Rating: 
Summary: Mixed Results
Review: This trilogy is intriguing because I have several complaints about Kerr's style, yet I really did enjoy these books. First the complaints: 1) Way too many cliches. It's as if Kerr is trying to write a parody of thirties detective stories, except it isn't supposed to be funny. He's trying too hard to get the reader to see Bernie as a "seen too much", jaded character. 2) Kerr's description of Bernies sexual adventures is overdone and quite frankly the prose is laughable. It's like he took it straight from "Penthouse Forum". On the other hand, I thought the storytelling was very good, and the plot lines were solid. And Kerr, to his credit, is capable of coming up with phrases that stick with you instantly. An enjoyable and worthwhile read, but Alan Furst is a much better example of the genre.
Rating: 
Summary: "Hard boiled" German PI
Review: This volume, which contains three complete novels, is an excellent sign that "hard boiled" detective books are still being written, even if these stories are about a decade old. I was fascinated by the setting: pre-WWII Berlin, and post-WWII Vienna, and the hero, a tough as nails anti-Nazi ex-policeman and private investigator. The plots are well-constructed, and the geographical knowledge on the part of the author gives a real sense of "being there" to the reader. In these days of troubled "anti-heroes" in this genre, it's a distinct pleasure to read a book of this caliber, and to see the efforts the author made to give a look of reality to his scenario. Even the minor characters are extremely well-drawn and believeable. Read this book; you won't be making a mistake.
Rating:
Summary: watch a writer mature before your eyes
Review: What's really interesting to me is to see Kerr's development over the course of these three novels. The first seems the work of a very young man, eager to impress us with every last piece of research he can dig up (how many German street names can you stand) and in love with his ability to make metaphors. There are dozens on every page, in the mouths of every character, many of them wildly inappropriate. The second book is much better. We get the details of Berlin we need, not every one that Kerr has managed to dig up, and the metaphors have been pared down to a reasonable and more appropriate few. The two books hardly seem written by the same person. The third is a more mature work than either of the first two. Here, the characters begin to come to life and the emotions become real instead of the more superficial, more cardboardy stuff of the earlier books. So I recommend this trilogy, not just because the settings are interesting and informative and the plots entertaining, but also because it allows you to trace a writer's development over a several year period. I haven't read any of Kerr's later work, but I suspect it is better yet.
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