Werner Schmitz was born in 1948 and spent 15 years as a community official before working for a publisher and as a reporter for Stern. In the 1980s Werner Schmitz published three mysteries: Seamlessly Brown, Work to Advance and Come Hell or High Water, “one of the best German mysteries published in recent years” (FAZ-Magazin). After receiving his hunting license, the Bochum-based writer has repeatedly explored hunting and animal themes, most recently in his last novel Schreiber and the Wolf.