True-Crime-Talk: When Fiction Meets Reality - How Authentic Does a Thriller Need to Be?

Charlotte Link meets Jürgen Schmidt, former head of the criminal investigation department in Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, with 45 years of service - nearly 25 of them as head of the Kripo. The occasion is the publication of Link's new book "Kalte Tage".

The conversation centres on how far reality and fiction in a thriller are allowed to diverge: where does factual accuracy reach its limits, and where does artistic licence begin? Schmidt knows the day-to-day reality of criminal investigation from personal experience and can speak to real cases and offender psychology; Link describes how she immerses herself in police structures when researching her books, in order to portray her detectives' work convincingly.

Charlotte Link is one of the most widely read German-language authors of her generation. Her psychological suspense novels have repeatedly topped the bestseller charts and been adapted for screen. With the Kate Linville series she created a detective whose cases deal not only with crime, but with fear, guilt and loneliness.

The conversation is moderated by Giuseppe Di Grazia, deputy editor-in-chief of "stern" magazine.