I’d happily take a cruise with the following people from Droemer Knaur Verlag and hope that none of them go missing, for without their sterling work Passenger 23 would not be in your hands now: Hans-Peter Übleis, Christian Tesch, Theresa Schenkel, Monika Neudeck, Sibylle Dietzel, Carsten Sommerfeldt, Iris Haas, Hanna Pfaffenwimmer. As always, let me make a very special mention of my wonderful editors, Carolin Graehl and Regine Weisbrod, whose intelligent questions and comments have again ensured that – to keep the imagery going – my story didn’t list or hit a reef halfway along its journey. Since 2006 the following man and his Zero agency have ensured that my books don’t appear naked on the shelves. And since 2006 I’ve consistently forgotten him in acknowledgements, but hey, that’s a bloody difficult name you chose, dear Helmut Henkensiefken. Many thanks for the cover!

Many people regard the author as the captain, but on my ship it’s Manuela Raschke who wears the cap. This superwoman organises my entire professional existence, and even some of my private life now, too – recently she’s been cutting my children’s hair! Thanks, Manu, and oh, before I forget, the recycling is now being collected on Thursdays ;).

Writing is a lonely process, but fortunately work around the book is not, and I’m delighted that over the years something akin to a ‘family business’ has emerged, which means I enjoy the privilege of being able to work only with good friends and relatives. Or at least the following people are very good at pretending they like me: Barbara Herrmann, Achim Behrend, Sally Raschke, Ela and Micha, Petra Rode, Patrick Hocke and Mark Ryan Balthasar.

I would like to thank Sabrina Rabow again for her outstanding PR work and for always dabbing a bit of her powder on my face at photo calls, despite my protests. Although I can’t bear the stuff, I have to admit that without it the only use for my photos would be as ‘before’ images in Botox adverts.

Googling can change one’s life. Mine, for example. In 2001 I typed ‘literary agent’ into the search box and the algorithm spat out the name of the best in the world: Roman Hocke. Thanks are due to him and the rest of the fabulous team at AVA International: Claudia von Hornstein, Claudia Bachmann, Gudrun Strutzenberger and Markus Michalek.

I’d also like to thank the man without whom I’d never have managed fifty readings in a week and would have either turned up late to all my other appointments, or not at all: Christian Meyer from C&M Sicherheit.

Thanks to all the booksellers, librarians, bookbinders and organisers of readings and literary festivals. All of you are keeping alive the most important medium in the world and allowing us authors to follow our dreams.