»Ein aufregender Fall, ein scharfsinniger Blick auf die österreichische Politik und Figuren, denen ich sofort verfallen bin. Unwiderstehlich!« Melanie Raabe
PETRA HARTLIEB
Freunderlwirtschaft/You Scratch my Back
A Crime Novel, ca. 304 pages
Spring 2024
Unflinchingly good: a crime novel tackling the Austrian elections from bestselling author and bookstore favourite, Petra Hartlieb
Alma Oberkofler’s first case: A dead minister, a luxury hotel in Tyrol, and plenty of false friends
Exciting, humorous and as weird as reality
“At regular intervals, reality [overtakes] all fiction. You can read it as a classic crime novel, but that almost falls a little short. It's actually a political thriller that shows us in an exaggerated way what is possible in this country. [...] : It's a story of women's empowerment.”
Petra Hartlieb, KURIER FREIZEIT
“The best crime thriller entertainment! Petra Hartlieb once again writes her way into the hearts of all those who love murderous Vienna and a fine pinch of humour!”
Alex Bachler, BOOKSHOP OCELOT
Minister Murdered? Fiancée Out of Town? Chancellor Corrupt?
It is Inspector Alma Oberkofler's first week in Vienna and she already has a dead politician on her hands. Max Langwieser: young, conservative, ambitious, Minister of Agriculture and the Chancellor's best friend has cracked his head open on his designer glass table. Fatal accident or murder in style? The case causes quite a stir even in scandal-ridden Austria and gives Alma a headache. Because the only lead, his fiancée Jessica, is - precisely - missing.
Meanwhile, she is sitting in her red mini-convertible and knows only one thing: she has to get away, get away, get away. But she doesn't know how her life could go down the drain so dramatically in just a few days. Nor does she remember exactly why she took Max's laptop in her panic. Luckily, she has watched enough crime series to know how to disappear for a while. She just needs to catch her breath. Maybe she'll come out of this alive after all.
With subtle humour and an unerring eye, Petra Hartlieb looks deep into Austria's political soul and paints a portrait of a squad of young politicians in bespoke suits who think they are invincible - until one of them is brought down.
Freunderlwirtschaft/You Scratch my Back
A Crime Novel, ca. 304 pages
Spring 2024
Unflinchingly good: a crime novel tackling the Austrian elections from bestselling author and bookstore favourite, Petra Hartlieb
Alma Oberkofler’s first case: A dead minister, a luxury hotel in Tyrol, and plenty of false friends
Exciting, humorous and as weird as reality
“At regular intervals, reality [overtakes] all fiction. You can read it as a classic crime novel, but that almost falls a little short. It's actually a political thriller that shows us in an exaggerated way what is possible in this country. [...] : It's a story of women's empowerment.”
Petra Hartlieb, KURIER FREIZEIT
“The best crime thriller entertainment! Petra Hartlieb once again writes her way into the hearts of all those who love murderous Vienna and a fine pinch of humour!”
Alex Bachler, BOOKSHOP OCELOT
Minister Murdered? Fiancée Out of Town? Chancellor Corrupt?
It is Inspector Alma Oberkofler's first week in Vienna and she already has a dead politician on her hands. Max Langwieser: young, conservative, ambitious, Minister of Agriculture and the Chancellor's best friend has cracked his head open on his designer glass table. Fatal accident or murder in style? The case causes quite a stir even in scandal-ridden Austria and gives Alma a headache. Because the only lead, his fiancée Jessica, is - precisely - missing.
Meanwhile, she is sitting in her red mini-convertible and knows only one thing: she has to get away, get away, get away. But she doesn't know how her life could go down the drain so dramatically in just a few days. Nor does she remember exactly why she took Max's laptop in her panic. Luckily, she has watched enough crime series to know how to disappear for a while. She just needs to catch her breath. Maybe she'll come out of this alive after all.
With subtle humour and an unerring eye, Petra Hartlieb looks deep into Austria's political soul and paints a portrait of a squad of young politicians in bespoke suits who think they are invincible - until one of them is brought down.
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Petra Hartlieb
Petra Hartlieb was born in Munich in 1967 and grew up in Upper Austria. She studied psychology and history and then worked as a press officer and...
Petra Hartlieb was born in Munich in 1967 and grew up in Upper Austria. She studied psychology and history and then worked as a press officer and literary critic in Vienna and Hamburg. In 2004 she took over a traditional Viennese bookshop in the Währing district, now Hartlieb's Books. Her book 'Meine wundervolle Buchhandlung' (My wonderful bookshop), published by DuMont in 2014, tells the story. In 'Wenn es Frühling wird in Wien' and 'Sommer in Wien' this very bookshop again plays a central...