by Philip Kerr
Part of Bernie Gunther, book 5
First published 2008
Bernie Gunther steps off the boat in Buenos Aires in 1950, wrongly branded a war criminal and clutching promises of a clean passport from the Perón government. The former Berlin detective hopes to disappear among the other refugees washing up on Argentine shores. Instead, local police drag him into a brutal case. A young woman lies dead, mutilated beyond recognition. Another girl has vanished, the daughter of a wealthy German banker. The crimes echo an unsolved case Bernie worked in Berlin eighteen years earlier. The connection seems impossible until Bernie remembers what kind of men have fled to South America. If state-sanctioned killers can find refuge here, why not a serial murderer? When Anna Yagubsky appears at his door, desperate to learn what happened to her missing Jewish relatives, Bernie discovers that Argentina harbors the same corruption and violence he tried to escape. Half a world away from Germany, he remains a man without a country, carrying only his conscience.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, redemption
Setting: Argentina, Berlin, Buenos Aires
Period: 1950, 1930s
368 pages · Paperback · Quercus Publishing
Content warnings: violence