Sometimes a criminal case begins very quietly: with an appointment that someone fails to keep. In Ruthless Power by Pia Stangier, the disappearance of a young secretary turns into a dangerous peek behind the scenes of European power.
Marla Richter only wants to help. Her aunt Greta is worried about Katrin Wübbers, who works for EU MEP Olaf Gessner in Brussels and has suddenly vanished without a trace. But Gessner is dead, allegedly from a heart attack, and Katrin was the one who found him at his desk. What at first appears to be a personal tragedy quickly develops into a political thriller about corruption, abuse of power, and cover-ups in the EU.
An investigator against her will
Marla is not a professional detective. That's precisely what makes her interesting. She is hurt, stubborn, sometimes careless, yet persistent enough not to give up. Her search leads her into the Brussels center of power, into offices, back rooms, underground car parks, and into a political atmosphere where no one is as harmless as they first appear.
By her side is not a reliable investigator, but Philipp Guiader, head of security in the EU Parliament. A man who intimidates, protects, conceals, and seduces. His role remains elusive for a long time. Is he an opponent, a helper, or part of the system Marla is uncovering?
Brussels as the stage of power
The real pull of this novel arises where the personal search turns into political danger. Marla uncovers clues that the deceased MEP Gessner had hidden. Secret documents, suspicious deaths, and an opaque web of influence and loyalties converge into one question: How far will people go when power, reputation, and fortune are at stake?
This is precisely where the strength of Ruthless Power lies. The novel does not present politics as a backdrop, but politics as a dangerous space. Brussels appears as a place where public ideals and private interests ominously merge. Those who know too much there live dangerously.
Inspired by true events
In an author interview with the publisher, Pia Stangier says: "The plot of my novel is inspired by true events that occurred in the EU institutions in the late 1990s." It is precisely this historical resonance that gives the book its particular edge. Those who want to learn more about the actual political background can find our article about the EU scandal of 1999 as the basis for the novel.
Thus, the novel is more than an exciting crime novel. It touches a deep reader need: the desire to look behind the facades of power. We want to know what is hidden. We want to experience that truth cannot be completely stifled. And we want to follow characters who are not intimidated.
A political thriller with female power
Marla Richter is not a smooth heroine. She stumbles, doubts, desires, errs, and keeps going. It is precisely through this that she carries the novel. Between the EU Parliament, a corruption affair, secret investigations, and personal insecurity, a tension arises that not only lives from the question of who killed Gessner, but also from whom Marla can still trust at all.
Anyone looking for a political thriller about Brussels, the EU Commission, corruption, and abuse of power will find in this book a story that entertains and at the same time disturbs. Pia Stangier combines crime suspense with a political background and a main character who carves her way through a system that would rather remain in the dark.
The book is available in German language as a printed, i.e., paperback edition (ISBN 978-3-910347-13-7) and as an EPUB (ISBN 978-3-910347-14-4) in bookstores or here in the publisher's shop.
