Author Description

Product DescriptionImagine a man who does the most unspeakable things.Imagine the forgiveness he needs.Imgine the pain he gives.Imagine forgiving him. You will.Kris, Tamara, Frauke, and Wolf are four friends who are drifting through their twenties, underemployed and unfulfilled. Sick of being treated badly at work, they decide to start a business of their own: Sorry, an agency that brings the human touch back to corporate life by offering to apologize to those who’ve been unjustly accused, unfairly dismissed and otherwise mistreated. The corporate clients are more than happy to let someone else handle their emotional dirty work, making Sorry an instant success. But one client hides a darker agenda. Expecting an ordinary apology job, Wolf is dispatched to the scene of a crime. In an abandoned apartment, there is a dead woman nailed to the wall. Then his phone rings and the nightmare begins: The client wants to make sure his apology is properly delivered. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.PART IChapter 1AfterIn the darkness of your thoughts I would like to be a light.I have no idea who wrote that. I just remember the piece of paper that was pinned up on the kitchen wall one day.In the darkness of your thoughts...I want someone to come out of the forest with a flashlight and aim the beam at my face. Being seen can be so important. It doesn't matter by whom. I'm disappearing into myself more and more.It's the day after. My hand rests on the cold metal of the fender. I listen as if my fingertips could hear the vibrations. I need more time, I'm not yet able to open the trunk. Perhaps another hundred kilometers, maybe a thousand....I would like to be a light.I get in and start the engine. If someone should ever follow my journey, he'll get lost in its incoherence. I'm moving through Germany like a lab rat in a maze. I lurch and every step is uncertain. I step sideways, turn in circles. But whatever I do, I don't stand still. Standing still is out of the question. Sixteen hours are bundled together into sixteen minutes when you travel aimlessly. The boundaries of your own perception start to fray, and everything seems meaningless. Even sleep loses its significance. I wish there were a light in the darkness of my thoughts. But there is no light. So I'm left with nothing but my thoughts.BeforeKRISBefore we talk about you, I'd like to introduce you to the people you will soon be meeting. It's a cool, late August day. The sun is extremely bright in the sky and resembles the flickering gleam of light switches in corridors. The people turn their faces to the sun and wonder why so little warmth comes back.We are in a small park in the middle of Berlin. This is where everything starts. A man sits on a park bench by the water. His name is Kris Marrer; he is twenty-nine and looks like an ascetic who decided a long time ago not to be part of society. Kris knows only too well that he is a part of society. He has finished school and his studies. He likes going to the seaside, he enjoys good food and can talk about music for hours. Even if he doesn't want to be, Kris Marrer is definitively a part of it, and this Wednesday morning he feels that clearly.He sits on the park bench, as if he were about to jump up at any moment. His chin is thrust forward, his elbows on his knees. It isn't a good day today, he knew it wouldn't be a good day when he woke up, but we'll get to that later. What's important at this moment is that he regrets seeking out this particular park bench at the Urbanhafen. He thought a few minutes' peace to gather his thoughts was exactly what he needed. He thought wrong.A woman sits on the grass a few yards away. She's dressed as if she can't believe the summer is over. Sleeveless dress, sandals. The grass around her looks exhausted, the ground is damp. A man stands in front of the woman talking to her. His right hand is like an axe cutting silently through the a