World
Regionalkrimi: A Zurich expert decodes the appeal of German-language regional crime fiction
Christine Lötscher, literature professor at the University of Zurich and specialist in Regionalkrimi—German-language regional crime fiction—analyzes the genre in an article published on July 31, 2026. According to her, its success lies in detectives with strong social intelligence—the opposite of the solitary genius investigator—and the tension between the reassuring appearance of small communities and the secrets they conceal. The collision between local and global scales also plays a central role in the genre's appeal.