First published 1984
A detective stares at three crime scenes scattered across postwar Europe. Each murder bears disturbing similarities, and each trail leads back to the same unlikely suspects: three former officers from the German army. As the investigation deepens, the detective must navigate the complex web of wartime loyalties and peacetime secrets that bind these men together. The officers, each now living separate civilian lives, find their past catching up with them in ways they never anticipated. What connects these seemingly unrelated killings spans decades and continents, forcing both hunter and hunted to confront the shadows of a war that officially ended years ago. The pursuit becomes a deadly game where the line between justice and revenge blurs with each new revelation.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, complex-morality, secrets-and-lies
Setting: Europe
Period: Postwar
311 pages · Paperback · Pantheon Books/Random House, Inc.
Content warnings: violence