Based on a true crime – the unsolved brutal murder of Düsseldorf prostitute Emma Gross – and the story of notorious serial killer Peter Kürten – the so-called “Vampire of Düsseldorf” – The Killing of Emma Gross is a gripping police thriller set during the dying days of Weimar Republic Germany.
The story…
Detective Thomas Klein's career is going nowhere until he gets a tip-off leading to the Ripper's arrest.
But the killer's confession to the hooker's murder is full of holes, and Klein soon comes to believe this is one murder the killer didn't commit.
Motivated by spite, ambition, or maybe even a long-buried sense of justice, finding out who really killed Emma Gross becomes Klein's obsession.
Particularly when the evidence begins to point closer to home…
Part historical police procedural, part true crime thriller, The Killing of Emma Gross will particularly appeal to fans of Philip Kerr (the Bernie Gunther novels) and Andrea Maria Schenkel (The Murder Farm). Fans of i, James Ellroy’s LA Quartet and Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin novels are also in for a treat. As is anyone else hankering for a damn good mystery.
What they’re saying…
"One of the highlights of my holiday reading."
"I read it in one sitting. It's brilliant: tough, unsentimental, humane and intelligent, and Seaman wears his considerable learning lightly."
"A page-turner that gripped me from start to finish."
"... a magnificently dark crime novel with an unusual setting, full of energy and immediacy."
"Damien Seaman has written one of the best first novels I've read. An immediate classic."
""I loved everything... Damien Seaman’s clean, uncluttered style, the simultaneously vivid and subtle journey through 1929 Düsseldorf, and the fact that it was based on real events. This is as good as it gets."
From the author…
“The Killing of Emma Gross, based on true events, tells the story of a police detective who gets dragged into a high-profile serial-killer case and ends up shunning the limelight to solve the neglected murder of a prostitute instead.
"Set against the backdrop of a country teetering into madness, the novel explores how the meanest motivations can still lead to noble acts, while the noblest intentions can lead to disaster.
"It also features a detailed and accurate timeline of real events for true crime buffs with an interest in the Kürten case.”
About the author…
A former journalist, editor, parliamentary assistant, financial analyst, factory worker and security guard, Damien has dabbled in petty smuggling, baboon-whispering, scuba diving and sunbathing, with varying levels of success.
He has lived in Belgium, Germany and Libya, spent probably more time than was healthy visiting Kuwait, and currently resides in the county of Shakespeare’s birth.
He also has a fear of camels, but he doesn’t like to talk about it.