Vacation with an adrenaline kick: Laura Mars takes on the Canary Islands' drug mafia. Vibrant beach parties and the taste of danger. Laura Mars travels to the Canary Islands—but instead of throwing on her bikini and relaxing among palm trees and wild romantic gorges, she confronts the local drug mafia. She has followed her father's call for help: For years, Mischa Mars has been writing about the booming drug smuggling in the Canaries. Now Laura's stepmother Ramona has disappeared. Has she been kidnapped to extort his silence? On the island of La Gomera, Laura is swept away by a rainbow-colored old hippie beach party. But the next morning brings not a solution, but a corpse. Laura Mars finds herself on an island-hopping adventure of the worst kind. The tough Viennese woman begins to investigate on her own. Then her father brings in an old friend: private detective Alfredo Diaz. Laura is initially wary of him. Until the two of them start investigating together in Tenerife and Gran Canaria—growing closer amidst black lava sand, rugged landscapes, and tempting island specialties. Edith Kneifl loves to transport you to sunny places that turn out to be horrific crime scenes. At her destinations, the taste of tropical fruits always carries a hint of horror. Wherever Kneifl sends her Laura Mars: she masterfully combines vacation vibes with social critique. No matter where Edith Kneifl allows her Laura Mars to travel: she finds both beauty and ugliness everywhere. This unfiltered depiction of problems, paired with a simultaneous enjoyment of life, is what makes the charm of her stories for me. Judith Sallinger, Project Manager.