Bestselling novelist 'killed on houseboat': Murder probe launched after award-winning writer found 'gunned down'
A bestselling German novelist was found dead on a houseboat after being violently attacked.
Alexandra Fröhlich, 58, was discovered 'lifeless' by her son on Tuesday morning aboard her long, cerise houseboat in Hamburg.
The mother of three, whose novels were were highly regarded in Germany was believed to have been shot, according to the NDR, the local broadcaster.
Police believe she died between midnight and 5.30am and her body showed signs that she had been attacked.
As a result, the case was passed onto the murder squad.
Investigators have issued an appeal for witnesses who may have seen anything suspicious on the Holzhafen bank of the Elbe River, where the boat was moored.
A police spokesperson told local media: 'According to current information, relatives found the 58-year-old woman lifeless on her houseboat and alerted the fire brigade, who were only able to confirm the woman's death,' a police spokesperson told local media.
'After evaluating traces and evidence, the investigating authorities now believe that the woman died as a result of violence.'
Investigators have issued an appeal for witnesses who may have seen anything suspicious on the Holzhafen bank of the Elbe River, where the boat was moored
He said they were looking into whether the killer knew the suspect.
Fröhlich began her career as a journalist, creating a women's magazine in Kyiv.
She then worked as a freelance journalist in Germany before becoming a novelist.
She published her debut novel My Russian Mother-in-Law and other Catastrophes in 2012.
It remained on the bestseller list of Der Spiegel magazine for several months - an indicator for book sales in Germany.
In 2016, she published a crime novel Death is a Certainty and in 2019, Skeletons in the Closet.
Her books were loved in Germany and full of humour.
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