Reading the 20th Century discussion

Inspired by Elizabeth's posts in the What books are you reading now? thread here's a discussion thread for the late great Philip Kerr


Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Started March Violets - very very early stages in fact. I'm always a bit disconcerted starting a book by an author I haven't read before. But thanks to Susan, I'll happily move along and expect great things!"

As Susan has also observed Bernie's character develops considerably through this series. I found him a little bit off putting in the first couple of books but the lasciviousness gets toned down after a while and he becomes more likeable.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I bought the trilogy earlier this year and have a slot for the other two Dec-Feb. Read more last evening of course and like it like it! As you like this so much, I think that if you haven't already read Raymond Chandler, you would like him. Chandler does in LA what Kerr is doing in Berlin and I noticed some similarities in the noir cadence."

Just a bit Elizabeth. Bernhard is very reminiscent of Chandler's Marlowe, he's a wisecracking, cynical private eye, and Philip Kerr plays this aspect to the hilt, barely a paragraph goes by without a new and inventive metaphor or simile.

I read it back in 2016

Click here to read my review

I went on to read all of them.

Thanks again to Susan for suggesting the books.

PS: I adore Raymond Chandler

Thanks for this, Nigeyb, as I suspect Kerr will indeed become a favorite. I also need to read more Chandler. Perhaps my biggest regret in life is that I'm a slow reader and simply can't get to everything I'd like to get to (despite now having 3 or more hours a day to do it!).

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I also need to read more Chandler."

You really do. One of life's great pleasures. Superlative.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Perhaps my biggest regret in life is that I'm a slow reader and simply can't get to everything I'd like to get to (despite now having 3 or more hours a day to do it!). "

I've managed to cram a few more in by also listening to audiobooks whilst out and about (though the numerous podcasts that I subscribe to and enjoy tend to get in the way).

After Kerr's sad death, I did re-read March Violets. I will, gradually, re-read the entire series. There is a new book next year and then I have to say goodbye to Bernie...

Out of interest, what other WWII crime series do we like? I must admit that I adore books set in that period.

I had not heard the term "March Violets" before. I *think* it means something about people becoming followers of Hitler, but perhaps later rather than sooner, and also, perhaps, not quite enthusiastically. So, am I on the right track? Or is it people who profess to be followers, but really aren't?

It refers to members of the party who claim to have been party members from the beginning, but actually joined later. These latecomers were cynically referred to as, "March Violets." Whether they claimed to be Nazi's because they actually believed, or in order to aid their career, etc. is uncertain I guess. Probably a bit of both.

Susan wrote: "It refers to members of the party who claim to have been party members from the beginning, but actually joined later. These latecomers were cynically referred to as, "March Violets.""

Thanks!

Historically, I guess it is often handy to jump on a band-wagon, but, as always, it is harder to get off again when the ride is over...

The - gulp - last, Bernie Gunther book, Metropolis just appeared in my Vine queue. RC, I know you are a Viner too, so keep your eyes peeled.

A bittersweet development


RIP PK

The only positive thing here is that he had the chance to finish the last book. It is a shame that this book is set in the early days (although it is my favourite Bernie period), but he never managed to give the older Bernie a happy ending. I am thrilled to read it, but will, undoubtedly, cry...

Metropolis is showing on NetGalley if anyone wants to request it.

Thanks Susan - just put in a request


I've been waiting ages to hear about the Denise Mina request I made a while back - I usually get quite a quick response. Ah well. Hopefully will hear back soon on both.

Sometimes they take so long, it's annoying. I think there should be a time limit - they should let you know within 6 weeks, or so.

I've been authorised for Metropolis. Hurrah.


Now if Denise Mina's publishers would just get their finger out

Hurrah! Enjoy, Nigeyb - you'll love it, I know :)

Thanks Susan. I'd be amazed if I didn't.

I loved it - finished it today, Nigeyb. End of an era...

Thanks Susan. Hope to start it in the next few days.

Nigeyb wrote: "I've been authorised for Metropolis. Hurrah.


Now if Denise Mina's publishers would just get their finger out"

I haven't heard about the Denise Mina book either.

Just started Metropolis. What a lovely introduction from Ian Rankin

I didn't have the introduction in my paperback copy, Nigeyb. In fact, there was no comment about the loss of Phillip Kerr in the book at all, but I assume the introduction touches on that?

Yes it does. A lovely tribute from Ian Rankin that discusses him, his work and their connection

I will have to wait for the book to be released, to read it, but I am pleased as I was disappointed to find no mention in the copy that I received.

I've not had much time for reading in the last 10 days however I am still working my way through Metropolis and really enjoying it. I'm into the final quarter of the book now.

After I'd got over the disappointment that this - Metropolis - the final Bernie Gunther book (RIP Philip Kerr), was not going advance or conclude Bernie's "present day" narrative, I quickly began to appreciate it on its own terms.....

Here’s my review

4/5

Great review, Nigeyb. I can only imagine that Philip Kerr, sadly, simply did not get the time to conclude the series to his, or his readers, satisfaction. As you say, a great novel, but it would have been nice had Bernie's life been wrapped up in some way.

I agree Susan although, perhaps, Bernie was always destined to roam the world, looking over his shoulder, never able to get the peace that he was due.

Perhaps. Nice, in a way, to think he is out there, roaming :)

I have just noticed a Philip Kerr pre-order:

Hitler's Peace

A gripping alternative history thriller set in the Second World War, from the internationally acclaimed and bestselling author of the Bernie Gunther novels.

Autumn 1943. Hitler knows he cannot win the war: now he must find a way to make peace. FDR and Stalin are willing to negotiate; only Churchill refuses to listen. The upcoming Allied Tehran conference will be where the next steps - whatever they are - will be decided.

Into this nest of double- and triple-dealing steps Willard Mayer, OSS agent and FDR's envoy to the conference. His job is to secure the peace that the USA and Hitler now crave. The stakes couldn't be higher.

Showcasing Philip Kerr's brilliant research and masterful plotting at its best, Hitler's Peace has never before been published in the UK and is a fitting coda to the career of one of the masters of the historical thriller.

It says it has never been published in the UK, but I have a hardback edition on my shelves - possibly I got it from Murder One, as an import copy? Still, pleased to have a kindle copy - I haven't read it for years, and hope his other thrillers (especially Gridiron) will be republished now...

It isn't out until April 2020, but, if anyone hasn't read it before and fancies a buddy read in the distant future, I am happy to lead a discussion?

I cannot read alternative history, I have a hard enough time getting the real historical facts straight.

Hitler's Peace was originally published in 2005


There are second hand copies around for £3-5 on Abebooks and Amazon - the reviews are a bit mixed, though more positive than negative.

I was surprised they are marketing this as a new/unpublished title, without a cover. I suspect some readers will end up buying a book they find they have already read. It was, as you say, Nigeyb, published in 2005, when Kerr was taking his long break between Bernie Gunther novels.

Let's hope not Susan. I haven't read it and may well give it a go. I'm still mulling it over.

Like many, including Susan, I am still mourning the loss of Philip Kerr and his wonderful creation Bernie Gunther.

I am currently a few chapters into Ostland by David Thomas. So far it's blimming marvellous and reminds me of the splendid Bernie Gunther books.

I notice Susan has already trodden this path and bestowed a five star rating upon Ostland. I will save Susan's review until I've finished. Based on what I have read so far, I suspect my rating will be similar.

Anyone else come across Ostland, or its author David Thomas?

Here's more about Ostland (2013)....

February 1941, wartime Berlin. Brilliant, idealistic young detective Georg Heuser joins the Murder Squad in the midst of the biggest manhunt the city has ever seen. A serial killer is slaughtering women on S-Bahn trains and leaving their battered bodies by the tracks. Heuser must confront evil eye-to-eye as he helps track down the murderer.

July 1959, peacetime West Germany: a pioneering young lawyer, Paula Siebert, is the sole woman in a federal unit investigating men who have committed crimes of unimaginable magnitude and horror. Their leader has just been arrested. His name is Georg Heuser. Siebert is sure of his guilt. But one question haunts her: how could a once decent man have become a sadistic monster?

The answer lies in the desolate wastes of the Russian Front, the vast landmass conquered by Hitler’s forces… the new empire the Nazis call Ostland.

Based on an extraordinary true story, Ostland is a gripping detective thriller, a harrowing account of the Holocaust and a thought-provoking examination of the capacity for sin that lurks in every human soul.

I have only just read the first Bernie Gunther book March Violets so am way behind you all here. Trying to close my eyes to any spoilers as I plan to keep reading the series ;)
I must read more noir in general come to think of it. I keep getting sidetracked with the latest "must read" thrillers that get churned out and thrust in your face by marketing. But so often don't deliver..

Ostland looks good - must add it to my gigantic to read list.

I notice that...


Hitler's Peace (2005)

by the late great

Philip Kerr

...is 99 pence today in the UK for Kindle

Is it worth a read?

The blurb looks promising...

Autumn 1943. Since Stalingrad, Hitler has known that Germany cannot win the war. The upcoming Allied conference in Teheran will set the ground rules for their second front-and for the peace to come. Realizing that the unconditional surrender FDR has demanded will leave Germany in ruins, Hitler has put out peace feelers. (Unbeknownst to him, so has Himmler, who is ready to stage a coup in order to reach an accord.) FDR and Stalin are willing to negotiate. Only Churchill refuses to listen.

At the center of this high-stakes game of deals and doubledealing is Willard Mayer, an OSS operative who has been chosen by FDR to serve as his envoy. He is the perfect foil for the steamy world of deception, betrayals, and assassinations that make up the moral universe of realpolitik. A cool, self-absorbed, emotionally distant womanizer with a questionable past, Mayer has embraced the stylish philosophy of the day, in which no values are fixed. In the course of the novel, his beliefs will be put to the ultimate test.

But as compelling as Mayer is, the key players in this drama-FDR, Stalin, Churchill, and Hitler, as well as Himmler, Bormann, Molotov, and Schellenberg (with marvelous walk-ons by Kim Philby, Anthony Blunt, and Evelyn Waugh)-are astonishingly true-to-life.

Hitler's Peace is Philip Kerr in top form. With his sure hand for pacing, his firm grasp of historical detail, and his explosively creative imagination about what might have been, he has fashioned a totally convincing thinking man's thriller in the great tradition of Eric Ambler and Graham Greene.

For 99p gotta be worth a punt?

No sale on it in US.

I have been trying hard to find a new Bernie Gunther, including the new Simon Scarrow series - good, but not Bernie. I am thinking of re-reading this series next year. Can you miss a fictional character? I think you can.

I still miss him Susan


And I've tried a few similar series but nothing is as good as dear old BG

No. Irreplaceable, I fear.

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/jack...

Exciting news that Jack Lowden (of Slow Horses) will be Bernie Gunther in a new Apple TV series.

That is exciting


Thanks Susan