Synopses & Reviews
From the national bestselling author of Prague Fatale, a powerful new thriller that returns Bernie Gunther, our sardonic Berlin cop, to the Eastern Front.
Berlin, March, 1943. A month has passed since the stunning defeat at Stalingrad. Though Hitler insists Germany is winning the war, commanders on the ground know better. Morale is low, discipline at risk. Now word has reached Berlin of a Red massacre of Polish officers in the Katyn Forest near Smolensk. If true, the message it would send to the troops is clear: Fight on or risk certain death. For once, both the Wehrmacht and Propaganda Minister Goebbels want the same thing: irrefutable evidence of this Russian atrocity. To the Wehrmacht, such proof will soften the reality of its own war crimes in the eyes of the victors. For Goebbels, such proof could turn the tide of war by destroying the Alliance, cutting Russia off from its western supply lines.
Both parties agree that the ensuing investigation must be overseen by a professional trained in sifting evidence and interrogating witnesses. Anything that smells of incompetence or tampering will defeat their purposes. And so Bernie Gunther is dispatched to Smolensk, where truth is as much a victim of war as those poor dead Polish officers.
Smolensk, March, 1943. Army Group Center is an enclave of Prussian aristocrats who have owned the Wehrmacht almost as long as theyve owned their baronial estates, an officer class whose families have been intermarrying for generations. The wisecracking, rough-edged Gunther is not a good fit. He is, after all, a Berlin bull. But he has a far bigger concern than sharp elbows and supercilious stares, for somewhere in this mix is a cunning and savage killer who has left a trail of bloody victims.
This is no psycho case. This is a man with motive enough to kill and skills enough to leave no trace of himself. Bad luck that in this war zone, such skills are two-a-penny. Somehow Bernie must put a face to this killer before he puts an end to Bernie.
Review
Praise for PRAGUE FATALE: “[
Prague Fatale] is clever and compelling, proving once again that the Bernie Gunther books are, by a long chalk, the best crime series around today.”—
The Daily Beast "Inside this mesmerizing novel, set mainly in a country house outside Prague, is a tantalizing locked-door murder mystery that will thrill fans of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels."—Carol Memmott,
USA Today "Prague Fatale is classic Philip Kerr, a first-person noir detective story worthy of Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler in every regard, seamlessly transplanted to war-era Europe. Every time I finish another Gunther novel, I think, “This is as good as it gets.” Then inevitably, the next one comes along and is even better!"—Bruce Tierney, BookPage.com "In
Prague Fatale, [Bernie Gunther] is back in the early days of the Second World War, dealing with a case that combines espionage, terrorism and a locked-room mystery [. . .] Philip Kerr does his usual fine job of setting the scenes and portraying the personalities of the era. His Nazis are note-perfect creations, as are the other characters, fictional and historical, of Second World War-era Europe, all of it flavoured by the wisecracking, tough-talking Gunther, who has been called the Sam Spade of Germany. Kerr knows his modern German history, and is gifted at storytelling, and Gunther is a dark anti-hero for the ages." —H. J. Kirchhoff,
The Globe and Mail Praise for Philip Kerr: "Just as youth is wasted in the young, history is wasted on historians. It ought to be the exclusive property of novelists--but only if they are as clever and knowledgeable as Philip Kerr."--Julia Keller, Chicago Tribune
"A wily and unreliable narrator, Bernie may be forgiven for holding his cards so close to his chest as he tries to do the right thing in so many wrong places. Shades of the moral ambiguity of some of Graham Greene's and John le Carre's more memorable characters are here, as is the spirit of Raymond Chandler's knight-errant, Philip Marlowe."--Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times “The allure of these novels is that Bernie is such an interesting creation, a Chandleresque knight errant caught in insane historical surroundings.”—John Powers, Fresh Air, NPR
“German private detective Bernie Gunther would have been respected by Philip Marlowe and the two of them would have enjoyed sitting down at a bar and talking.”—Jonathan Ames, Salon.com
"[Philip Kerr] is an absolute master of the genre." —The Courier-Journal
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} “In terms of narrative, plot, pace and characterization, he’s in a league with John le Carre.”—Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} “Evokes the noir sensibilities of Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald while breaking new ground.”—Los Angeles Times
Review
Praise for A MAN WITHOUT BREATH
“Captivating . . . Kerr makes everything look easy, from blending history with a clever and intricate whodunit plot to powerful descriptions of cruelty.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Kerrs sketch of Goebbels dazzles. The author pulls the reader down into the dark underground of Der Führers rabbit hole of totalitarian horror . . . [A Man Without Breath] masterfully explores morality's shadowy gray edge.”—Kirkus
Praise for Philip Kerr:
"Just as youth is wasted in the young, history is wasted on historians. It ought to be the exclusive property of novelists--but only if they are as clever and knowledgeable as Philip Kerr."—Chicago Tribune
"A wily and unreliable narrator, Bernie may be forgiven for holding his cards so close to his chest as he tries to do the right thing in so many wrong places. Shades of the moral ambiguity of some of Graham Greene's and John le Carre's more memorable characters are here, as is the spirit of Raymond Chandler's knight-errant, Philip Marlowe."—Los Angeles Times
“The allure of these novels is that Bernie is such an interesting creation, a Chandleresque knight errant caught in insane historical surroundings.”—John Powers, Fresh Air, NPR
“German private detective Bernie Gunther would have been respected by Philip Marlowe and the two of them would have enjoyed sitting down at a bar and talking.”—Jonathan Ames, Salon.com
“In terms of narrative, plot, pace and characterization, hes in a league with John le Carré.”—Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post
“Evokes the noir sensibilities of Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald while breaking new ground.”—Los Angeles Times
Review
Praise for A Man Without Breath
“This is the most intelligent brand of crime fiction, and there is moral complexity here in spades.”—The Daily Beast
“A Man Without Breath is a masterful accomplishment that delivers a gripping mystery wrapped around meticulously researched history…It brings the deadly past to life.”—The Arizona Republic
“Kerr just keeps raising the ante with this series. And this is the best book yet.”—Dayton Daily News
“One of these days World War II will come to an end, and then how will we manage without Bernie Gunther, the cynical Berlin cop who has somehow contrived to stay alive and retain some vestige of personal integrity in Philip Kerrs harrowing historical thrillers?”—The New York Times Book Review
“This ninth Bernie Gunther tale (after Prague Fatale) focuses on two months of 1943, mixing real-life characters with fictional ones. Kerrs historical knowledge and writing skills merge these elements seamlessly in a gripping story of murder, but it is Bernie who holds it all together even as he questions the absurdity of attempting normalcy during war. Mystery, historical fiction, and military history buffs will join existing Bernie fans in welcoming this latest installment in the series.”—Library Journal
“Captivating . . . Kerr makes everything look easy, from blending history with a clever and intricate whodunit plot to powerful descriptions of cruelty.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Kerrs sketch of Goebbels dazzles. The author pulls the reader down into the dark underground of Der Führers rabbit hole of totalitarian horror . . . [A Man Without Breath] masterfully explores morality's shadowy gray edge.”—Kirkus
Review
Praise for Philip Kerr
PRAYER “Kerr has an unteachable gift for suspense.” — USA Today
“Tantalizingly creepy.” — The Observer “Here moral complexity is raised to a new high in a contemporary psychological thriller that is eerily terrifying and disturbing”
— Library Journal, starred review
“A real page-turner that may just have everyone rethinking the monumental power that faith can provide or…take away in the blink of an eye.” —Suspense Magazine
“Provocative... Evocative phrasing is another plus in this exceptional thriller.” —Publishers Weekly
“A compelling and unsettling change of pace for the popular Kerr.”
— Booklist
“A fright-filled meditation on faith…The book entertains and makes you think.” —Dallas Morning News
“Prayer brilliantly explores the world of God, guns and the nature of goodness without sacrificing suspense or story.”
— Minneapolis Star Tribune
“A rum beast that uses the cosy familiarity of the thriller form to buttress a fantastical supernatural plot...As fans of his Berlin-set Bernie Gunther novels will know, Kerr is a details man. His deep-level research brings Houston and its environs to dusty, sun-bleached life. Martins narration, too, is deftly handled -Prayer demands to be read more than once.” —The Guardian
“When Kerr goes off-piste, as he does here, the freedom sends his imagination into some very peculiar places. Who else could make a crackling thriller out of the current debate between religion and atheism?...What if the Almighty exists, but is horrible? The story unfolds at a white-knuckle pace, with a sense of the unknown that is genuinely disturbing.” — The Sunday Times
Synopsis
"Every time we're afraid we've seen the last of Bernie Gunther, Philip Kerr comes through." -The New York Times Book Review Hailed as "one of the greatest series of crime novels in the world" (El Pais, Spain), Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels continue to garner fantastic acclaim both here and abroad. This time, it's 1954 and Bernie has resurfaced in Havana. Life is relatively peaceful, but the world-weary ex-cop discovers that he cannot outrun his past when he collides with an old lover-and a vicious killer-from his life in Berlin. Alternating between the flamboyant corruption of Batista's Cuba and Nazi Germany during the buildup to the 1936 Olympiad, If the Dead Rise Not is another stunning example of Kerr's virtuoso talent.
Synopsis
From the national bestselling author of Prague Fatale, a powerful new thriller returns Bernie Gunther, the sardonic Berlin cop, to the Eastern Front. It is 1943 and, at the behest of an old friend from the pre-Nazi era, Bernie Gunther is now working in the Wehrmacht’s War Crimes Bureau—which has little to do with crimes against civilians or POWs and much to do with enforcing discipline in the ranks. It is now a month after the Wehrmacht’s surrender at Stalingrad. The tide has turned. The Russians are heading west. While Party loyalists hew to Hitler’s insistence that Germany is winning, commanders on the ground know better. They have taken enormous losses, supplies are thin, morale is low, and discipline is collapsing. In the Bureau, two issues are paramount: protecting the Wehrmacht’s reputation in the face of the inevitable defeat, and, given Hitler’s refusal to consider such a possibility, maintaining discipline among the troops. Better to fight on than to hang.
Word has reached Berlin of mass graves in the Smolensk region: Polish army officers bound, shot, and buried in the Katyn Forest. Who is responsible? For once, the army and the Party are aligned. If they can prove definitively that this was the work of the Russians, the Wehrmacht is free of at least this war crime. And for Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels, proof of Russian complicity in the massacre is sure to destroy the Western Alliance, thereby giving Germany a chance to reverse its losses and win the war. It is Bernie’s job to get that proof.
And so Bernie Gunther is dispatched to Smolensk, where truth is as much a victim of war as those dead Polish officers.
Synopsis
From New York Times-bestselling author Philip Kerr comes an amazing departure: an intense psychological thriller, sure to garner even more acclaim for this powerhouse author on the rise.
Gil Martins, an agent with the FBIs Domestic Terrorism Unit in Houston, confronts the violence generated by extremism within our nations borders every day. He sees hatred and destruction wrought by every kind of ism” there is, and the zealots who kill in their names. Until now, he has always been a part of the solutionhowever imperfecta part of justice. But when Gil discovers he played a key role in wrongly condemning an innocent man to death row, it shakes his faithin the system, in himself, and in Goddeeply. It even estranges him from his wife and son.
Desperate, Gil offers up a prayer. To know God is there, not through a sign or physical demonstration but through the strength to cope with his ever-growing, ever-creeping doubts.
His problems become more than personal as things heat up in Houston. A serial killer terrorizing the morally righteous turns out to have religious motivations, upping the case from homicide to domestic terrorism. A number of prominent secular icons die or are grievously injured abruptly and under suspicious circumstances, the latest of which is a New Atheist writer whos fallen into an inexplicable coma. Left and right, it seems Gil cant escape the power of God and murder.
As Gil investigates both cases, he realizes that there may be a connectionanswering his prayers in a most terrifying way.
About the Author
Philip Kerr is the author of many novels, but perhaps most important are the five featuring Bernie GuntherA Quiet Flame, The One from the Other, and the Berlin Noir trilogy (March Violets, The Pale Criminal, and A German Requiem). He lives in London and Cornwall, England, with his family.