by Philip Kerr
Part of Bernie Gunther, book 9
First published 2013
Berlin detective Bernie Gunther receives orders to travel to Smolensk in March 1943. The Wehrmacht and Propaganda Minister Goebbels want him to investigate reports of a Soviet massacre of Polish officers in the Katyn Forest. Both parties need solid evidence of Russian war crimes. The Wehrmacht hopes such proof will overshadow their own atrocities when the war ends. Goebbels believes the evidence could fracture the Allied partnership and cut off Soviet supply lines from the West. Gunther arrives at Army Group Center headquarters, where Prussian aristocrats command troops from their ancestral positions of power. The rough Berlin cop clashes with the refined officer class. A more dangerous problem emerges when Gunther discovers a killer operating within the military ranks. This murderer possesses both clear motives and professional skills that leave no evidence behind. In a war zone where lethal expertise runs common, Gunther must identify the killer before becoming the next victim.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Berlin, Smolensk, Katyn Forest
Period: 1943
480 pages · Hardcover · Marian Wood Books/Putnam
Content warnings: violence, war