A Darker State

The body of a teenage boy is found weighted down in a lake. Karin Müller, newly appointed Major of the People's Police, is called to investigate. But her power will only stretch so far, when every move she makes is under the watchful eye of the Stasi. Then, when the son of Müller's team member goes missing, it quickly becomes clear that there is a terrifying conspiracy at the heart of this case, one that could fast lead Müller and her young family into real danger. Can she navigate this complex political web and find the missing boy, before it's too late?

"Outstanding. . . . Fans of Martin Cruz Smith’s Arkady Renko will welcome Müller." ―Publishers Weekly starred review of Stasi Child

"Deft, assured storytelling, a compelling new detective and a fascinating setting―I was up late to finish it!" ―Gilly Macmillan, author, What She Knew, on Stasi Child

"Young has recreated excellently the fear and paranoia that permeated East German society . . . I really liked this novel and strongly recommend it." ―The Crime Warp on Stasi Child

"If, like me, you have enjoyed the Soviet-based crime fiction of authors such as Martin Cruz Smith, William Ryan, Tom Rob Smith or Sam Eastland, this will prove itself an absolute must-read . . . Young has more than proved that his name will be one to watch in the future with this powerful, well-researched and intriguing thriller. A highly recommended debut." ―Raven Crime Reads on Stasi Child

"David Young is excellent at describing terrible injustice, mass and personal, by way of a strong plot and a sympathetic woman." —Times

"A self-confessed obsessive, Young's period detail—what kind of tire tracks Stasi official's cars left—is impressive." —New Zealand Herald on Stasi Child

"Crime fiction has a new heroine in the form of Karin Müller, a major in the People's Police, as created by David Young in his award-winning historical mystery Stasi Child."  —Shots Magazine

"Young portrays the paranoid landscape of East Germany's surveillance state with such breathtaking detail and authenticity that we can almost taste the fear, feel the chill, and see the grandeur of Berlin's ostentatious Karl-Marx-Allee jostling with the crumbling, soulless apartment blocks that litter the city. But the beating heart of this multi-layered story is the plucky, determined Karin, and an enthralling police procedural, a murder mystery which takes in aspects of real history and weaves them into an intriguing case that involves a terrifying web of deception, obstruction and corruption. Powerful, fast-paced and exciting, the Karin Müller series just gets better and better." —Lancashire Evening Post

David Young was a news producer and editor for more than 25 years with BBC. His first book in the Karin Müller series, Stasi Child, was a Times Crime Book of the Month, a Daily Telegraph pick of the week, WHSmith Fiction Book of the Month, and won the 2016 CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger for the best historical crime novel of the year. The series has been sold in 11 territories around the world and optioned for TV by Euston Films.