Prague Fatale (Bernard Gunther, #8)

Feb 28, 2013 Sterlingcindysu rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was my first Bernie Gunther novel and Kerr is a strong writer. His details of the food, clothing, manners, clubs, etc of wartime Germany was amazing. Because of Gunther's travels and investigations, the research has to detail all the ranges from very poor to highest class officers (such as the food eaten by the average smuck to the SS captains). You don't think of German food sounding all that appetizing until you read what Heydrich offers his guests for lunch. No wonder everyone had hangov...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Lysergius rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Philip Kerr does it again. Bernie Gunther is back in Berlin from the Ukraine. It is not long before he is summoned to Prague by his old nemesis Reinhard Heydrich who has a proposition to put to him...

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Jan 11, 2013 Dale Pobega rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not quite to the same standard as prior installments, but still a fun and at times hilarious romp ...with Kerr's ability to weave disturbing historical fact about Nazism into the fabric of the tale.

This Bernie Gunther owes something to Agatha Christie's, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which was a bit of a surprise.

There is a nice observation made about detection of most crimes - and those given the authority to conduct it - (which I suspect is probably true):

"There are no great scenes of revelat...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Bebe (Sarah) Brechner rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've been reading my way through all of Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels. What an astonishing writer - the subject is Nazi Germany and the perspective is from a jaded, Berlin police detective who is decidedly not a Nazi and yet is forced to work with the worst of the worst, and, yes, he eventually, unwillingly goes into the SS. Vivid details of a nightmarish Germany both pre-WWII and afterwards. Details moral collapse and ordinary people's responses - both good and hideous. I don't think anyone else...more

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May 07, 2012 Monica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-and-or-evil

Another outstanding glimpse into the dark days of Nazi Germany with that knight in tarnished armor, Bernie Gunther. And it's a locked room mystery with more than a nod to Agatha Christie. It starts with Bernie back from the Eastern Front, disgusted at what he saw of the war there, glad to be back in Berlin as a cop. Then Reinhard Heidrich, a man he loathes, summons him to what used to be Czechoslovakia to be a special investigator for him in a castle full of overdecorated Nazi generals. There ar...more

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May 06, 2012 Rob Kitchin rated it 4 of 5 stars

The four great strengths of Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series is the historicization within the Nazi regime, a strong noir voice, the lead character - a self-loathing, cynical, cantankerous cop with a moral core - and well constructed stories. Prague Fatale delivers on the first two of these in spades. Kerr drops us into Berlin and Prague in 1941, the politics, the power-games within the Nazi regime, the suffering, the resistance. He evokes a very strong sense of place and time. The prose and dialogu...more

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Apr 25, 2012 L Fleisig rated it 4 of 5 stars

Phillip Kerr's latest Bernie Gunther novel, Prague Fatale, is a very much welcome addition to the Bernie Gunther series. For those new to the series, Bernie Gunther is a cop, a detective. But he isn't just any detective. He's a Berliner and he has been working the streets from the days of the Weimar Republic on through to the regime of Adolf Hitler. Like most `hard-boiled' detectives, Gunther likes to toe his own line and has a fierce independent streak. Of course independence is not a prized at...more Phillip Kerr's latest Bernie Gunther novel, Prague Fatale, is a very much welcome addition to the Bernie Gunther series. For those new to the series, Bernie Gunther is a cop, a detective. But he isn't just any detective. He's a Berliner and he has been working the streets from the days of the Weimar Republic on through to the regime of Adolf Hitler. Like most `hard-boiled' detectives, Gunther likes to toe his own line and has a fierce independent streak. Of course independence is not a prized attribute in Nazi Germany if you want to make it until your next birthday. As a result, he has made his own comprises, compromises that render him at time close to suicidally depressed. But he carries on.

Prague Fatale is mostly set, no surprise, in Prague. Gunther has been called to Prague by none other then Reinhard Heydrich, one of the architects of the Holocaust, serving in Prague as the Deputy Protector of Bohemia and Moravia. He was a butcher to be sure but, unlike the Eichmanns of the regime who may rightfully fall under Hannah Arendt's "banality of evil" umbrella, Heydrich was in many respects cultured and sophisticated. Heydrich, getting ready to celebrate his arrival in Prague commands Gunther, who he has run into in previous books in the series, to serve as a bodyguard and general house detective. No sooner does Gunther arrive than the murder of a high-ranking adjutant takes place. It is an old-fashioned locked-door scenario. The book follows Gunther as he walks through the maze of intrigue and deceit surrounding the murder.

Although the book is very well-plotted and suspenseful, I think Kerr exceeds in the characterization of Gunther and the players in these dramas. Kerr acknowledges Gunther's complicity in the system but manages to leave the reader with no small amount of sympathy for the choices Gunther has had to make. Clearly one could argue that Gunther suffers from the guilt of surviving and Kerr makes good use of it.

Prague Fatale was one of the more enjoyable books in the series. I think it stands up on its own, but I think the new reader will be well-served by picking up some of the earlier books in the series first. Either way, I can only say: highly recommended.
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Apr 20, 2012 Zohar - ManOfLaBook.com rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr is a fictional book in the Bernie Gunther series. This is the eighth book in the series which brings up the question: just how many lives does Bernie Gunther has?

Bernie Gunther returns from the Easter Front to find that 1941 Berlin is not the city he left – and not for the better. Life is unpleasant in Berlin due to blackouts, Czech terrorists, RAF bombings and food rationing.

When Bernie’s old boss Reinhard Heydrich of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) order...more Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr is a fictional book in the Bernie Gunther series. This is the eighth book in the series which brings up the question: just how many lives does Bernie Gunther has?

Bernie Gunther returns from the Easter Front to find that 1941 Berlin is not the city he left – and not for the better. Life is unpleasant in Berlin due to blackouts, Czech terrorists, RAF bombings and food rationing.

When Bernie’s old boss Reinhard Heydrich of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) orders him to Prague to spend the weekend in his country house with senior SS and SD figures, Bernie is obliged to drop everything and go. When a murder is committed in a room that was locked from the inside, the relaxing weekend turns hectic and Bernie is asked to investigate the mystery.

When I first read Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr I was a bit confused since the series appears out of chronological order. The first book I read in the series, Field Gray (my thoughts), was the seventh and I immediately knew I’d want to read more. I actually bought the collection of the first three novels titled Berlin Noir but haven’t gotten around to reading them yet.

Bernie Gunther is the perfect anti-hero, a tough and cynical Berliner, he is appalled by himself, the job he has to do, the country he loves and the people he works for and with. Bernie goes through life, agonizing over past actions, trying to do as little damage as possible, using a wry gallows humor as a defense strategy.

It’s amazing how many times, just in the two books I’ve read, Bernie comes close to death. The way he talks to upper Nazi officials he should have ended up with a bullet through the head, or worst, half way through the book. In the novel Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada (Every Man Dies Alone in the US) which is based on a true story, the two protagonist get handed a death sentence for doing much less. However they did not have Bennie’s high level Nazi contacts (“Vitamin P”), his army record (which includes some horrific acts) or his skills and cunning.

The plot is skillfully arranged, centering around a locked room murder in the summer castle of Reinhard Heydrich, Reichsprotector of Bohemia, a fencer, musician, fan of a Agatha Christie as well as one of the cruelest and most brutal in Nazi Germany known as "The Hangman" — and he's also Bernie’s boss. The setting, Prague and a castle full of Nazis, is brilliant and shows that even monsters tend to blend into one another in a close setting. Towards the end, Mr. Kerr reminds us, in gratuitous detail, what the Nazis are capable of and that the régime is more than just an excuse for amusement.

More interesting than the murder is Bernie’s internal struggle to keep a piece of his humanity intact. Constantly struggling with a death wish, the protagonist is not afraid to speak his mind to commit death-by-Nazi and free him of his nightmares caused by participating in mass murders on the Eastern front (Russia).

The brilliant aspect of Kerr’s books, aside from the absorbing yarns, is that the settings are skillfully composed and bring a life of their own into the tales. The blacked out cities, difficult life, hunger and disease have a noir feel which can barely be captured on screen. Another aspects I love about Mr. Kerr’s books is that he does not underestimate his readership, when you read a Bernie Gunther novel you would need to know your history in order to understand the sardonic humor, period hypocrisies and best of all, the disturbing normalcy of unhinged authority.

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Apr 17, 2012 Alla rated it 4 of 5 stars

“Prague Fatale” by Phillip Kerr follows Berlin detective Bernie Gunther as he is assigned to protect Reinhard Heydrich, the Reichsprotector of Czechoslovakia. It is World War 2, 1941 and Germany is still doing rather well in the war, though cracks are beginning to show.
But Gunther has his own problems to worry about. Back in Berlin, a foreign worker has been run over by a train, only Gunther sees that he was actually murdered. Shortly afterwards, he meets Arianne, a bar girl who got in trouble...more

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Apr 09, 2012 switterbug (Betsey) rated it 4 of 5 stars

In 1941, Berlin police detective Bernie Gunther flirts with suicide as a way out of his wretched life. He loathes Nazi Germany, but has orders to serve and protect the Reich, and feels like an imposter, a blur of who he was before the crimes that he was commanded to execute in Belorussia. Nazi newspapers trumpet their clarion call that “the Jews are our misfortune,” while Germany struggles to maintain their strength against the advancing Russian army.

Berlin is barely recognizable, with everythi...more In 1941, Berlin police detective Bernie Gunther flirts with suicide as a way out of his wretched life. He loathes Nazi Germany, but has orders to serve and protect the Reich, and feels like an imposter, a blur of who he was before the crimes that he was commanded to execute in Belorussia. Nazi newspapers trumpet their clarion call that “the Jews are our misfortune,” while Germany struggles to maintain their strength against the advancing Russian army.

Berlin is barely recognizable, with everything in short supply-- watery coffee; minted chalk for toothpaste; powdered milk like sawdust; tiny shards of soap—“even the prettiest girl smelled like a stevedore”--and worst of all, brackish, sour, ersatz beer. You couldn’t even get drunk to escape the pain. Moreover, the streets have eyes and the walls have ears; incautious words and ambiguous acts could get you in serious trouble, or dead.

Bernie Gunther is called up to Prague to serve as bodyguard to Reinhard Heydrich, Reichsprotector and head of the SS. He despises and fears him, but there is no choice but to abide. He is in the middle of investigating the death of a foreign railway worker in Berlin when he leaves. He is also falling for a beautiful woman, Arianne, whose life he saved from a perp who may be connected to the railway worker’s death. She is as inscrutable as Gunther, and thereby irresistible. He invites her to go to Prague with him, and he discreetly plants her at a hotel suite.

At Heydrich’s country house, he is surrounded by the Reich’s most abhorrent officials, including four of Heydrich’s adjutants. A cocktail party serves up more than expected, and compels Bernie into a dicey assignment (no spoilers, so I am being circumspect). This is where the hardboiled style and wit are curtailed. Gunther has been given carte blanche to interrogate the lives and ask no-holes-barred questions of these top officials. A surfeit of details in Gunther’s investigation at the country house occasionally reads like the filling in of dossiers, and becomes too self-aware and telegraphic. The limited movement of the country house setting adds to the officiousness of it all. The noir-like atmosphere dissipates as the narrative style changes; the pace becomes uneven, sluggish at times, and loses its edge.

The most enigmatic character, Arianne, shrinks from a spicy, intriguing character into a stock set piece for two-thirds of the novel. However, Kerr delivers up a cogent denouement, harking back to the hardboiled style once again and provoking a possible storyline for the next novel. I had begun to slouch in my chair, until the climax put me right back on the edge.

This is my first Kerr novel, but I am interested in pursuing more of the Bernie Gunther series, especially the first three books, which were well received. Apparently, the Gunther series is not written in chronological order, as the last book, FIELD GRAY, took place in the 1950’s. 3.75(less)

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Mar 07, 2012 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels

If you've read any of the seven previous books in the Bernie Gunther series, you'll know that Gunther had some personal history with SS Reichsprotector Heydrich -- the architect of the "Final Solution" and regarded by many as the evilest of the many evil men who were responsible for the Holocaust. And if you know a bit about World War II, you'll know that Heydrich was killed in 1942 by Czech and Slovak soldiers trained by the British. This eighth installment in the Gunther series opens at Heydri...more If you've read any of the seven previous books in the Bernie Gunther series, you'll know that Gunther had some personal history with SS Reichsprotector Heydrich -- the architect of the "Final Solution" and regarded by many as the evilest of the many evil men who were responsible for the Holocaust. And if you know a bit about World War II, you'll know that Heydrich was killed in 1942 by Czech and Slovak soldiers trained by the British. This eighth installment in the Gunther series opens at Heydrich's funeral before rewinding nine months to September 1941, to find Gunther living a bleak existence as a suicidal homicide detective in Berlin.

The first third of the book has him investigating the murder of a Dutch guest worker, and a possibly related attack on a bar girl -- then Heydrich shows up. Or rather, he invites Gunther to come to a castle outside Prague, and since even suicidal cops don't decline Heydrich's invitations, Gunther takes the train down to Prague with his new girlfriend in tow. That's when things really get weird, as Heydrich makes Gunther a job offer he can't refuse, and the plot suddenly turns into a funhouse version of a Golden Age mystery, complete with a locked room murder, house full of guests, and even a butler. The house is full of SS officers, one of whom has apparently murdered another, and somehow, he must find the killer. Haunted by the nightmares of his time in Belorussia, Gunther relishes his role as cat among pigeons, poking and prodding his way through the brass until he breaks the case. (Part of the conceit, which the reader just has to accept, is that Heydrich finds it useful to keep the obvious Nazi-hater Gunther around as a useful and provocative tool, rather than tossing him in jail or worse for holding unpatriotic views and expressing them so plainly.)

The internal feuds of the various high-level Germans, and the secrets each conceals, make for interesting reading, but the juxtaposition of the Golden Age mystery style with the grim reality of the SS characters is what makes the book a true page-turning entertainment. The book's one weak link is Gunther's romantic entanglement, the outcome of which is spelled out all too obviously in the title. However, it's not enough of a flaw to derail the book, which does a great job of weaving together the historical reality of the real figures who populate the story with enough speculation to create a good story. And as it turns out, I didn't know as much about Heydrich's death as I thought I did, and the book sent me scurrying online to learn more.

Readers who enjoy the Gunther books may also want to try a series by Ben Pastor featuring a Wehrmacht intelligence officer who sometimes gets assigned to look into murders that have political angles -- the first two are Lumen and Liar Moon.(less)

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Oct 31, 2011 Nick Brett rated it 4 of 5 stars

Philip Kerr’s eighth Bernie Gunther thriller is set in Prague in 1941. Heydrich, now in charge over there, summons Bernie to give him security advice. On arrival Bernie is confronted with a ‘locked room’ murder and the suspects are all rather senior officers. Bernie has brought his new girlfriend with him but soon realises that Prague is a dangerous place for them both and all is not what it seems.....

Any Bernie Gunther book is a joy and this is no exception. Although the subject matter is far f...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Maris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lucky find.

Every book is better when it has some personal story about it, and this one definitely does.
I was taking part in a youth exchange project in Romania, and had to go through 2 airports to get home, the last one was in Belgium, and as I had to spend there 14h - I thought that there is no better way of spending time than reading some good book (back then didn't know how close to a description of a "good book" I was). But the moment I walked into the book-store a revelation struck me - 99...more Lucky find.

Every book is better when it has some personal story about it, and this one definitely does.
I was taking part in a youth exchange project in Romania, and had to go through 2 airports to get home, the last one was in Belgium, and as I had to spend there 14h - I thought that there is no better way of spending time than reading some good book (back then didn't know how close to a description of a "good book" I was). But the moment I walked into the book-store a revelation struck me - 99% of books were not in English... so I was presented with a choice of six books, of which I didn't know either. Some typical women book, some not so typical women book, some da Vichy code clone, some revelations-of-life-how-you-should-live themed, a thriller and... this last one - a book with some great cover (I am a graphic designer in learning) and best of all - a plot outline that seemed like something of an Agatha Cristie but in times of Nazi Germany, and as I really loved Crystie's "And then there were none", plus a project I was coming from was about communism times in Romania - I thought to myself - well - why not to jump over the Iron Curtain for a change!

And damn, the place I landed was worth every cent I spend on it, and much more! What was supposed to be a shot of vodka for a quick pass out, turned into a slow sipping of a cognac for almost a month's length - as this book was to be enjoyed from cover to cover. The moment you are introduced to Herr Bernie Gunther you do understand that this book could have been written about him doing his daily chores, or other trivial things, as the way he sees the world around him, and the way he treats it is simply mesmerising. You are enthralled by him to a degree to call him my-hero. And he is definitely a modern take on a hero, the way one should be - a human with a witty brain and a lot of black in him, to make white stand out. He would fit in any time and any place - 'cause the ones denying authority are always the most interesting characters with whom we can resonate with - the ones restricted by laws, traditions, his boss and wife (contributing to the equality of genders - or "his husband"). This character is the materialisation of dreams come true for everyone who has ever wished to be rebellious against The System. And he gives this book a definite five star rating from the start.

So - there is nothing in this book besides this fancy character of Gunther? Oh, there is - believe me! it's build on a proper prologue-development-the hook-more development-the punch-climax-epilogue and none of these parts are a let down. There is just this one thing - one should not expect a "proper" murder mystery in the ways of Mrs Cristie, as it is there, but the percentage of a place it takes on a stage is rather small compared to the presence of Herr Gunther himself, and other persons of interest.

And speaking about other persons of interest and the setting itself - it is a fiction, but is made so believable by the use of historical persons and places and facts, that it is, as in one quote on the cover - "utterly convincing". As I have only a general knowledge of the WWII on the other side of the Iron Curtain (I come from the east side of it with all the consequences it might bear) at first I thought that those persons depicted in the book were fictional too, but to my surprise when I started googling them - turns out Philip Kerr is one hell of an author. If there is a thing in books and other creative media that I love more than alternative histories and man-made worlds - it's the history but with a bit of a fiction in it, the ones that are as close to reality, or you are made to believe they are as close, as they can get without being a historical account. And Mr Kerr delivers it perfectly! I must say thanks to this book my view on the whole WWII thing has broadened by a wide margin (as far as German Nazi side is considered). And deepening the belief that in war there are no obvious winners, ever.

And this book has made me think that it is a time to read some classics (a particular one being Goethe's Faust), as it had these references, not a lot, but they were at present, and to some extent explained (as I really think its not proper to put in a reference without explaining it), but it left me wondering - maybe I didn't get the whole metaphor etc. Was lucky enough that few months before I read Aghata Crystie's work. And I believe that this is another compliment to mister Kerr, that when one book makes you want to read some others, and expand your knowledge base in the world of literature.

Maybe some will say I have overrated this book, but as of now it stands as a superb example of a five star masterpiece fiction novel with the most charismatic character I have met.

PS. must add that this was my first ever encounter with Bernie Gunther and work of Filip Kerr, and I didn't feel like missing out something while reading it, though there were 7 books before it - so I can recommend it as a standalone novel for sure.
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May 05, 2013 Sheikh Bake rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those already involved in the series

Recommended to Sheikh by: NPR

I absolutely love what Kerr is doing with Bernie Gunther. I started reading the series after a review on NPR, and I loved the premise of a missing persons PI in the Third Reich. You really could not get much more Chandlerlike than that, could you?

This book considers the fate of General Heydrich, whom Adolph Hitler called "The Man with the Iron Heart." Heydrich has shown up in these novels before, but this is the last time. The absurdity of Bernie's situation is that he is in Prague with a woman...more

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May 05, 2013 Martin Hill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Phillip Kerr’s iconoclastic German police detective, Bernie Gunther, returns from the Eastern Front to his Kripo homicide office in Berlin, wracked with guilt over what he was forced to do in Belorussia. The last thing he wants is to spend a holiday in Czechoslovakia with the new Reichsprotector, Reinhard Heydrich, the boss he fears and hates. But as Gunther says, no one says no to Heydrich. To make matters worse, Heydrich has invited some of the most heinous Nazis to his estate to celebrate his...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Harris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-literature

Philip Kerr is an absolute master at noir fiction, and I'm a huge fan of Bernie Günther, a hard bitten gumshoe with a chip on his shoulder and a dislike of Nazis and other bullies.

I'm actually rereading this novel in anticipation of A Man Without Breath, which will finally tell us just what happened to Bernie on the Eastern Front, although we have more than a few hints from recent novels, Prague Fatale amongst them.

That said, while this novel is the usual blend of melancholy, murder and histor...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Derek Broughton rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, mystery, historical

I don't generally like mysteries with your flawed, self-hating, detectives, but I do love historical fiction, and Kerr's Bernie Gunther is a very special case. When you're a non-Nazi cop in WW II Germany, forced to dance to Reynard Heydrich's tune, you have plenty of reason for self-hate.

Gunther is a good cop in a bad situation, and fighting a losing battle with his own morality - not because he's turning to evil, but simply because every time he tries to do something good, the best that's avail...more

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May 09, 2012 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime

This is the third Bernie Gunther I've read and #8 in the series. The other two I've read ["If the Dead Rise Not" & "Field Gray"] are more involved as they each take place in two different periods of Bernie's life. "Prague Fatale" covers a period from autumn of 1941 through mid-1942. Bernie has returned from Belorussia where he spent the summer of 1941 on the Russian front and what he has seen there has made him more disgusted with himself and his fellow Germans than ever [see "Field Gray"]....more

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Mar 20, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Sherlock Holmes fans, or fans of historical fiction set in World War II

Recommended to Jessica by: I received it in a Goodreads giveaway.

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery

I want to begin by thanking the publisher, Marian Wood Books (G.P. Putnam's Sons), from whom I received a free copy of the uncorrected proof via a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

Since mysteries are not my typical modus operandi, I wasn't sure what to expect when I first picked up this novel. From the back cover, I deduced (in true detective fashion), that there had been seven previous Bernie Gunther novels. This either meant that I was in for a very compelling story, or a chain of pulp mystery n...more I want to begin by thanking the publisher, Marian Wood Books (G.P. Putnam's Sons), from whom I received a free copy of the uncorrected proof via a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

Since mysteries are not my typical modus operandi, I wasn't sure what to expect when I first picked up this novel. From the back cover, I deduced (in true detective fashion), that there had been seven previous Bernie Gunther novels. This either meant that I was in for a very compelling story, or a chain of pulp mystery novels that I would love about as much as I love my mother's collection of best-selling science fiction space operas (which is to say, not at all).

Despite my aforementioned reservations though, the hook still sounded interesting, and anyway, I felt I was under obligation to read and give my most honest review since the publisher had been so generous as to send me a free advanced copy. I started the novel on Wednesday, and figured I'd make my way through it over the next two weeks while our school was out on spring vacation - somewhere between lesson planning and wedding planning, I was sure to find the time.

It is now Sunday, and though the laundry may want for washing, and the clean dishes may still linger in the washer from Friday (at least they're clean), Bernie Gunther's latest case is all wrapped up.

When I first started reading Prague Fatale, I likened Bernie Gunther to Dick Tracy set in Nazi Germany. I meant it as a compliment at the time, but as it turns out, I didn't give him enough credit. Despite his reckless wit and borderline suicidal courage, his brilliant problem solving and attention to detail are more reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes than Dick Tracy.

Except that I am not truly a Sherlock Holmes fan. While I can appreciate Holmes' brilliant crime solving, I always feel a bit like Watson when reading Doyle - that is to say, patronized. After all, the solution is quite elementary when you come around to it.

Bernie Gunther, on the other hand, is a character I can truly get behind. Both courageous and cowardly at turns, I can never quite decide if I'm supposed to love him for his hatred of the Nazi regime, or hate him because he is ultimately willing to do nothing of value to oppose it. Somehow, while detracting nothing from the plot of the novel, Philip Kerr leaves me wondering, if I had lived under the Nazi regime, would I have been a Bernie, an Arianne, or something all together more worthless than either of them?

This is a novel worth reading, and a character worth knowing.(less)

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Apr 02, 2013 Scottnshana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Big big fan of the Bernie Gunther books--let me say that up-front. There is something about a smart-ass German police detective and his cynical observations from within his brutal system that evokes the best crime fiction of Martin Cruz-Smith and James Ellroy. This may be the best of the series, though. With a twist on an Agatha Christie classic, Mr. Kerr has written a well-researched, humorous (the autopsy scene is a gem), and entertaining snapshot of the people surrounding Reinhard Heidrich in...more

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May 04, 2013 Donald Luther rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was the fourth of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels that I've read. All are very good and well worth taking the time to make your way through this sinister world of the 1930s-1950s. For the uninitiated, Bernie is a Police Commissar in Berlin during and after the Nazi era, who finds himself investigating homicides against the background of, for example, the Berlin Olympics, the search for Adolph Eichmann or, in this case, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.

If you like noir-type novels,...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

After a little too much Polish war history and Ukrainian feminism I picked something light - ha - for the train and it was this... which begins with the funeral of Reinhard Heydrich (one of the chief architects of the holocaust) and then backs up to wind a story around it. I just can't get away from him/it/the horror.

This is clipping along but I'm not too impressed. The hero is a 007 type, hard-boiled but good-hearted, putting up with being in the SD as he doesn't have any choice and can do litt...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Bernie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ww2-crime-fiction

In Prague Fatale Phillip Kerr dips in and out of his protagonists’ life. There is not an obvious chronology to the novels. However this rather cleverly deals with the finite landscape that the novels occupy.
This book arrived literally as I had completed the previous instalment Field Gray. The setting, Prague, is more constrained than the previous and as such the range of characters is reduced.
This instalment has Bernie Gunther in the service of Reinhardt Heydrich, a feared member of the Nazi e...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Nick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: espionage, mysteries, suspense

I've devoured all of the Bernie Gunther novels, wonderful mash-ups of police procedurals and WWII historical espionage starring a horny & ornery Weimer liberal who somehow manages to stay alive during the rise of Nazism and its aftermath throughout Europe and Latin America. So naturally I snapped up the latest with eager anticipation -- where would Bernie go next? Interestingly, he went back to 1941 -- an unusual non-chronological story within this decades-long story world -- and a chance to...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Arthur rated it 3 of 5 stars

Bernie Gunther, Philip Kerr's WWII-era Berlin detective, is drawn into a web of murder by Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi butcher. Prague Fatale, the eighth Gunther book, takes place in Berlin and Prague in 1941. It's a step back from two post-war Gunther mysteries.

Gunther is the antithesis of the good German: following orders, while ignoring or denying the existence of the Nazi poison. Gunther openly insults and disparages the Nazis and is distressed by the mistreatment and murder of the Jews. Non...more

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Apr 03, 2012 Kai rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

Bernie Gunther, private detective, digs deep into the crimes that most police enforcers wouldn't dare upset anyone who is Nazi. Gunther has a habit of upsetting the power to be (Nazi) in bringing justice to the victim.

In Prague Fatale, the story starts out with a murder of a Dutch railroad worker. When another murder was presented to Gunther, he was able to place the pieces that the two murders were connected but how they are connected eluded him.

Since his reputation proceeded him, Gunther is f...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Margaret Sankey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Kerr has taken his broken-down noir hero from the early 1930s (and references events back to WWI) to 1957 in Batista's Cuba, so we know Bernie usually survives in some form, but how is always the mystery. This time, it is back to 1941, when, after getting removed from the Eastern Front in the events of an earlier case, Kripo Detective Bernie Gunther is summoned to Prague by Heydrich to solve the locked room murder of a junior military attache with a closet full of dangerous baggage. Bernie, in t...more

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May 16, 2012 Jeremy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Interesting idea: Kerr takes his already well-developed series protagonist Bernie Gunther and inserts him into a "classical" locked-room mystery setup.

Bernie being Bernie, this locked-room mystery finds him insulting and accusing members of the Nazi High Command during WWII, protected by his source of "Vitamin B" Reynard Heydrich.

Bernie also being Bernie, he gets way further to the bottom of the truth than is really safe.

Period details abound. A sexy only-as-good-as-she-has-to-be mystery lady ca...more

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Dec 21, 2011 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Top notch Bernie Gunther novel! An excellent return to form for Kerr, whose previous couple Gunther novels seemed lackluster. This one is not in chronological order but seems to be written as such - ie, like Gunther is reflecting back on the events. Interesting point of view twist.

In Prage Fatale, Bernie gets mixed up in some 1941 intrigue, first in Berlin and then he gets called down to Prague by Heydritch (aka The Hangman), something of an undesired protector of his. Bernie still has flashback...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Nick Sweeney rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another thriller in Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series. (I got it because I like the series, and was going to Prague.) It is a locked room mystery; a young SS officer is murdered in the country house being used by Nazi 'protector' of Bohemia and Moravia, the odious Reinhard Heydrich - a real person, if that's not obvious - and Gunther has to find out who did it to please the psychotic Heydrich, to keep his job and... why? Gunther is so jaded with his job, and with the awful society around him t...more Another thriller in Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series. (I got it because I like the series, and was going to Prague.) It is a locked room mystery; a young SS officer is murdered in the country house being used by Nazi 'protector' of Bohemia and Moravia, the odious Reinhard Heydrich - a real person, if that's not obvious - and Gunther has to find out who did it to please the psychotic Heydrich, to keep his job and... why? Gunther is so jaded with his job, and with the awful society around him that you wonder at times why he bothers. He is very fatalistic, and has been toying with suicide for a while at the start of the book. Well, the cut and thrust of crime and politics is what keeps him going, in the face of the conundrum that must have confronted anybody concerned with the law in the Nazi era: when the society being built around you is essentially criminal, and run by criminals, what meaning does the law have? Bernie sums it up thus: 'But mostly I just blamed myself for thinking it was even possible to behave like a real detective in a world that was owned and run by criminals.' This could be a motif for any of the BG novels.

PK goes deep into the trend noticed by high-ranking Nazis and doctors and psychiatrists, that the killing of innocent people was taking an awful psychological toll on the men who had to do the killing. This was in the days before the mass gassings of people the Nazis deemed undesirable, and PK even suggests that the notorious Wannsee conference, at which the 'final solution' was first mooted and discussed, was Heydrich's response to this.

As ever, Gunther and his sidekick wisecrack and cheek their way through their investigation, ruffle feathers all round and act in a way that makes you certain that a real-life Gunther would never have got through the next joke. I imagine readers either like this kind of thing or hate it. (For the record, it tends to annoy me sometimes, then I forgive it, then go on reading.)

Most of the other guests at the house are also based on real characters, and PK gives a rundown of their various fates at the end of the book.

Do I recommend it? I recommend that anybody who likes thrillers should give one of PK's Bernie books a go, certainly. This was no worse nor better than most of them.(less)

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Prague Fatale Philip Kerr	7	32	Mar 03, 2013 10:14am
Goodreads Librari...: Combine editions - DONE	1	24	Nov 12, 2011 08:25am

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Prague Fatale (Bernard Gunther #8)

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