Lesung mit Franziska Franz "Tatort Kettenhofweg"

Press release

"Crime scene Kettenhofweg" by Franziska Franz

Meßkirch, August 2025

Six murders in a high-class brothel Captivating true crime about one of Germany's most brutal crimes to date

- True crime from Frankfurt's Westend in 1994

- One of the most brutal murders in Frankfurt's criminal history

- Author known from the podcast "SpurenElemente" with Professor Marcel A. Verhoff

About the book

The sprightly widow Helga Lindemeyer lives with her dachshund Karlchen in Kettenhofweg. She regularly goes to the theater and visits exhibitions with her niece Monika. She also loves crime novels. But Helga has felt lonely at home since the death of her husband. That's why she often sits by the window and watches what's happening on the street. One of her favorite films is "The Window to the Courtyard". This is probably why she accuses one or two of her neighbors of shady dealings. She finds the goings-on in front of the large villa of her neighbors Ingrid and Gabor Bartos particularly exciting. Young men and women regularly come and go there. On August 15, 1994, Helga can't believe her eyes when she looks out of the window and is woken by the sound of a siren. The villa is swarming with police, paramedics and hearses. And then stretchers with six bodies on them are taken out of the house. What has happened? Helga is determined to find out.

The author

Franziska Franz lives in Frankfurt am Main. Her main focus as an author is on crime and thrillers. She has written nine crime novels, various short crime novels and a non-fiction book. Franziska Franz is a member of Syndikat e. V., the association for German-language crime fiction. Since March 2023, she has also been running the true crime podcast "SpurenElemente" (TracesElements) about historical Frankfurt crime cases together with the Director of Frankfurt Forensic Medicine, Professor Marcel A. Verhoff. In April 2024, the book of the same name was published to accompany the podcast.

Tickets for the event are available at

KaufhausHESSEN, Bergerstr. 288, 60385 Frankfurt

by email: info@kaufhaushessen.de

by telephone: 069 3660 1917