Maxim Leo, born in East Berlin in 1970, trained as a chemical laboratory technician, studied political science and became a journalist. Today, he writes columns for the Berliner Zeitung and, together with Jochen Gutsch, bestsellers about talking men and puberty in old age, as well as screenplays for Tatort. In 2006 he was awarded the Theodor Wolff Prize. In 2011, he was awarded the European Book Prize for his autobiographical book Haltet euer Herz bereit. His crime thriller Waidmannstod was published in 2014. The first case for Inspector Voss, Auentod in 2015. His autobiographical book Wo wir zu Hause sind was published in 2019 and became a bestseller. Maxim Leo lives in Berlin with his wife and two children.