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 of an individual who is slowly trapped in a labyrinth of darkness, wary of the rise of a new government that excises its own citizens with fanatic zeal. Bernie Gunther is no angel, but it is his strong sense of morality carries the reader through his changing world with nothing but sympathy for his remaining choices.