Borkmann’s Point

Chief Inspector Van Veeteren cuts short his long vacation to assist the Kaalbringen police chief, Bausen, and his small crew. He travels to the remote town ready to apply his experience to a puzzling spate of ax killings. The arrival signals the serious start of a tense investigation fueled by Van Veeteren's appetite for nuance and chess games with Bausen.

Police Chief Bausen faces retirement and urges a swift, definitive resolution to restore public safety. He hopes the ax murders will become a high point in his career exit. Van Veeteren and the team work under this pressure, seeking a quick breakthrough before Bausen departs.

The corpses are found axed with a butcher's chopper, and the killer's attention to detail becomes immediately apparent. The victims are unrelated and chosen seemingly at random, challenging the investigators to find a pattern. The case moves from routine police work to a hunt for a hidden thread.

A second victim falls to the same brutal method, escalating the town's fear and the pressure on the investigation. The killings unfold in a way that suggests the killer is careful and deliberate rather than impulsive. Beate, Münster, Kropke and others intensify their efforts to connect the dots.

A third killing solidifies the pattern and the press dubs the killer the Ax Murderer. The trio of murders raises the stakes for everyone in the town and within the police team. Yet the motive remains stubbornly elusive, with the killer seemingly unseen.

The press give the killer a nickname, Ax Murderer, turning the case into a public spectacle. The label adds pressure on the investigation and complicates witness recall and public opinion. The team persists in pursuing a thread that might explain the random violence.

Beate Moerk, a dedicated but unmarried woman with dreams of becoming a private detective, joins the investigative team. She brings determination and a fresh perspective to the puzzle. The crew recognizes her contribution as part of a broad, shared effort.

Münster, a detective, shows cracks in his marriage and family life as the case tightens. The investigation tests relationships and professional loyalties alike. He remains committed to solving the murders, even as pressure mounts.

Kropke, the nerdish member of the team, applies his analytical skills and detail-oriented thinking to the crime scenes. He helps translate scattered clues into testable hypotheses. His presence highlights the varied talents drawn into the case.

The team works to link the seemingly unrelated victims by common threads, patterns, or misdirections. Their collaborative effort shows that solving such a puzzle requires combining experience, intuition, and method. Time is running short as they collect clues and test theories.

Beate Moerk vanishes while jogging late at night, sending a jolt of urgency through the investigation. Her disappearance intensifies the stakes and personalizes the danger to the team. The investigators race to find her while continuing to pursue the killer's thread.

With retirement looming and Beate missing, the investigators feel the clock ticking louder. They struggle to close the case before Bausen's departure and to account for Beate's fate. The case remains a difficult puzzle, with the killer still elusive.

Across the murders, the killer's careful, precise method with the butcher's chopper remains a defining signature. The detail-oriented nature of the crimes suggests a methodical planner rather than a chance attacker. The investigators keep circling back to this pattern as they reassess clues.

The team refuses to abandon the case even as Beate's disappearance adds a personal hazard and uncertainty. They press on, driven by professional duty and the stubborn mystery of the Ax Murderer. The summary ends with the sense that the puzzle remains unsolved but the effort continues.