Rating: Summary: A Brilliant Historical Trilogy Review: March Violets (the first of the three books collected in this volume) is set in Berlin of 1936. The title of this wonderful mystery is the slang term used to pejoratively to describe those latecomers to Nazism who managed to rise quickly when the party gained power. The private detective is Bernie Gunther, an ex-cop of some renown who resigned rather than get caught up in the internal political tugs of war being waged by Goerring and the like. The writing is brilliant, nearly every page has a sentence which sparkles and demands to be reread--and Kerr captures the time and place wonderfully by using period phrases and slang and vivid offhand details about daily life. The story is certainly well within the noir genre and what makes it special is the hero's gradual realization that his country is turning into something quite ugly indeed. The second book, "The Pale Criminal," is set in Berlin of 1938. Bernie Gunther returns to in a another noir thriller involving a serial killer specializing in young German girls. The police are baffled and Gunther is "persuaded" to rejoin temporarily to lead the investigation as some elements of the Nazi party attempt to use the killings to stir up anti-Jewish rioting. Once again, Kerr's research, writing and incorporation of German idioms is brilliant. The final book in the trilogy is set in 1947, some nine years and one World War after our last encounter with private eye Bernie Gunther. The change is dramatic, as Gunther ekes out a living after surviving the war, including a stint on the Eastern Front. The formerly middle-class Gunther lives as most Berliners do, in hard times and in constant fear of the rapacious "Ivans." In this sad time Gunther must face the passability that his wife is prostituting herself in order to put food on the table, and that his country as a whole is doing much the same. He becomes embroiled in a mystery that takes him to Vienna, a city where Cold War spying is being born. The story gets quite hard to follow, but is certainly worth it--especially if you watch the classic film noir, The Third Man, before reading this book.
Rating: Summary: Good research, great atmosphere, hero a bit over the top Review: Mr. Kerr depicts in these three novels a grim world which must have existed in Nazi Germany and immediately after the war. It is only a bit disappointing that the hero is too much of a superman.
Rating: Summary: overrated Review: Mysteries are only so-so, there are too many stretches in the first two novels, but the last one is simply beyond believable. There is a continuous stream of primitive wisecracks, which is quite annoying for my taste. It seems that period is well researched and there are some nice period touches, though.
Rating: Summary: A Phillip Marlowe for Berlin Review: One of Chandler's strengths was his portrayal of the diverse suburbs and layers of society that made up 1930's LA. Phillip Kerr gives us a similar feel for Berlin in the 1930's. I can't vouch for the historical accuracy, but it seems well-researched. The plots are not wholly convincing. March Violets in particular has an endpiece that seems to have been grafted on to the main plot. The denoumement occurs in a concentration camp, which gives Kerr the chance for a portrayal of conditons in the camp but doesn't add greatly to the storyline. Kerr also has an irritating tendency to overuse metaphors, to the point where he sometimes seems to be lampooning the harboiled gumshoe genre. But on the whole, all three novels are good reading, with interesting and well-drawn characters.
Rating: Summary: Excellent detective trilogy set in 1940's Germany Review: Philip Kerr offers three exquisitely researched detective
stories set in pre-, mid-, and post-WWII Germany. Our hero,
Bernhard Gunther, appears in all three books as he tracks down criminals and searches for people whom the National Socialists would prefer not be found. Kerr writes a great detective story without ever insulting the reader with teasers or other deceptions. Kerr even throws in a fair
dose of the German idiom, translated so skillfully that it reads well in English and delights the German speaker. This
set is a great read for discriminating mystery fans and especially so for those with an interest in Germany or
German history.
Rating: Summary: Three 1930s Detective Novels -- This Time in Nazi Germany Review: Phillip Kerr writes in the clearest of prose and is certainly one of the most gifted of our modern thriller/mystery writers. It is a sincere pleasure to read a well-written book, in this case a compilation of three books that seamlessly span the Nazi Germany years. This volume captures his three Bernie Gunther novels, each a gem on its own. They are rich in the atomosphere of those strange, terrible years of Nazi Germany. These novels dare to set forth true police procedurals in the upside down world of a truly lawless society. Few of us can ever image how everyday life would be in a totalitarian society. These novels get the job done with a realistic, human hero. It is a pleasure to have a story unfold through the eyes of a rare, truly brave person with human frailities, not the more common super-hero that unfortunately litters most thrillers. It is thought-provoking to remember that many members of pre-war German society were ethical, moral people that felt outrage at a society with no rule of law. Further, we contemplate why there were not enough Bernie Gunther's left to opose and strive. I hope that Phillip Kerr gives us another installment of this wonderful Bernie Gunther mini-series.
Rating: Summary: Good period mystery Review: Refreshing change from the usual American police/detective mystery. Has the detailing of a British mystery with the adventure of a classic American detective novel. As a fan of British mystery enjoyed this mystery series set in Germany from 1937 to 1947.
Rating: Summary: Philip Marlow meets Hitler. Review: The best detective stories are simply excuses for good writing. Here Philip Kerr creates the world of a private eye in Hitlers Germany - an ordinary man who simply wants to simply keep on earning a living despite the shifting political scene. I marvelled at the historical detail as the three books track Bernard Gunther's progress from 1936 Berlin to post-war Vienn (Harry Lime territory). I have bought 6 copies and mailed them to friends. It's that good. Since writing this wonderful and neglected trilogy Philip Kerr has gone onto produce more popular and less subtle works. My only complaint is that there are no more Bernard Gunther novels to look forward to.
Rating: Summary: One of the best mystery thrillers ever Review: The only thing that I have read to compare to this is LeCarre's Smiley trilogy. If that isn't a strong enough endorsement I don't know what is, Absolutely required reading by any real fan of 'noir'.More's the pity that the author has since seemingly squandered his considerable talents on third rate stuff .
Rating: Summary: Good, but not great Review: These three novels are very interesting, but they are not great. If you are into detective works, you will like it a lot. However, if you have read Kerr's other books first, as I did, you will see that after these books his style changed a lot. The writing is very intelligent, and the stories are interesting, but it is just a different Kerr than in his other works. Perhaps you will like these better though. I suggest reading all three at once, so that you can get a good picture of the characters. One thing that is interesting about this work is that they all deal with Nazi influenced things, yet the Holocaust is hardly touched upon. This is neither good nor bad; it is just interesting. The first two take place in the 1930s, and the last one following the war. I thought The Pale Criminal was the best. The stuff the main character, Bernie Gunther, finds is not as grisly as the novel discription says. The stories are interesting, but if you are expecting unusual crimes, think again.
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