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.
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author
Tim Wickenden
novels and stories
home of The Max Becker Berlin Thrillers
Work in Progress...
Beautiful Friend is for me a return to play writing. To be produced in association with Theatr Gwaun Productions, the play will see its premiere after lockdown restrictions are lifted. The play features both live acted drama and filmed elements, which are being created in association with Nick Swannell of Studio 49.
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 to 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 name, the mother dies.
On his release from captivity, he sets off across 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.
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Fishguard Saga a play for Youth Theatre. Gunhild is married to a drunken Warlord who has failed to find a suitor for their on-the-shelf-daughter, Gro. One day she encounters two strapping warriors and seeing a chance to solve her problems sends the two brothers on a quest to the hunt for Odin’s drinking horn, which is protected by a fearsome dragon and believed to be in a cave near the Welsh Town of Fishguard. The winner will win Gro's hand in marriage. The play follows their hilarious adventures.
Sunstone. see the return of Max Becker in another thrilling case.
The Summer of 1980, Max is retired. A visitor from England brings him news that an old friend has died in suspicious circumstances. Returning with her to the UK, he soon realises that a 20-year-old case, he thought closed, has come back to haunt him. Afraid that his old colleagues and family are in mortal danger, he pursues the killer back to Germany and a journey to a dark past that almost destroyed everything he cared about.