Irene Rodrian

Irene Rodrian (12 November 1937 – 6 July 2025) was a German writer and screenwriter.

Life and career At her father's request, Rodrian was to study graphic design. Because she was rejected by the Munich Art Academy, she worked in the advertising industry for over two years. She then became self-employed as a graphic designer and advertising consultant. At this time, she began writing, but was unable to make a living from publishing her short stories and supported herself with jobs as a window dresser and salesperson.

In 1967, she anonymously submitted two manuscripts for her application for the Edgar Wallace Prize from Goldmann Verlag – "Death in St. Pauli" and "See You Tomorrow, Murderer" – and won first prize with "Death in St. Pauli." She sent the rejected manuscript to Heinrich Maria Ledig-Rowohlt, whose Rowohlt Verlag was just beginning to establish a German crime fiction scene with Hansjörg Martin, Friedhelm Werremeier, and Michael Molsner. The publisher accepted it. Irene Rodrian thus became the first German female crime writer.

By 1992, she had published approximately 20 crime novels with Rowohlt – and later with Heyne. She also wrote several screenplays for television films and series, such as Ein Fall für zwei, Hamburg Transit, Onkel Bräsig, and Tatort (TV series), as well as numerous children's and young adult books.

After a ten-year hiatus, she returned in 2002 with the crime novel Meines Bruders Mörderin (My Brother's Murderer). It was the start of a series about Llimona 5, a detective agency with five strong women based in the Catalan capital Barcelona.

Rodrian died on 6 July 2025, at the age of 87.

Awards and honours In 2007, Irene Rodrian was awarded the "Ehrenglauser" of the Friedrich Glauser Prize by the authors' group Das Syndikat (Authors) for her contributions to German crime fiction.

Books

Crime novels 1967: Death in St. Pauli 1969: See You Tomorrow, Murderer 1970: Who Walks Barefoot Over Broken Glass 1971: Finder's Fee 1974: Kisses for the Gravedigger 1975: The Nice Murderers of Schwabing 1975: A Little Föhn, and You're Dead 1976: Death Takes a Break from the Heat 1977: You Live Temporarily on Sugarloaf Mountain 1977: Dead Cat (Stories) 1978: ...wears institutional clothing and is armed 1980: Sleep, Little Boy, Sleep 1981: Domestic Peace 1982: Plenty of Love 1983: Drop Shadow 1984: The Woman with the Jaguar 1985: Fist-Fisted 1986: The Girl with the Angel Face 1988: Over the Cliff 1988: With the Curtains Closed 1989: Eat, Bird, or Die! 1992: Beach Grave 2002: My Brother's Murderer 2003: Under the Spell of the Tiger 2005: Last Chapter 2006: Icy Silence 2006: Voices Under the Roof 2007: One Last Smile

Children's and Young Adult books 1965: Prima Prima Detectives 1966: Thieves Don't Like the Sun 1967: Good Friends, Great Adventures 1968: The Secret of the Island Fortress 1968: A Colorful Journey or The Strange Adventures of Dorothea Pfeffermarmelade 1969: The World in My Hand 1971: The Adventure with the Pink Seven 1971: One Witness Too Many 1972: The Man in the Shadow 1974: The Adventure with the Pink 7 1975: Good Luck, My Child 1976: Too Bad If That Guy Dies 1980: The Incredible Adventures of the Smallest Pirate on All the Seas and His Greatest Enemy, the Fat Captain 1981: My Father Is a Superman 1981: Pepper Jam 1982: Fantastic Adventures of the Smallest Pirate on All the Seas and His Greatest Enemy, the Fat Captain 1985: Fabulous Adventures of the Smallest Pirate on All the Seas and His Greatest Enemy, the Fat Captain 1987: Kiss Me, Convict 1994: I Want to Be a Lion 1998: Deadly Cool

Filmography (selection)

Literary source material 1976: Einöd 2005: Letztes Kapitel

Screenplays 1972–1973: Die Melchiors 1977: Unendlich tief unten (with Pete Ariel) 1978: Eintypischer Fall 1979: Klärter und Beleg 1979: Tatort: Mitternacht, oder kurz nach 1979: Freundinnen (with Elke Heidenreich) 1979: Achtung Kunstdiebe (TV series, 3 episodes) 1981: Tatort: Das Lederherz 1982: The Trotzkopf 1982: A Case for Two (TV series, episodes: Overtime, Old Guns) 1994: Her Excellency the Ambassador (TV series, 1 episode) 1996: Pepolino and the Mermaid's Treasure – based on her novel 1997: Sophie – Smarter than the Police