Book 4 in the Bernie Gunther series
The novel follows the “Berlin Noir Trilogy”, with a detective story set in post war Germany. It contains a wealth of historical details spun into a complex plot. It covers the reconstruction period of Germany and its new threat, the rapid growth of communism.
The story starts with a prologue set part in Berlin and part in Palestine in the late 30’s. Gunther is sent to Palestine with two mandates, one to facilitate a dealing that would allow a Jewish businessman to flee Germany and the other to shadow Nazi intelligence officers.
After the introduction that set the tone and is an intricate part of the novel, the action moves to 1949 Germany. Gunther now a struggling hotel owner in Dachau decides to throw in the towel after he is approached and threatened by an individual with a questionable agenda… Soon after the encounter, Gunther decides to return to his former field of expertize, a P.I. with his own business in Munich and at the same time to be close to his wife who is interned at a psychiatric hospital.
Looking for missing persons can be a messy business especially in post-war Germany where Nazism still taints the air. Hunting Nazis on the run can make the task even more hazardous and adventure filled. Gunther’s experience has taught him, clients are not always forthcoming with all the details and a P.I. can easily find himself caught up in a web of spiralling disasters fighting for his own survival….
Mr. Kerr excels at making his reader’s part of the story with first person narration it sometimes feels like Gunther is communicating directly with you. He comes across as a hard boiled, wise- cracking character strongly affected by his past; a past where he has been used as a pawn by multinational plotters in devious games and exploited in political shenanigans. This novel is impeccably plotted; it captures and sheds light on some of the intriguing aspects of post-war Germany while stimulating our interest in a stressful period of history. This is a totalling enthralling story, brilliantly written.
The novel follows the “Berlin Noir Trilogy”, with a detective story set in post war Germany. It contains a wealth of historical details spun into a complex plot. It covers the reconstruction period of Germany and its new threat, the rapid growth of communism.
The story starts with a prologue set part in Berlin and part in Palestine in the late 30’s. Gunther is sent to Palestine with two mandates, one to facilitate a dealing that would allow a Jewish businessman to flee Germany and the other to shadow Nazi intelligence officers.
After the introduction that set the tone and is an intricate part of the novel, the action moves to 1949 Germany. Gunther now a struggling hotel owner in Dachau decides to throw in the towel after he is approached and threatened by an individual with a questionable agenda… Soon after the encounter, Gunther decides to return to his former field of expertize, a P.I. with his own business in Munich and at the same time to be close to his wife who is interned at a psychiatric hospital.
Looking for missing persons can be a messy business especially in post-war Germany where Nazism still taints the air. Hunting Nazis on the run can make the task even more hazardous and adventure filled. Gunther’s experience has taught him, clients are not always forthcoming with all the details and a P.I. can easily find himself caught up in a web of spiralling disasters fighting for his own survival….
Mr. Kerr excels at making his reader’s part of the story with first person narration it sometimes feels like Gunther is communicating directly with you. He comes across as a hard boiled, wise- cracking character strongly affected by his past; a past where he has been used as a pawn by multinational plotters in devious games and exploited in political shenanigans. This novel is impeccably plotted; it captures and sheds light on some of the intriguing aspects of post-war Germany while stimulating our interest in a stressful period of history. This is a totalling enthralling story, brilliantly written.
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