'What makes TAINTED LOVE so special are the likeable characters and the 80s setting. Pop culture, music, movies, fashion, and terminology from the era are so ingeniously woven into the story that it makes the book pure nostalgic pleasure. Absolute reading recommendation!' Florian Valerius Summer 1986 in the northern Hessian zone border area. The air shimmers with heat, the forest dies quietly. The region is an enchanted idyll in which villages bear fairy tale names and the border with the GDR marks the end of the world. Martin Ritter, a librarian with a penchant for photography, and his girlfriend Christine Lehmann, a sharp-eyed journalist, live here. They are seekers who met and fell in love on a terrible night when a little girl disappeared. Now the sun, which has been beating down on the forests for weeks, brings a luxurious car to light in a lake. Who sank it? What happened to the driver? Martin and Christine are looking for answers - and come across dark signs of love and murder.