Maike Braun – an author with a hopeful outlook on the future.
I write novels that explore the intersection of suspense, science and questions about the future. As a biologist with a PhD and a long-standing management consultant, I bring analytical experience to my stories – along with a curiosity about how people act when ecological, political or technological conflicts escalate.
Portugal is a key setting for my work. In my climate-themed crime novels set there, I combine real locations and current political issues with atmospheric storytelling. I also write science fiction and fantasy stories in which I explore future worlds, societal upheavals and the resilience of nature and humanity.
I live in Hamburg, spend time in Portugal regularly and am involved with Climate Fiction Writers Europe. I am also a member of the Mörderische Schwestern and the Phantastik-Autor*innen-Netzwerk.
I’m involved with Climate Fiction Writers Europe because I believe that our stories shape the future that unfolds.
Future report of a climate-friendly example family
A hyper-realistic alternative concept: a large family makes its contribution to saving the world from the climate crisis. A story that makes you think about the future and possible courses of action. With a wealth of knowledge about current developments and technologies, Maike Braun transports readers into the best of all climate worlds and creates the digital-ecological turnaround.
Death casts its shadow as far as the Portuguese mountains
Following a turbulent case, Selva Klimt has firmly resolved to take on only desk jobs from now on. That is why she throws herself into the files relating to the investigation into a death at a building site in Lisbon. The seemingly straightforward case leads her to a village in northern Portugal, whose residents are vehemently opposed to the mining of lithium for Europe’s battery factories.
Contradictory clues and red herrings leave Selva caught between two opposing sides. She realises that this murder has a backstory – and consequences that extend far beyond the crime scene.
Ice-cold business under the Portuguese sun.
A climate thriller with vacation flair for fans of Gil Ribeiro.
“She could spot a pharmacy, there were a few tables and chairs on the sidewalk and the smell of grilled chicken wafted into her nose through the open window. Shortly afterwards, they passed a churrascaria and then a mini-mercado, in front of which oranges and lemons were piled up in plastic crates. If the houses hadn’t been plastered in bright colors, they were tiled. Each house had a different pattern. A shrill ringing made the driver curse, and then he got in line behind the antique-looking streetcar.”
Three months of administrative assistance in Lisbon – after the breakdown of her second marriage, this sounds like a welcome change for 43-year-old Selva Klimt. But her dream of sun, beach and vanilla cakes turns out to be a nightmare. Her contact, the director of the environmental authority, is nowhere to be found and his deputy blocks Selva’s every move. When the director washes up dead on the beach and the investigating inspector sets his sights on Selva, she begins to investigate herself. The trail leads to a company that is carrying out illegal drilling in the seabed. Selva does what she does best: Analyzing figures and asking questions. But time is running out and there is much more at stake than she can imagine.
A climate thriller on the coast of Portugal.
It’s not her city, yet she can’t look away.
Dangerous machinations under umbrella pines – A brand-new crime thriller set against a breathtaking backdrop.
“The countryside passed her by, fruit trees stood in a trellis, a country estate flashed out from behind palm trees. They crossed a narrow canal and then she saw the sea. It lay behind the dunes, lurking, glittering seductively, but the approaching crests of the waves, considerable even from this distance, revealed the powerful, destructive force of the ocean.”
43-year-old Selva Klimt’s main aim in Portugal was to get to the bottom of her family history and get a breath of fresh sea air. But during her internship with the environmental police, the fur of an endangered Iberian lynx is found in the luggage of a Danish businessman. Selva’s curiosity is aroused and she suspects that there is more to it than just a hunting trophy. But it is only when a game guide is found dead that she realizes she is on the trail of an international conspiracy. And the real danger she and all those involved are in …