Chief Inspector Schwaner is back in action! In the height of summer, of all times, when one heat record after another is being broken, Schwaner has to investigate a particularly gruesome murder case. At Frankfurt Airport, the body of a woman is found horribly disfigured by the enormous heat. At first there are no clues to the identity of the dead woman. But then the investigations lead to first successes and the trail leads into the world of fine wines to the Eberbach monastery. But was the dead woman really killed because of a few bottles of expensive wine?
"Tödliche Tropfen" is the third crime novel by Jakob Stein about the Frankfurt chief inspector Martin Schwaner. After the Kleinmarkthalle and a discount store in Nieder-Erlenbach, this time the Frankfurt airport is the main scene of the action. And that proves to be a very good decision. Because the investigations in the cargo area offer the reader an exciting look behind the scenes of the city within the city. Even though the story is fiction, it does offer some fact-based information about the work of the federal police or fire department at Frankfurt Airport, which adds a very special spice to the exciting case.
In addition to the parts of the novel that take place at the airport, the rest of the book is, of course, again infused with plenty of local color. Here, Stein is much more restrained with descriptions of places than was the case in, say, the first book. This creates a much more atmospheric picture of Frankfurt, which doesn't seem as forced as it did in the first book. Stein also leaves room for the familiar characters to develop. This is especially true for the relationship between the chief inspector and the forensic scientist Sandra Thielacker, which now seems very authentic with all its ups and downs - especially when great heat, overtiredness or a wounded ego after a collapse cause tension.
"Tödliche Tropfen" is exciting and extremely entertaining reading that can be devoured in a few evenings. An entertaining Frankfurt crime novel, which has chosen very effective locations not only with the airport, but also with the wine cellars at the Eberbach monastery or the city backdrop groaning under the summer heat. If you already liked the first two Schwaner thrillers, you should definitely pick this one up. Recommendable!
An article by Frankfurt-Tipp
