Jürgen Kehrer

Since Kehrer created suspense without violence, Germany's ZDF found his oeuvre appropriate for their understanding of quality entertainment and in 1995 they broadcast a first TV feature film about Wilsberg. In the novels Wilsberg went through many substantial, nearly epic personal changes, which made it difficult to use them as the basis for a TV series. Eventually a concept was found, and actor Leonard Lansink succeeded the initial actor playing the principal role. The original character changed in many respects when he was adapted for the TV screen, a fate that befell already for example Arsène Lupin and The Saint. But unlike Georges Descrières or Roger Moore, who portrayed Lupin and the Saint, respectively, the German actor Leonard Lansink is appreciated by all fans of the protagonist in question, and Jürgen Kehrer has endorsed the TV series, even appearing in cameo roles.

Kehrer got in contact with a publishing house in the Ruhr area which had just established a new subgenre of crime fiction called "Lokalkrimi." Instead of trying to mimic American crime fiction the "Lokalkrimi" authors used a different approach, and often set stories in rather rural and unspectacular areas of Germany. Kehrer's "Und die Toten lässt man ruhen" ("And the dead ones are left in peace") was published in 1990. Avoiding clichés, it described a private detective, Wilsberg, who was not heroic and did not carry a gun. The following mystery novels about Wilsberg attracted a growing audience.

Kehrer is known for his novels about the private detective Georg Wilsberg, and their television versions. He has also published non-fiction books (as he had already done in 1985) and novels without Wilsberg. Like Arthur Conan Doyle he has also published a number of historical novels.

Jürgen Kehrer (born 21 January 1956) is a German author. His success led to a substantial change in German crime fiction and brought a new industry to his chosen home town of Münster.