Reading fodder

Beate Maxian: Dancing on a murderous dance floor

Beate Maxian keeps climbing the bestseller lists with her Vienna crime novels(Bild: P. Gualtari)

Her Vienna crime novels have made Beate Maxian a bestselling author in Austria. The brand new 14th case presents her inquisitive investigator with almost unsolvable puzzles - the idea came to Maxian during an escape game. The celebrity highlight of the year proves to be a thrilling setting: the Opera Ball.

The whole of Vienna is in opera ball fever - when an idolized actress collapses lifeless. Curious journalist Sara Pauli is on the scene and immediately has her first clues.

This is how the new crime thriller "Death at the Opera Ball" (€14, Goldmann) by Beate Maxian begins. The author, who lives on Lake Attersee, admits in the "Krone" talk that she herself has a lot in common with the main character in her popular crime novels.

"Krone": What was the trigger for the story?
Beate Maxian: I played an escape game with my children. You have to solve a puzzle to progress through the game. That's when I came up with the basic idea: Sarah Pauli is drawn into the case because someone sends her a riddle. If she solves it, she saves a human life. If she doesn't solve it, a person dies.

(Bild: Goldmann)

Canyou tell us what you have in common with the main character in your crime novels?
A love of animals, a passion for good food and good wine. Sarah Pauli is also a very empathetic woman - and so am I.

Have you ever been to the Opera Ball?
No, but I did a lot of research by watching hours of ORF coverage and interviewing people who had already been there. I took a guided tour of the opera and much more.

What about film adaptations of your successful Vienna crime thrillers?
The series has been optioned three times - so far nothing has come of it.

Are you still nervous when a new book of yours is published? 
It's always exciting for me, no matter how many books I've already published.