by Philip Kerr
Part of Bernie Gunther, book 3
First published 1992
Berlin, 1948. Private detective Bernie Gunther has survived the war and Russian captivity, but peace brings new troubles. He has married, yet love proves difficult in Germany's ruins. When a case demands he relocate to Vienna, Bernie ignores his better judgment and accepts. The assignment involves investigating what appears to be a wrongful execution of a former colleague. His detective work pulls him deeper into a shadowy world where Nazi leaders thought dead still pull strings from hiding. American and Soviet tensions escalate around him as the Cold War takes shape. Bernie discovers he has stumbled into a hornet's nest populated by former Nazi officials and intelligence agents from both superpowers. The investigation of the American officer's murder reveals layers of deception stretching across the divided city. Bernie must navigate this treacherous landscape with his trademark cynical wit and street-hardened sensitivity while confronting the moral compromises that survival demands in postwar Europe.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: detective-noir, enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Berlin, Vienna
Period: 1948
509 pages · Paperback · Thorndike Pr
Content warnings: violence