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
creative writer . historian . filmmaker
Work in Progress...
Beautiful Friend - a play. To be produced in association with Theatr Gwaun Productions.
Gustav Fließmann has barely survived the war and is a POW recovering in a British military hospital. He has lost everything: his job, his home and his family - all victims of the war. All he has is a few possessions and a photograph of a woman. In the last days of combat as he raced to cross the River Elbe ahead of advancing Russian troops and surrender to the Americans, he rescues a dying woman. Her last wish is he find her daughter and tell her what became of her mother, but before he finds out her or the girl's name, the mother dies.
On his release from captivity, he sets off across war-torn, Western Germany to make the 600 km trek to find the woman in the photograph. On the way he meets two refugee children and an old soldier, who become travelling companions, sharing adventures that change Gustav's life and hopes.
A story of hope and rebuilding that will resonant with a modern audience coming out of the pandemic experience.
Sun Stone (Woking title) - novel
Sees the return of Max Becker and his team. Called out to a body in the Rudow district, the team are targeted by a sniper using a rifle stolen from Detective Döhl. Detective Jäger discovers someone has broken in her flat, leaving her dead father's wartime Gestapo file. Another body the team are called out to is booby trapped: someone is after them. As the detectives try to figure out who and why, they find out that the two bodies had died of natural causes and been kept frozen. With nothing for Max and his team to go on, the perpetrator tightens the knot by kidnapping both Max's and Tobi's children. With the clock ticking the team must discover who is behind this and why, and find the children before it is too late.
Cover is for illustrative purposes only.
My Empty Pockets (Working title) - novel
After a traumatic event, teenage Heidi Schlager has to flee her home leaving behind her stricken boyfriend, Jeremiah. Frightened, alone and near starving she boards an empty freight car where she meets ageing hobo, Bo Scribbler. Realizing her vulnerability he befriends her and takes her under his wing. They travel to Iowa for a hobo festival and hook up with an old friend and sometime lover of Scribbler's, who goes by the Moniker of Little Hacksaw. The two adults are aware that Heidi is running from a troubled past, and after a misunderstanding that leads to Heidi being attacked and badly injured, the three set off to California in search of work and a place for her to mend. Her presence sets Scribbler reflecting on his past, and his relationship with Little Hacksaw. After Heidi attempts suicide, she reveals her dark secret to them. She tells them she must go back to Idaho and Jeremiah, with whom she is deeply in love, and try and put things right. Told through the eyes of the main characters and set in an evocative historical context, My Empty Pockets, examines the meaning of loss, love and acceptance.
Cover is for illustrative purposes only.