Excellently realized novels of life under the National Socialists. The first, March Violets, takes place in 1936, the Olympics are about to begin and Bernie Gunther is a policement investigating murders that embroil him in the nazi hierarchy. The second, Pale Criminal takes place in 1938 and the Nazis have firm control of the country. Gunther leaves the police force to avoid having to submit to nazi power and goes it alone. The third, A German Requiem is set in 1947 in ruined Berlin and Austria. Gunther is asked by a former colleague to save him from a murder charge.
The writing is exceptional and the period details are wonderful. Just for the trivia alone I would recommend the books. But they also have finely drawn characters and plots that are twisty and fun to follow. ( )

Berlin Noir is, as its name suggests, self-consciously and unashamedly in the noir section of the crime genre. A collection of three novels, with two based in Nazi-era Berlin ("March Violets" and "The Pale Criminal") and one during the post-war allied administration, Kerr has the perfect background for his gritty crime novel: sex, corruption and death are common-place in this setting. It is exploited to its full, Kerr's tired but determined detective investigating a range of murders, bristling with twists and similes and with the Nazi regime or the nascent cold war providing a constant threat. At times Kerr's style comes close to caricature, but that does not detract from these gripping and enjoyable novels. ( )

As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best books I have read in years - and I am one of the most fussiest & pickiest readers in all of Europe! Books one & two are great while book three is also good but pales in comparison to the first two.

The books revolve around an ex-Berlin criminal detective called Bernhard "Bernie" Gunther who leaves the police force in 1933 after the rise of Hitler and instead he becomes a private investigator. What makes these books so great is that Philip Kerr gives us a deep and detailed insight into what life was like in 1930's Germany and how your every move could put you in conflict with the Nazi regime.

Berlin Noir is a collection of the three Gunther novels, the first one set in 1936, the second in 1938 and the third in 1948 (in the aftermath of the war). This is one criticism I will make about the books - there is a 10 year time gap between books 2 & 3. I would have thought it'd make sense to write book 3 sometime in the early 1940's and have "A German Requiem" made as book 4 instead. Instead we have a 10 year leap between stories which makes things in book 3 a little disjointed. In book 3, the author briefly describes what happened to Gunther during the war, the fact he served in the SS and Abwehr in Russia before being captured by the Russians & becoming a prisoner of war. That's fine to know but why not write a whole new story around it instead?

OK, let's take a look at each book in turn.

Book one - MARCH VIOLETS - set in the backdrop of the 1936 Olympics, this story introduces us to Gunther and then onto a case where he is hired by a German billionaire to investigate the arson deaths of his daughter and son-in-law. In fact all he actually wants is for Gunther to discover where a precious necklace belonging to his daughter is but it isn't long before Gunther is digging into the family's dirty laundry. Both the daughter and the son-in-law (a rising star in the Nazi Party) were shot repeatedly in the head before the fire started and both the necklace and important papers are missing. The case brings Gunther into violent contact with the Nazis (in the shape of Reinhard Heydrich) and also German organised crime.

Book two - THE PALE CRIMINAL - Gunther is forced by Heydrich to temporarily re-join the Berlin criminal police after a serial killer is on the loose in Berlin, murdering blonde Aryan girls. The police have no leads which is highly embarrassing for the regime so Gunther is pressed back into service with a promotion to the rank of Kommissar. He soon finds that this case reaches into the highest levels of the Nazi Party and he finds himself investigating corrupt SS officials with a sinister agenda...

Book three - A GERMAN REQUIEM - as I said before, this story suffers from a 10 year lapse from book 2. Gunther is now much older, much wiser and also recovering from his experiences in Russia including a stint in a Russian POW camp. He is now back in ruined Berlin with his wife which is under 4 power occupation. Working from his ruined home, Gunther finds out that one of his former police colleagues, Emil Becker, is under arrest in Vienna and faces the death sentence for the murder of a US Army captain who was investigating Nazi war crimes. A friend of Becker, a Russian Intelligence major, coerces Gunther with lots of money into going to Vienna and working with Becker's defence lawyer to prove Becker's innocence. It doesn't help that Becker is now a gangster and a black-marketeer, mixing with the wrong people. Gunther soon comes into contact with a US Intelligence officer and a US Military Policeman, who are running separate investigations into the captain's death. Gunther's investigation also brings him into contact with Viennese gangsters, prostitutes and familiar faces from his past, including war criminals on the Allied Most Wanted list....

At a total of 835 pages, this will take you some time to read but it is well worth it. If you have an interest in the Nazi regime, 1930's & 1940's history & politics and a desire to read three good well-written detective stories then this book is for you.

Highly recommended! ( )

Bernie Gunther is a wise-cracking detective struggling to get by in the ruins of Berlin and to keep his moral compass in the shadow of the Nazis. ( )

Just finished reading the final page of Berlin Noir, a collection of gritty crime and suspense comprising the books March Violets, The Pale Criminal and A German Requiem by Kerr. I was truly taken aback by the wealth of information presented and the ability of Kerr to pleasantly take the reader back in time with delicious accuracy, nuance and swagger. His ability to capture the zeitgeist of Germany from a distinctly German perspective is quite engrossing to the reader. Needless to say, I enjoyed all three books and will definitely seek out more of Kerr’s work in the very near future. Actually, I picked up Hitler’s Peace just a few hours ago. ( )