche Zeitung
»The authors Claus-Ulrich Bielefeld and Petra Hartlieb succeeded in creating an atmospheric, dense and thrilling winter crime novel.«
Wolfgang Bortlik
20 Minuten, Zurich
»A gripping thriller, meticulously constructed and narrated, with a close connection to reality and an investigative team the reader can relate to on a human level.«