Der Garmisch-Krimi: Wolfsmord (2026)

A severed wolf’s head is sent by post to Fabian Pongratz, the chairman of the Nature Association. Criminal police officer Daphne Meindl begins investigating in Garmisch. She believes it is a death threat, while her superior, Graner, would rather let the matter drop. Meindl nevertheless gets to the bottom of the conflict over the wolf between farmers, activists, and politicians. She has a projectile from the dead wolf analyzed without authorization from the public prosecutor’s office. Soon afterward, Pongratz is found dead by his colleague Mara Kaya. The body has a non-fatal stab wound. The cause of death was multiple trauma from a vehicle, which, judging by the injuries inflicted, was probably a sport utility vehicle. Although there are no skid marks at the scene, there are traces of paint. Meindl suspects that the sender of the wolf’s head could also be the killer. According to her colleagues, Mara had argued with Pongratz and wanted to use the wolf’s head on social media. Meindl’s predecessor, Ira Zach, who left the police force and has since been working at a hardware store, is the mother of teenage daughter Pippa, who campaigns for the wolf and whom Zach believes to be in danger. Zach therefore contacts Meindl, and the two decide to investigate together. Pongratz had planned to meet Michi Drexler from the local press. Mara suspects they may have been going to discuss plans for a wolf reserve that the district administrator had originally promised. Pongratz had discovered that a hotel was to be built on the land instead. Jennifer “Jenny” Bruckner, a professional hunter in Claus Korntheuer’s hunting grounds, had called Pongratz an hour before his death. Korntheuer wanted her not to hunt in his grounds, so the red deer would remain available for his hunting guests. The game attracted the wolves, and Pongratz wanted to make this public. Bruckner wanted to talk him out of it. Damage to her vehicle is said to have been caused by a sow. Pongratz had given Drexler plans for a UNESCO park in the region. The project’s sponsors were district administrator Auler and Korntheuer. Auler, however, claims not to know Korntheuer. But a photograph of the two of them on a big-game hunt in Africa, which Zach steals from Korntheuer’s house, proves otherwise. Johann Simader is Pippa’s father. His father, a representative of the farmers’ association, was reportedly supposed to promote the UNESCO area among farmers by email so that the wolf could be hunted again. The projectile from the wolf’s carcass matches Bauer Schorsch’s rifle; Zach is friends with him. At the time of the crime, Jenny Bruckner’s mobile phone was logged in near Pongratz’s apartment. In fact, old Simader is confined to bed and no longer legally competent. Klara Simader, Johann’s sister and Jenny’s friend, had mortgaged her father’s farm to invest in Korntheuer’s UNESCO project. Because Pongratz intended to expose the project shortly before the election, Klara had killed him. She is arrested by the police.