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The One from the Other
(Bernie Gunther #4)
by
A woman seeks Bernie out. Her husband has disappeared. She's not looking to get him back - he's a wanted man who ran one of the most vicious concentration camps in Poland. She just wants confirmation that he's dead. It's a simple enough job. But in post-war Germany, nothing is simple.
...more
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Paperback, 410 pages
Published
2008
by Quercus Books
(first published September 7th 2006)
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Start your review of The One from the Other (Bernard Gunther, #4)

After a ridiculously long break from writing the Bernie Gunther novels (15 years I think) Philip Kerr returned with possibly his best piece of Chandleresque writing to date.
Bernie is a fantastic noir gumshoe; forever down on his luck, somehow always finding himself the subject of affection of countless beautiful women, morally grey at times yet always willing to put it all on the line for the right cause. Not to mention a fantastic voice for narrating a noir story.
The hardboiled dialogue in The ...more
Bernie is a fantastic noir gumshoe; forever down on his luck, somehow always finding himself the subject of affection of countless beautiful women, morally grey at times yet always willing to put it all on the line for the right cause. Not to mention a fantastic voice for narrating a noir story.
The hardboiled dialogue in The ...more

Apr 11, 2016
Mark
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
fans of a different view on Post WWII Germanu and history.
The fourth Bernie Gunther adventure takes place a mere 15 years after the first three novels Kerr wrote. Those three novels of called Berlin Noir trilogy while decent enough are show a less likable Bernie Gunther than this new phase 2 Bernie Gunther whose exploits shortly after the war show a post WWII Germany that does not quite fit the general accepted truths. Kerr does quite a good job in showing that with the second great war fone with the good guys did not necessarily did win the war. We ha
...more

I read The One from the Other a few years ago but the second reading was in response to the very sad news that the very great Philip Kerr died at the relatively young age of 62 a couple of weeks ago.
I can't say much about the Bernie Günther novels that hasn't already been said; superbly constructed plots, sharp and witty dialogue, cynicism, great scene description and brilliant characterisation headed, of course, by Bernie himself, literature's greatest survivor.
Newcomers to these thrilling stor ...more
I can't say much about the Bernie Günther novels that hasn't already been said; superbly constructed plots, sharp and witty dialogue, cynicism, great scene description and brilliant characterisation headed, of course, by Bernie himself, literature's greatest survivor.
Newcomers to these thrilling stor ...more

“Giving people choice was not something Hitler was good at. We all had to do things we didn’t much care for…”
One from the Other opens with a back story of Berlin, September 1937. Gunther, a former KRIPO detective turned private investigator is retained by the SD‘s Jewish Department to accompany two of their men to Palestine, where he is to deposit a businessman’s assets in a bank and set up an account for him. The logic is simple: the enemy is England which controls the Palestine Concession, and ...more
One from the Other opens with a back story of Berlin, September 1937. Gunther, a former KRIPO detective turned private investigator is retained by the SD‘s Jewish Department to accompany two of their men to Palestine, where he is to deposit a businessman’s assets in a bank and set up an account for him. The logic is simple: the enemy is England which controls the Palestine Concession, and ...more

Jun 03, 2011
Patrick O'Hannigan
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
world-war-two,
historical-fiction
Bernie Gunther, private investigator, is the literary heir to Philip Marlowe, and that's a good thing. While the plot in this novel feels a bit contrived, the hardboiled dialog is often fun, and after writing four novels about Bernie Gunther, Kerr knows his main man inside and out.
It's the character of Gunther that makes this Chandler-style noir worth reading. He's cynical about religion, amoral when it suits, and German to the core, but he hates Nazis. As a policeman in Berlin before and durin ...more
It's the character of Gunther that makes this Chandler-style noir worth reading. He's cynical about religion, amoral when it suits, and German to the core, but he hates Nazis. As a policeman in Berlin before and durin ...more

I have an abiding interest in 19th/20th Century German culture and history, and have visited Berlin several times, so I really love Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther books, though I had to have a break after reading the first three. The brutality was too much. But having recently read the first of Richard Evans's magnificent books on the Third Reich, which took the reader up to Hitler's coming to power in 1933, it struck me that Kerr had perfectly captured those turbulent times and the kind of crimin
...more

All conflicts have at least two sides. Most have more than two and some have elements that are not as clear, are unexpressed, disguised, even unknown to holders and/or observers. Philip Kerr’s “The One From The Other” forces readers who may have long-held beliefs that WWII was fought for clear right vs. wrong reasons and that actions by forces on either side were also clearly right or wrong, to re-examine that belief. That is not to say that readers will or even should reverse their belief in th
...more

I like the style of the author, the adventures of the ex german police officer Gunther and all the after the war German setting.
Yeah, the plot it`s quite predictable, Bernie looks like a fool sometimes, but for me, hasn`t spoiled the entertainment from this one. ...more
Yeah, the plot it`s quite predictable, Bernie looks like a fool sometimes, but for me, hasn`t spoiled the entertainment from this one. ...more

No one thought for a moment that our living space could only be created if someone else died first. p1
They say that insanity is merely the ability to see into the future. And if we knew now what we'll know then, it would probably be enough to make any of us scream. In life, the trick is all about keeping the two separate for as long as possible. p53
Fifteen years after the conclusion of his Berlin Noir series, PK has brought back the iconoclastic private investigator Bernard Gunther, who, in 1949 ...more

Dec 31, 2011
Lance Charnes
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
readers who'd like Philip Marlowe better with a German accent
Shelves:
reviewed,
fiction-mystery-detective
Perhaps the only thing more noir than pre-war Nazi Germany is post-war Germany at the dawn of the Cold War. So it makes sense that ex-cop, ex-SS-member, and full-time cynic Bernie Gunther makes his return in this dark and cynical tale of war criminals, CIA agents, deception, murder, and historical whitewashing.
Gunther, a private investigator, has moved to the barely de-Nazified Munich of 1949 to scratch out a living chasing down missing people. There are still millions of vanished people four ye ...more
Gunther, a private investigator, has moved to the barely de-Nazified Munich of 1949 to scratch out a living chasing down missing people. There are still millions of vanished people four ye ...more

I can remember seeing the name Phillip Kerr a lot in the Nineties, he wrote these technological thrillers which amassed a great deal of publicity, even if they didn’t seem to get huge readership. Well, it seems that Mr Kerr has dropped the technological, and is now writing thrillers set in the past – more specifically, post-war Germany.
Setting a detective story in Germany after the war is actually a really good idea, as there are lots of potential clients with great secrets which can then become ...more
Setting a detective story in Germany after the war is actually a really good idea, as there are lots of potential clients with great secrets which can then become ...more

Aug 03, 2014
Lawyer
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Those who love Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett
Recommended to Lawyer by:
Goodreads Group Pulp Fiction who introduced me to Bernie Gunther in The Berlin Noir Trilogy
Shelves:
1930s,
detective,
world-war-two,
naziism,
2014,
1940s,
20th-century,
hard-boiled-detective,
philip-kerr,
war-criminals
The One From the Other: Everybody is out to Get Bernie Gunther
Lullaby and good night, etc. etc. One of these days I'm gonna finish this review.
The KitKat Club is closed. Gute Nacht meine Damen und Herren. Schlafen Sie gut. Süße Träume. ...more
Lullaby and good night, etc. etc. One of these days I'm gonna finish this review.
The KitKat Club is closed. Gute Nacht meine Damen und Herren. Schlafen Sie gut. Süße Träume. ...more

Historical fiction mysteries don't get much better than this. Provides a quick colorful education into the vagaries of Nazi Germany during that time, as well. This is a book you look forward to resuming, as soon as you put it down for a break.
...more

Heard about this author on NPR and became interested in this strange genre of early aftermath of war Germany mystery and thriller literature. I couldn't get the more famous Berlin Noir series by the author at any local bookstores so gave this one a try.
I wanted to quit about half way through. The Gunther character is so painfully implausible.
The necessity to have the dry sarcasm in almost every exchange is what we might expect from a detective in a Law & Order episode or Han Solo, but seemed s ...more
I wanted to quit about half way through. The Gunther character is so painfully implausible.
The necessity to have the dry sarcasm in almost every exchange is what we might expect from a detective in a Law & Order episode or Han Solo, but seemed s ...more

Outstanding story woven in and out of real historical figures and happenings, a real illuminating look at the post-war scramble to gather up useful SS men and Nazis by the allies, while trying the less useful as war criminals. Detective Bernie Gunther, himself an ex-SS man, though unwillingly, is tossed through misery as he sets up shop as a private detective once again. Meeting various shady types and wholesome friends, he soon discovers who are the shady ones, and who are not. A great look int
...more

4 Stars, this is my first Kerr novel I have read. Kerr's writing and subject matter, in my opinion, is similar to Joseph Kanon. This is a good thing. I am looking forward to reading more Kerr.
...more

Jan 23, 2009
Bibliophile
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2009,
zentropa,
ww2,
fiction,
historical-fiction,
own,
mystery-and-suspense,
germany,
reread,
bernie-gunther
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

This is a relatively early entry in this series and, in my opinion, not one of the stronger ones I've read. Set in around 1948-9, it does provide an interesting view of post-war Germany and Austria, the Allied occupation and the effort to hide and facilitate the escape of Nazis.
Part of my problem with the book is that Kerr has written it in the classic (and somewhat tired) style of the hard-boiled detective story, with a lot of sarcastic dialogue and comments from Gunther. I don't recall that be ...more
Part of my problem with the book is that Kerr has written it in the classic (and somewhat tired) style of the hard-boiled detective story, with a lot of sarcastic dialogue and comments from Gunther. I don't recall that be ...more

This is the fourth book read in my quest to read the entire Bernie Gunther series by Phillip Kerr. To date it is the best and meets my expectations to ascertain why the series has been so widely acclaimed. Once again Kerr’s explanation of German Holocaust history during and after WW2 is immensely interesting and better presented than most history books. In this book the plot is engrossing and compelling.

I recently read the original Bernie Günther Berlin Trilogy ('March Violets’/'The Pale Criminal’/‘A German Requiem’) and concluded that Philip Kerr had saved the best until last, the third book in the trilogy - 'A German Requiem' - is superb.
Unlike Bernie Günther fans who read the books on publication, I didn't have to wait 15 years to read number four. I just carried on the next day. So far, with the Bernie Günther series I conclude reading them in quick succession is a good approach, not only h ...more
Unlike Bernie Günther fans who read the books on publication, I didn't have to wait 15 years to read number four. I just carried on the next day. So far, with the Bernie Günther series I conclude reading them in quick succession is a good approach, not only h ...more

The first three in the series were good. This is better. It's a really good look at one man, an articulate, cynical, realistic man, and his navigation of the perils the aftermath of the second world war presented to Germans, especially those who had, willingly or not, been part of the Nazi Party. Gunther is cynical, but keeps that down and the wise-cracks to a bearable minimum here. Those he does use, are born from desperation at the situation his leaders have left the ordinary person in the str
...more

The One from the Other by Philip Kerr continues our acquaintance with Bernie Gunther. WWII is over and he and his wife are trying to make a go of an inherited hotel when his wife suffers some issues and is admitted to a mental hospital. Bernie visits her and sees that she looks as though the hospital has a flea problem. She's covered in bites. Within days she's dead. The doctor suggests she died from the flu explaining that patients are always more susceptible to contagious diseases. Bernie thin
...more

3.5/5 A blend of historical fiction and crime fiction
Setting and characters - 4/5
Crime story - 3/5
The author’s March Violets was a superb hardboiled detective fiction (5/5) with the added bonus of a great setting in Nazi Germany. I went for this one expecting the same, but wonder if this would be more historical fiction ?
Think the crime story never picks up pace, never gets u interested, is too fragmented and while the explanation is not too implausible, its not entirely convincing either. May ...more
Setting and characters - 4/5
Crime story - 3/5
The author’s March Violets was a superb hardboiled detective fiction (5/5) with the added bonus of a great setting in Nazi Germany. I went for this one expecting the same, but wonder if this would be more historical fiction ?
Think the crime story never picks up pace, never gets u interested, is too fragmented and while the explanation is not too implausible, its not entirely convincing either. May ...more

As a history major, I really appreciate all the accurate research and spot-on, accurate writing by Philip Kerr. He’s brilliant at this historical noir fiction, and has a sassy, intelligent detective named Bernie Gunther snooping around the rubble and dark corners of Germany and Austria after WWII. There were so many clever ins and outs in this mystery, which, on its surface, was supposed to be about finding out if a horrible concentration camp officer is alive or dead, and then this one spins ou
...more

3.5 rounded to 4. The historical background was fascinating and highlighted the atrocities of the Nazis. Very noir that nobody was who they said they were, and everybody double crossed everybody else- but the ultimate goal- survival- was always at the forefront of everything. Historically- giving the mufti Haj Amin al-Hussein the credit for the idea of the Final Solution of the Jews has been proven to be wrong.

John Lee's reading is superb. Doesn't get in the way of the story. I quite like these vintage infused plots where a cell phone call can't hasten resolutions. The One from the Other slowly reveals a horrific Byzantine ruse involving Nazi hunting and the various groups who participated in either sheltering or bringing them to justice, albeit summarily.
...more
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