Meet the Characters
Max's and his Berlin Kriminalpolizei colleagues
Maximilian Siegfried BECKER (Max) Kriminalhauptkommisar - (Det Chf Insp)
Born 5 June 1918 the only child of Wilhelm and Elsa Becker. In 1936, aged 18 he joined, with his best friend Matty (learn his fate in the first novel - Angel Avenger) - The 3rd Panzer Regiment. He fought throughout the war as a tank commander, ending as a company commander of a heavy Panzer unit, with the rank of Hauptman (Capt.) A tank ace, with more than 100 credited kills, he was wounded five times and highly decorated.
After the war, he was taken prisoner by the Americans, but was transferred to the British where he assited in hunting down a key Nazi war criminal (stories explored in future Becker books). Soon after he was freed and immediately sought out a nurse, Anna Fischer, he had met and fallen in love with back in 1941. They got married; he joined the police, and they settled in Hannover. In 1952 he , and his family moved to Berlin after he was head-hunted by former friend and Panzer comrade, August Dehler, head of the Berlin Kripos Murder Squad (KD1). His twins - Heike and Markus were born 3 Oct 1947.
Max is a family man, a team player and loves his kids. A good leader and detective. He suffers from the trauma he experienced during the war and the guilt of having fought for a criminal regime (topics that are explored further in the Becker stories).
He loves motorbikes, favourite colour is pink (panzer colour), a good sense of humour, apolitical and not religious, non-smoker, likes beer.
Tobias Wolfgang KLEIN (Tobi) - Kriminaloberkommisar - (Det Insp)
Born 1922, Tobi to his friends and colleagues. At the outbreak of war, he joined 216th Infantry Division - initially, a machine gunner, his courage and tactical prowess soon got him noticed, and he rose through the ranks. He trained as a marksman (the Wehrmacht did not like the term 'Sniper') and played an important role for his regiment on the Eastern Front. He was very successful but his war was very hard, and he witnessed some terrible atrocities carried out by the advancing Russian army. He was wounded several times and awarded the Knights Cross. At the end of the war, he was stuck in Hungary, but managed to walk back to Austria, finally surrendering to the Americans. By this time he had hidden all trace of his role as a sniper, and after a brief period of incarceration was released. He met Max at police college where they became firm friends. When Max went to Berlin in 1952, he asked Tobi to join him.
He is married to Else, and they have two children, Charlotte (Lotte) born 1950 and Martin born 1952. Tobi loves music, motorbikes and is a keen carpenter.
author
Tim Wickenden
novels and stories
home of The Max Becker Berlin Thrillers
Work in Progress:
Sun Stone (working title)- the next Max Becker novel
June 1986 and retired Max is visited by the daughter of an old friend, British spy, Diana Murdoch. He learns that Diana has died and her daughter Sylvia as come to find out more about her mother's hidden past and her relationship with the Berlin detective. She is particularly interested in an old case that her mother refers to as Lüdke's Game. Inviting her to stay Max tells her the story of the case that struck to the very heart of Max's world and was the most personal of all his investigations. The novel, set mostly in Berlin, is split between scenes in June 1986 and early 1961.
Extracts from the novel:
***
'It’s just after 8am when he arrives at the West bank of the Teltowkanal under the Ernst-Keller-Brücke. He is met by Kommisar Felix Grenz of the Berlin Wasserschutzpolizei. Paul and Felix know one another well, bodies in the numerous Berlin waterways a common occurrence. “Hey Paul,” he says shaking hands, “one of our units was cruising south and spotted the boy, he’s down here strung up under the bridge, definitely suspicious. His hands are tied and I can’t see how he’d have got there on his own.”
They walk side-by-side, Paul asking, “when did your unit last pass this way?”
Felix replies, “yesterday but much later in the day, say 4 pm.”
Paul glances at his watch, “so about 16 hours ago. You’re sure that the body wasn’t here then and they could have missed it?”
Felix shakes his head, “sure, my guys wouldn’t miss something like.”
Paul says, “okay, that will help with the timings.”
They stop just short of the hanging body. The boy is hanging by a length of stout rope, his hands tied behind his back, his shoes and socks missing, a large damp patch on his trousers around his groin and on his torso just a light shirt. His face is mottled with red spots, his blackened tongue slightly protruding between his teeth and his head thrust forward at an acute angle his chin on his chest. Paul walks around the body, the boys feet level with is face and he notes they are dirty, like he’d walked barefoot. The rope runs through and over a metal beam the far end tied off to a tree.
Felix says, “what do you think?”
Paul looks at him . “I think I agree with you, Felix, he didn’t do this to himself.”'
***
'For a moment they are silent. He runs his finger down the outside of his glass drawing a line through the beads of condensation and shuts his eyes, thinking. She waits. After a moment he says, “you know some cases are forgettable lost in time passing like ships in the night,” he pauses a moment, and chuckles, “I don’t know, is that a good simile? Anyway, not that case! I remember it like it was yesterday. To begin with, it was just a few strange but inconsequential events. The type of thing that puzzles you but does not worry you. For example, left on the front step of the house was a package containing a bouquet of dried flowers and a card with the message ‘sorry for your loss!’. Then Heike’s bicycle was stolen: the lock expertly picked and left behind. A few days later the bike was returned with a card attached. The card had a black background with a red heart on it, you know, like a love heart. We thought that perhaps a boy fancied her and was playing silly games. Then Anna mislaid her car keys; had them at work and swore they were on her desk. A while later Markus and his friend were walking home from school when a car pulled up alongside them and stopped to ask directions. The boys assisted the woman driver and just before she drove off she said, ‘are you Kommisar Becker’s son?’ and when Markus said he was, she added, ‘remember me to him, will you? It’s Holdine.’ I plumbed the depths of my memory but couldn’t recall knowing anyone by that name.” He pauses and takes a drink.
She asks, “over what sort of time period did these things occur?”
He shrugs and replies, “about three or four months.”
She says, “then what?”
He leans forward, his blue-grey, clear eyes, looking directly at her, and says, “and then things got much darker and I cursed myself that I couldn’t place Holdine.”'
***