The Forger

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER AWARD 2019

Hamburg, 1948

In a routine operation, Chief Inspector Frank Stave is shot down. He survives, but transfers from the murder commission to the office combatting the black market. There, Stave is confronted with an enigmatic case: Trummerfrau, women helping to clear rubble from Hamburg's bombed streets, discover works of art from the Weimar period - right next to a unidentified corpse.

Shortly afterwards, mysterious banknotes whose existence disturbs the Allies' secret plans begin to pop up on the black market. The Supervisor soon discovers strange parallels between the two cases. With the introduction of a new currency, Stave thinks he is on the brink of a solution. But the truth is dangerous, and not just for him.

Praise for the Frank Stave Investigations

'Undoubtedly the most powerful work of crime fiction I have read this year' Independent

'Vivid and harrowing' Sunday Times

'Police procedural, romance, thriller The Murderer in Ruins has a bit of everything and it's one hell of a read.' Bucher

Reader Reviews for The Forger

'An excellent series based in Hamburg just after World War II. Interesting characters and story lines - a view from defeated Germany we wouldn't normally hear'

'Characters were good, plot good and it really highlights post war Germany and the inequalities among both sides. The only really disappointing thing is there is not a fourth one to read'

'I could not put it down. Brilliant' *****

Translated from the German by Peter Millar

“"With his follow up to The Rubble Murderer, Rademacher has once again captured an intriguing view into a not so distant world in which everyone is fighting for survival." BRIGITTE”

Rademacher understands how to draw a living picture of the post-war period. The Wolf Children allows its readers to embrace history without an instructive tone, and thrillingly packaged in a thriller.--HESSISCHE ALLGEMEINE "Rademacher succeeds in linking history with tension." NEUE PRESSE "Impressively, Rademacher describes life in 1947 with all the hardships and hopes. A piece of history comes alive and touches the reader immensely. " HAMBURGER MORGENPOST "Once again, Rademacher combines an exciting crime story with a detailed description of Hamburg in the post-war period." AACHENER NACHRICHTEN "The name Cay Rademacher stands for historical competence. [...] In addition to the thrilling crime plot, The Wolf Children also provides a lively presentation of the oppressive black market conditions in the post-war years." GEISLINGER ZEITUNG / SUDWEST PRESSE "The book sheds a light on a world out of joint. [...] A crime thriller with level and depth. Highly Recommended." BUCH-MAGAZIN "This is not just a vivid historical lesson, The Wolf Children is a nerve-racking hunt for a murderer and a great crime novel. " NDR HORFUNK

Cay Rademacher was born in 1965 and studied Anglo-American history, ancient history, and philosophy in Cologne and Washington. He has been an editor at Geo since 1999, and was instrumental in setting up renowned history magazine Geo-Epoche. The Murderer in Ruins is the first novel in the Inspector Stave series; The Wolf Murderer and The Forger have also been published by Arcadia Books. He now lives in France with his wife and children, where his new crime series is set.

In a routine operation, Chief Inspector Frank Stave is shot down. He survives, but transfers from the murder commission to the office combatting the black market. There, Stave is confronted with an enigmatic case: Tr

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