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A review by jacki_f
Berlin Noir: The First Three Bernie Gunther Novels by Philip Kerr
4.0
This is a collection of three books written by Philip Kerr between 1989-1991. They are crime/detective novels set in pre and post WW2 Berlin. The hero is a sardonic and resourceful policeman turned private investigator by the name of Bernie Gunther. After writing these three books, Philip Kerr took a long break from the character and wrote a number of other books, before returning to Gunther in 2006 with The One from the Other. There are now seven (about to be eight) books in the series altogether and whilst they are not written in sequence (some take place before the war and other well after it), the three that are presented here give a very good introduction to the character.
Bernie Gunther makes a wonderful, jaded character who despises the Nazi party but is sensible enough to (usually) know when he should keep his mouth shut. The stories are all very pleasing, Chandler-esque mysteries with a very strong since of place and terrific, fully realised characters. Real life individuals like Himmler and Goering have walk on parts that gives it a sense of realism and as Kerr explains in the postscripts, he has integrated actual events and people.
The first book in the trilogy, March Violets, is set in 1936 against the background of the Berlin Olympics and a sanitised Berlin putting on its best face for the world. The second book is set in the grimmer world that is Berlin in 1938, whilst the third takes place in a vastly transformed 1946 Berlin and Vienna and integrates the turf wars between the US and Russian occupiers.
If you haven't yet discovered Philip Kerr, you are in for a treat.
Bernie Gunther makes a wonderful, jaded character who despises the Nazi party but is sensible enough to (usually) know when he should keep his mouth shut. The stories are all very pleasing, Chandler-esque mysteries with a very strong since of place and terrific, fully realised characters. Real life individuals like Himmler and Goering have walk on parts that gives it a sense of realism and as Kerr explains in the postscripts, he has integrated actual events and people.
The first book in the trilogy, March Violets, is set in 1936 against the background of the Berlin Olympics and a sanitised Berlin putting on its best face for the world. The second book is set in the grimmer world that is Berlin in 1938, whilst the third takes place in a vastly transformed 1946 Berlin and Vienna and integrates the turf wars between the US and Russian occupiers.
If you haven't yet discovered Philip Kerr, you are in for a treat.