Zen and the Art of Murder

Winner of the German Crime Fiction Award

Louise Boni drinks too much. The maverick inspector in Germany's Black Forest police squad is haunted by the mistakes she's made and the people she's lost. While she's dreading the approach of another lonely winter weekend, a call from her supervisor draws her into the most bizarre case of her career. A badly beaten Japanese monk is roaming the snowy Freiburg region with little more than sandals and a begging bowl, and the frightened holy man appears to be fleeing an unseen danger. Now Boni must battle both skeptical police authorities and her personal demons as her investigation reveals a hidden crime ring as well as a spiritual opportunity to transform her life. The first book in the Black Forest Investigation series, Zen and the Art of Murder is "a surprising and genuinely shocking case." — The Sunday Times (U.K.)

"An exciting new voice in crime fiction emerges with Zen and the Art of Murder, the first novel in Oliver Bottini's Black Forest Investigation series. Both baffling and affecting in turn, and always entertaining. It's an excellent beginning to a thrilling new series." — Foreword Review

Berlin-based novelist Oliver Bottini is a four-time recipient of the Deutscher Krimipreis, Germany's most prestigious award for crime writing. Two of the award-winning books are from his Black Forest Investigations series: Zen and the Art of Murder and A Summer of Murder. Bottini's novels have also been awarded the Stuttgarter Krimipreis and the Berliner Krimipreis.