The Scholl Case: The Deadly End of a Marriage
Anja Reich-Osang
Translated by Imogen Taylor
A woman is brutally murdered and buried in the woods. Suspicion falls on her husband—the former mayor of a small town south of Berlin. They had been married almost fifty years and were considered the perfect couple.
Award-winning journalist Anja Reich-Osang covered the trial. She spoke with relatives and friends of the victim and the accused—and with the former mayor himself, who denies his guilt to this day. But there is more to this story than the question of innocence or guilt. The Scholl Case is about a marriage, about a small town, about sex and politics. It is a psychological profile of a man driven to succeed—a man who started with nothing, conquered the world, and then lost all he had gained.
andThe Scholl Case
‘Reich-Osang tells this story in wonderfully simple language, full of sympathy for the people involved, but without any pathos, and with restrained but steadily growing tension as death draws inevitably closer.’
‘A chilling true story that reads like a thriller. Highly recommended.’
‘The Scholl Case shines a light into the dark corners of a fascinating mystery. Anja Reich-Osang captures the twists and turns of a doomed marriage with a tension that builds to its courtroom climax. A compelling story that pulls the reader along with every page.’
‘A gripping book about a mysterious murder that delves deeply into the psyches of its protagonists. Anja Reich-Osang’s clear language cuts like a knife, exposing the layers of two lives and one unhappy marriage. A great read!’
‘Despite the grim end to Brigitte’s life, this is not especially dark or depressing to read. The prose and tone that Reich-Osang strikes makes this much more a revealing examination around the foibles of lives and the hidden side to an otherwise success story.’
‘I am totally mind-blown by this book.’
‘Reich-Osang provides a powerful, beautifully written exposition into a murder that is as much about the world Scholl inhabits as it is about the man himself.’
‘It opens with a chapter of such sustained scintillation and engulfing sense of mystery that no one who starts reading it is likely to stop’
‘It reads like a novel—easy to get through, hard to put down, and never boring.’
‘This is an intriguing story…Questions will linger about the verdict, conflicting testimonies and questionable evidence. Anja’s detailed research glides you through the lives of a couple whose marriage had been described as a long relationship of dominance and subjugation.’
‘The Scholl Case is pure journalism: facts have not been altered to suit the story or build suspense. Instead, readers’ terror comes from seeing that, though unhappy, the Scholls are quite ordinary, thus giving the sense that this could happen to anyone. A quick and absorbing read for those who prefer their true crime without pretence.’
