Black Ice

This is a beautifully crafted thriller set in a European world of small-town hypocrisy. Erika, an attractive local heiress, is married to Wallmann. When she falls to her death near their lakeside villa, the police conclude it as a tragic accident. Scholten, a long time employee of Erika's, knows a thing or two about the true state of her marriage. He suspects an almost perfect crime. Scholten's maverick investigation soon buys him a ticket for a most dangerous ride.

"A beautifully translated thriller, not a drop of blood on its pages. The nastiness takes place off-stage which makes it all the more threatening." BBC 2 Television "Culture" "A dark thriller in the Patricia Highsmith tradition. Kettenbach's protagonist, the bad tempered, foul-mouthed Jupp, is approaching retirement, and is devastated by the death of his long-time employer, the only person for whom he had any affection. The police have concluded that she died in an accident, but Jupp is convinced that her husband was responsible and he determines to prove the man's guilt. The slow build up to the cruel and bitter ending displays Kettenbach's skill and confirms his reputation as one of Germany's leading crime writers." Sunday Telegraph

Kettenbach is 75 and still writing. He was a somewhat late bloomer. A football journalist at 28, he earned a history and philosophy degree at 36 and published his first novel at 50. His latest roman noir was published in Germany in May. He is often compared to Simenon and Patricia Highsmith. Kettenbach has published twelve novels, five of which, including Black Ice, were made into films. Anthea Bell's recent translations include E.T.A. Hoffmann's The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr, W.G. Sebald's Austerlitz, and Sigmund Freud's The Psychopathology of Everyday Life. She has received a number of translation awards, including the 2002 Schlegel-Tieck award (UK), Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (UK) and Helen and Kurt Wolff Prize (USA) for the translation of W.G. Sebald's Austerlitz.