Ex-policeman Bernie Gunther thought he'd seen everything on the streets of 1930s Berlin. But then he went freelance, and each case he tackled sucke...
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Jul 27, 2009
Carolyn
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Remarkable books on many levels. They're well-researched and create a remarkably vivid portrait of wartime Berlin and post-war Vienna. The mysteries are first-rate hard-boiled stuff, with plenty of fistfights and other manly action, as well as twisting plots full of double-crosses and surprises. They also conjure up a chilling psychological portrait of Germany before and during the war, elevating them beyond pure page-turning crime fiction, for me, into moral literature. And yet, despite the vei
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Jul 13, 2007
Writerlibrarian
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In one big paperback you get the complete Berlin trilogy: March Violets; The Pale Criminal and A German Requiem. This is noir at its best. Taking his cues from Chandler but making them its own, Kerr takes us into Berlin, 1936. Summer Olympics. Bernhard Gunther, ex-cop, now a private detective mostly finds missing persons and there are lot of them in Nazi's Berlin. Murder, politics and a very nice twist makes March Violets a very good start to a wonderful ride thru this dark part of history. The
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Mar 09, 2009
Dan
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Nov 30, 2008
Eric_W
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In the last of the trilogy, Berlin Noir, (Pale Criminal and March Violets) it’s 1948, Berlin is a mess, and Bernie is hired by a former colleague, Becker, to come to to discover who might really have killed a Captain Linden, an American counterintelligence officer. Becker is in jail awaiting trial for the murder, and the evidence against him appears overwhelmingly strong. Bernie soon finds himself enmeshed in a web of intrigue that pits a clandestine American intelligence operation aga
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Sep 12, 2011
David
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Berlin Noir is actually three novels bound together, a trilogy of stand-alone gumshoe stories set in Nazi-ish Germany, the first just after the Nazi's rose to national power, the second just prior to the war, and the third just after the war. All three are narrated by private eye Bernie Gunther, who's cut from very much the same cloth as Hammett's Sam Spade and Cain/Chandler's Walter Neff.
What makes these novels work is that none of them are about the war itself, or really about Nazis More...
What makes these novels work is that none of them are about the war itself, or really about Nazis More...
Aug 16, 2011
Dirk
rated it: 
. These novels deliver a feeling for real life under the Nazi’s, as does much of Gunter Grass and Heinrich Böll’s fiction; the most moving I happen to know is Böll’s Group Portrait with Lady. Kerr creates the atmosphere skillfully out of details, and out of the detective’s feelings about them. The reader is immersed in it in a way a history book cannot provide. One inspiration is clearly Alfred Döblin’s great panoramic novel of Berlin lowlife, Alexandrplatz. It is one of two works of literatur
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May 24, 2011
Adam
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Echoes of Doblin and Hammett resonate in this opening trilogy in Kerr’s ongoing Bernie Gunther series. The cartoony image of a wise cracking shamus in Nazi Germany soon fades from your mind as Gunther’s journeys into pre and post war Germany becomes a chamber of horrors. The jaundiced world view and the cynical humor make it palatable while the seriousness of what is at stake is retained. Before the war the Nazis and after the war the United States and the Soviet Union act as deux ex machina in
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Feb 26, 2011
Ann
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My weakness for Acceptable But Ultimately Regrettable Historical Fiction is, I feel, well-documented on Goodreads -- generally an absurdly picky consumer of books, when the mood strikes I will read a seed catalogue if it is set in interwar Europe. I'm so happy, then, to have discovered this non-guilty pleasure to squirrel away for moments when only nicotine-stained fingers clutching guns and schnapps will do. The cover blurb, a patently ridiculous sentence, ranks Phillip Kerr with Alan Furst a
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Feb 25, 2011
Margot
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An interesting change of perspective, reading a detective novel set in Nazi Germany from the perspective of a German citizen who gets drawn unwillingly into the Nazi power structure. The stories/movies we encounter in the US about WWII are almost exclusively from the American, or Jewish perspective, so it feels slightly verboten to read something from a different point-of-view. I found the third novel, A German Requiem, particularly interesting for the stories of experiences living in divided Be
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Oct 06, 2010
Brad
rated it:
Philip Kerr is a serious author. But thankfully that doesn't mean that everything he writes must be serious literature. March Violets is the first in a detective series created by Kerr featuring Berlin-based private detective Bernhard Gunther.
In Gunther, Kerr has created a hard-boiled German detective worthy of comparison to Philip Marlowe. The interesting wrinkle is that Gunther does his detecting in the capital of the Third Reich where he must contend not only with the underworld More...
In Gunther, Kerr has created a hard-boiled German detective worthy of comparison to Philip Marlowe. The interesting wrinkle is that Gunther does his detecting in the capital of the Third Reich where he must contend not only with the underworld More...
Sep 05, 2010
David
rated it:
This is a difficult review to write. The subject German National Socialism and the periods covered: 1936 (Olympics in Germany), 1938 (Sudetenland crisis), and 1947 (emerging cold war in Berlin and Vienna) are disturbing to many and difficult to think of in connection with Noir Fiction. However, Philip Kerr has managed to create an interesting trilogy out of it. The biggest drawback to the books is the over the top use of Noir cliches and characters. He might have done better to forego the langua
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Feb 17, 2010
Danielle
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Book Review: Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr
Penguin, 1991
ISBN 978-0-14-023170-0
835 pages
I’ve been “off” reading science fiction and fantasy for a while for a simple reason. I wanted some really good writing. And that’s hard to find in the genre.
Now, that’s an incendiary statement, even to me. I’ve been a fan since I was a kid. The first two science fiction authors I read were Robert Heinlein and Andre Norton. I still love them. I can name half a dozen science fictio More...
Penguin, 1991
ISBN 978-0-14-023170-0
835 pages
I’ve been “off” reading science fiction and fantasy for a while for a simple reason. I wanted some really good writing. And that’s hard to find in the genre.
Now, that’s an incendiary statement, even to me. I’ve been a fan since I was a kid. The first two science fiction authors I read were Robert Heinlein and Andre Norton. I still love them. I can name half a dozen science fictio More...
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Dec 07, 2009
Bruce
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Like cheap detective fiction? On a recent trip to the library, I saw that they were having a donated book sale - five for a dollar. Since they had the Josephine Tey I recently reviewed (worth the dollar by itself), I was incentivized to pick out another four books and this single-bound trilogy by Philip Kerr caught my eye. I had fallen into Philip Kerr by way of his Wittgenstein-inspired bit of serial killer detective sci fi, A Philosophical Investigation. Thanks to the built-in philosophy, th
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Oct 01, 2009
Marsia
rated it:
Three great novels in one book, all set in Germany and told by Berliner private detective Bernhard Gunther. The first novel, MARCH VIOLETS, is pre-World War II Berlin; the second one, THE PALE CRIMINAL, takes place during WWII; and the third, A GERMAN REQUIEM, takes place mainly in Vienna after the war. In each story, Gunther meets at least one high-ranking real-life Nazi (Himmler, Goering, Heydrich, Muller) and is called upon in various capacities to serve their ends. Gunther is not only smart
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Nov 07, 2009
Josee
rated it:
Ce livre qui nous transporte dans l'Allemagne juste avant la guerre et quelques années après la guerre est intéressant surtout pour l'histoire qu'il dévoile de cette Allemagne NAZI et des mouvements et personnes qui ont amené aux pires folies.
Par contre, le style d'écriture est trop léger et comporte tellement de figuratif que le sérieux de cette époque s'en trouve dilué.
Le personnage principal est loin d'être parfait et quoique sympathique par moment, j'ai été incapable de le pren More...
Par contre, le style d'écriture est trop léger et comporte tellement de figuratif que le sérieux de cette époque s'en trouve dilué.
Le personnage principal est loin d'être parfait et quoique sympathique par moment, j'ai été incapable de le pren More...
Feb 03, 2008
Nick
rated it:
Philip Kerr produced a definitive crime novel with the Berlin Noir trilogy. The description of the city and the speech and behaviour of the character define the period of national socialism without tiring an already overdone age in history.
I loved this book for the ingenious plot lines, quick one-liners and the way it brought to life a city I live in.
You will struggle to find a better crime novel in any period.
I loved this book for the ingenious plot lines, quick one-liners and the way it brought to life a city I live in.
You will struggle to find a better crime novel in any period.
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Nov 12, 2011
Roger
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Philip Kerr is a British novelist of varied talent it seems. He has written children's novels and what some consider a cult classic ('A Philosophical Investigation'). The first book in his Berlin Noir trilogy about P.I. Bernie Gunther, is called 'March Violets'. A march violet is someone who came to the Nationalist Party in pre WWII Germany after 1933 and is a member because there is some personal gain to be had and not a true believer in Der Führer's vision. I started out liking this story, the
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Jan 04, 2012
Jamie
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A compilation of three novels, Kerr makes a jarring choice to set the first two before the start of World War II (1936, 1938) and the third after (1947). The protagonist is a private detective who flows fairly seamlessly from official roles in the Nazi police and back to his private work, all while espousing anti-national socialist frustrations and standing up for those who stood little chance of survival. There is an implausibility that arises from this backdrop, but one that a reader can sympa
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Nov 17, 2011
Gordon
rated it:
This is actually a collection of three "Bernie Gunther" novels, following the story of a German gumshoe/policeman from 1936 (March Violets), to 1938(Pale Criminal, and 1948 (German Requiem). The book is very redolent of Raymond Chandler, with a good dose of James Ellroy thrown in. The stories are quite exciting, and the book delivers all that a good noir-detective story should, with the added bonus of intertwining with historical events (Berlin Olympics, Kristallnacht, Berlin Airlift),
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Apr 29, 2011
Mk100
rated it:
These are the first three novels in Kerr's Bernie Gunther series and are among the best-written, most fascinating histroical novels I've ever read. Gunther is an immensely talented, tough and honest detective trying to do his job under the Nazi regime, which inevitably has corrupted even non-political crime - only as it turns out in this series, every crime is political in Nazi Germany. Gunther has an immense talent for the telling jibe, and the repartee between Gunther and Nazis like Goering
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May 19, 2010
Korynn
rated it:
This collection spanning pre-WWII Germany with post-WWII Germany presents the sensational life of private detective Bernard Gunther. Told with a mixture of sexuality, realism and sensitivity each story has enough pulp and politics to suit anyone looking for a good mixture of crime and history. Beginning with a mystery that spans each story, we are given a portrait of life in Germany during an awkward period, the rise of Hitler and Nazism. I found it interesting to see a new point of view, that
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Jul 25, 2010
Catherine
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Berlin Noir is a trilogy of three detective novels featuring detective Bernhard Gunther, and set in Germany during and immediately after the Nazi era. The first takes place in 1936, the second in 1838, and the third in 1947. All three have riveting story lines and are impeccably researched from a historical point of view. Eight hundred and something pages for the whole lot, but they read very quickly. The only thing I didn't like about these books was that it was often hard to keep track of
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Jun 18, 2011
Michael
rated it:
Snappy similes that are clever to laugh out loud funny, complex plots that are wonderfully bewildering, a cynical detective, fast pace, good writing, and a deep sense of place: Berlin under Hitler in the 1930s, then post war Berlin and Vienna. What kept me reading besides the above, was how the people and buildings described, regardless of they're being vicious nazis, opportunistic nazis, everyday people who might be anti semitic or not, and some of the good folks, no one knew even if they antic
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Dec 12, 2010
Toni
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This is a collection of the first three novels in the Bernhard Gunther series that were written between 1989 and 1991 and were published together in 1993 under the title “Berlin Noir”. Detailed in it are the earlier adventures of Bernhard Gunther, a private detective who specialized in missing person cases. The scenes reflect the climate of pre and post-World War 11 Berlin. As for the stories, they highlight some of the horrors that began with the birth of National Socialism and end with the all
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Dec 23, 2011
Marti
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This is actually three books under one title, totaling 835 pages--March Violets, The Pale Criminal, and A German Requiem. They all have the same main character, Bernie Gunther, and are set in various times of Hitler's Germany. I enjoyed them all except the last one, which didn't seem as interesting. The other two had some interesting turns of phrase, which I read to my husband, who was impressed by the author's terminology. We have Bernie as a private investigator, part of the bureaucracy ha
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Jul 17, 2011
Skip
rated it:
Set mostly in Germany in the late 1930s and 1940s, Bernard Gunther is an ex-policeman, turned private detective. A series of three novels. The first is about the murder of a steel industrialists' daughter and son-in-law, which seems to be about a jewel robbery, but devolves into politcal intrigue. The second focuses on a series of Aryan teenage women, raped with their throats cut, which it turns out have political overtones and Bernie is re-hired as a policeman to solve the murders. In the t
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Dec 20, 2011
Patrick
rated it:
Just started the third novel in the volume. I am listening to Django Reinhardt in the background. Seems appropriate and is a damn sight less annoying than that freaking zither in "The Third Man."
Okay, I'm done. Lost the momentum in "Requiem." Story gets too complex.
Pros: Outstanding hard-boiled observations from Bernie Gunther. Mostly tight plots. Great little vignettes on daily life under Adolf and His Merry Men. Nice ambiguity as Bernie tries to decide j More...
Okay, I'm done. Lost the momentum in "Requiem." Story gets too complex.
Pros: Outstanding hard-boiled observations from Bernie Gunther. Mostly tight plots. Great little vignettes on daily life under Adolf and His Merry Men. Nice ambiguity as Bernie tries to decide j More...
Aug 27, 2011
Tim
rated it:
Having been introduced to Phillip Kerr by a free copy of one of the later books in this same series (The One from the Other) I was impressed enough by Bernie Gunther, Kerr's hard-bitten protagonist, to want to read the earlier books. The appeal is that Bernie has echoes of classic down-at-heel gumshoes like Marlowe and Spade for whom I have a long standing affection. There is a lot in Herr Gunther and his life that makes one reach for the adjective Chandleresque, his way with a bitter simile, hi
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Aug 29, 2011
Steve
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 09, 2010
Rachel
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The wording for five star award is "it was amazing", which this triology certainly is. It is also brutal, sharp, violent, questioning, and sometimes very disturbing. The crimes that Bernie investigates, and the crooks and lowlifes he meets, along with colleagues on the police force, are a life that you do not want to be involved in. The wider society and political landscape you certainly don't want to be involved in as Bernie is our commentator on the rise of Nazism, it's horrors an
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