BLACK SATURDAY (Vol. V)

  • Milestones of German post-war history as a gripping thriller series.
  • September 1962: While the Cuban Missile Crisis holds the world spellbound, Germany struggles for its press freedom during the Spiegel Affair in Hamburg.
  • Perfectly researched facts and magnificent fictional characters.
  • 90,000 copies sold of Vol. I-IV altogether.

September 1962: Philipp Gerber, newly promoted to Detective Chief, is on his honeymoon with journalist Eva Herden, who now works for the Spiegel office in Bonn.

However, the happy, carefree time is short-lived: Panic reigns in Germany due to the Cuban Missile Crisis; fear of a Soviet invasion or even a nuclear strike is rampant.

While Eva travels to Havana to report on the Cuban Crisis, Philipp hunts an organization smuggling weapons to Cuba in Hamburg - and lands squarely in the red-light district milieu and the Spiegel Affair involving Franz Josef Strauß and Rudolf Augstein - one of the biggest domestic political crises in the history of the Federal Republic up to that time.

“The mix of historical background and thrilling entertainment works perfectly.” (WDR 4 Book Tip)

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  • Publisher: Rowohlt Taschenbuch
  • Release: 15.05.2026
  • ISBN: 978-3-499-01866-4
  • 464 Pages
  • Series: Die Philipp-Gerber-Romane
  • Author: Ralf Langroth

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Buchcover von BLACK SATURDAY (Vol. V)
Ralf Langroth BLACK SATURDAY (Vol. V)
Portrait von Ralf Langroth
© Wolfgang Weßling
Ralf Langroth

Ralf Langroth is the pseudonym of an author with translations in fifteen languages. Five of his books are currently being optioned for films by a high-profile production company. Ralf Langroth combines his two strengths, precise research and the creation of high suspense in the novels set around the BKA man Philipp Gerber and journalist Eva Herden. Filling in historical blanks, the author presents atmospheric and gripping contemporary spy thrillers from the early years of the Federal Republic of Germany.