“Tod Bei Den Salzburger Festspielen“ by Sophie Reyer – A Very Special Crimestory
Updated: May 27, 2025
In July 2025 Sophie Reyer, the bestselling author of „die Wilderin“ and „111 Wiener Orte und ihre Legenden“, will release her new novel „Tod bei den Salzburbger Festspielen“. This gripping book tells us the story of Else Heims, a Jewish actress who was born in 1878 in Berlin and had to leave Europe because of the holocaust.
With themes of hope and renewal, Beneath the Ashes is now available in bookstores and online worldwide, offering a story of human strength that will stay with readers long after they turn the last page.
“It is important for me to discover the stories of forgotten women”, says Reyer in an interview. She specializes in the inner lives of long-dead women, such as Joan of Arc or Charlotte de la Rose.. She takes us back to the growth, work, resistance, and will of independent women.
Reyer describes in gripping language how Else, a Jewish woman, lives her life despite all odds; neither the separation from her husband nor the rising anti-semitism can harm her, and in the end, she even convicts a murderer! A thoughtful yet optimistic, brilliantly written book!
„Tod bei den Salzburger Festspielen“ is available in softcover and eBook at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit here for tour dates and exclusive bonus content
About the author
Sophie Reyer was born in Vienna in 1984, where she still lives today. After studying at the Cologne Academy of Media Arts, she received her doctorate in philosophy from the University of Vienna in 2017. Sophie Reyer has written numerous plays and novels, published by S. Fischer, Edition Atelier, and Czernin, among others. She received the City of Graz's Literature Prize in 2010 and 2013, and the "Nah dran!" award in 2013 for her children's play "Anna and the Wulian." She also teaches courses in film, media, and theater studies at the University of Vienna and the Baden University of Education.
