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Gregor Reinhardt #3
The Ashes of Berlin
From the author of The Pale House: World War II has ended, and former German intelligence officer Captain Gregor Reinhardt has returned to Berlin. He’s about to find that the bloodshed has not ended—and that for some, death is better than defeat…
A year after Germany’s defeat, Reinhardt has been hired back onto Berlin’s civilian police force. The city is divided among the victorious allied powers, but tensions are growing, and the police are riven by internal rivalries as factions within it jockey for power and influence with Berlin’s new masters.
When a man is found slain in a broken-down tenement, Reinhardt embarks on a gruesome investigation. It seems a serial killer is on the loose, and matters only escalate when it’s discovered that one of the victims was the brother of a Nazi scientist.
Reinhardt’s search for the truth takes him across the divided city and soon embroils him in a plot involving the Western Allies and the Soviets. And as he comes under the scrutiny of a group of Germans who want to continue the war—and faces an unwanted reminder from his own past—Reinhardt realizes that this investigation could cost him everything as he pursues a killer who believes that all wrongs must be avenged…
A year after Germany’s defeat, Reinhardt has been hired back onto Berlin’s civilian police force. The city is divided among the victorious allied powers, but tensions are growing, and the police are riven by internal rivalries as factions within it jockey for power and influence with Berlin’s new masters.
When a man is found slain in a broken-down tenement, Reinhardt embarks on a gruesome investigation. It seems a serial killer is on the loose, and matters only escalate when it’s discovered that one of the victims was the brother of a Nazi scientist.
Reinhardt’s search for the truth takes him across the divided city and soon embroils him in a plot involving the Western Allies and the Soviets. And as he comes under the scrutiny of a group of Germans who want to continue the war—and faces an unwanted reminder from his own past—Reinhardt realizes that this investigation could cost him everything as he pursues a killer who believes that all wrongs must be avenged…
448 pages, Hardcover
First published December 6, 2016
158 people are currently reading
784 people want to read
About the author
Luke McCallin
16 books230 followersLuke McCallin was born in Oxford, grew up around the world and has worked with the United Nations as a humanitarian relief worker and peacekeeper in the Caucasus, the Sahel, and the Balkans. His experiences have driven his writing, in which he explores what happens to normal people--those stricken by conflict, by disaster--when they are put under abnormal pressures.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
November 27, 2016
This is an impeccably researched and atmospheric novel featuring Gregor Reinhardt now working as a police detective in a much reduced and fractured police 'kripa', unenviably trying to serve four masters in post war Berlin in 1947. The bombed out ruins of the city is a hotbed of theft, assaults, rape, extortion, black marketeering and corruption. All malice is foisted on the desperate whilst the desperate try to get away with as much as possible. There are gangs of feral orphans and people are struggling to stay alive amidst the poverty, starvation and bleakness. Berliners try to ally themselves with the occupiers in an effort to gain access to food, cigarettes, alcohol and other goods and favours. German women who go with the allies are treated with contempt and savagery, in the time honoured tradition of a man taking out his failings on women and children.
Treated with suspicion and contempt within the police, Reinhardt is working the nightshift when he is called to Neukolln and the murder of two men. One turns out to be David Carlson, a military lawyer working with the British faction on war crimes and the other is Andreas Noell, a man who served in the German airforce. The allies interfere in the investigation and succeed in separating the two murders whilst Reinhardt focuses on Noell. This is a twisted trail of a case that draws in the powerful and knowledgeable Russian, Skokov, who seems to know everything about the case and insists that Reinhardt keeps him informed about all developments, as indeed do the Americans and British. The political intrigue and danger seeps into every corner of the case. We have die hard Nazi SS sympathisers who have no intention of going away and are a force to be reckoned with. More murders occur and it becomes clear that there is a connection with the victims and an airforce group in North Africa and the darkest of secret deeds that happened under the Nazi regime. There is a dangerous and highly skilled killer with the qualities of a chameleon in search of his own brand of justice.
Justice in Germany at this stage is a murky chequered affair, compromised, and subject to the demands of real politik. Amongst the allies, the fractures between them are transparent and each is in a race for 'what shines in the rubble', particularly German scientists and others perceived as of high value irrespective of what they may have done. This novel captures this period of Berlin's history in an impressive manner. It delineates the complications, past and family of characters like Reinhardt such as the return of his son, Friedrich, who is struggling to come to terms with all that he did in the war and after. This is a scarred city and people, much has happened, none of it is pretty but there is the huge task of building for the future. No easy task and and there is the inevitable moral ambiguity as to how this is achieved. The author is brilliant in painting this complexity and this tumultuous time in the book. This is a superb novel which I highly recommend. Thanks to Oldcastle Books for an ARC.
Treated with suspicion and contempt within the police, Reinhardt is working the nightshift when he is called to Neukolln and the murder of two men. One turns out to be David Carlson, a military lawyer working with the British faction on war crimes and the other is Andreas Noell, a man who served in the German airforce. The allies interfere in the investigation and succeed in separating the two murders whilst Reinhardt focuses on Noell. This is a twisted trail of a case that draws in the powerful and knowledgeable Russian, Skokov, who seems to know everything about the case and insists that Reinhardt keeps him informed about all developments, as indeed do the Americans and British. The political intrigue and danger seeps into every corner of the case. We have die hard Nazi SS sympathisers who have no intention of going away and are a force to be reckoned with. More murders occur and it becomes clear that there is a connection with the victims and an airforce group in North Africa and the darkest of secret deeds that happened under the Nazi regime. There is a dangerous and highly skilled killer with the qualities of a chameleon in search of his own brand of justice.
Justice in Germany at this stage is a murky chequered affair, compromised, and subject to the demands of real politik. Amongst the allies, the fractures between them are transparent and each is in a race for 'what shines in the rubble', particularly German scientists and others perceived as of high value irrespective of what they may have done. This novel captures this period of Berlin's history in an impressive manner. It delineates the complications, past and family of characters like Reinhardt such as the return of his son, Friedrich, who is struggling to come to terms with all that he did in the war and after. This is a scarred city and people, much has happened, none of it is pretty but there is the huge task of building for the future. No easy task and and there is the inevitable moral ambiguity as to how this is achieved. The author is brilliant in painting this complexity and this tumultuous time in the book. This is a superb novel which I highly recommend. Thanks to Oldcastle Books for an ARC.
September 12, 2017
I am re-posting this review as yet again Goodreads has lost my review!
This is an impeccably researched and atmospheric novel featuring Gregor Reinhardt now working as a police detective in a much reduced and fractured police 'kripo' unenviably trying to serve four masters in post war Berlin in 1947. The bombed out ruins of the city is a hotbed of theft, assaults, rape, extortion, black marketeering and corruption. All malice is foisted on the desperate whilst the desperate try to get away with as much as possible. There are gangs of feral orphans and people are struggling to stay alive amidst the poverty, starvation and bleakness. Berliners try to ally themselves with the occupiers in an effort to gain access to food, cigarettes, alcohol and other goods and favours. German women who go with the allies are treated with contempt and savagery, in the time honoured tradition of a man taking out his failings on women and children.
Treated with suspicion and contempt within the police, Reinhardt is working the nightshift when he is called to Neukolln and the murder of two men. One turns out to be David Carlson, a military lawyer working with the British faction on war crimes and the other is Andreas Noell, a man who served in the German airforce. The allies interfere in the investigation and succeed in separating the two murders whilst Reinhardt focuses on Noell. This is a twisted trail of a case that draws in the powerful and knowledgeable Russian, Skokov, who seems to know everything about the case and insists that Reinhardt keeps him informed about all developments, as indeed do the Americans and British. The political intrigue and danger seeps into every corner of the case. We have die hard Nazi SS sympathisers who have no intention of going away and are a force to be reckoned with. More murders occur and it becomes clear that there is a connection with the victims and an airforce group in North Africa and the darkest of secret deeds that happened under the Nazi regime. There is a dangerous and highly skilled killer with the qualities of a chameleon in search of his own brand of justice.
Justice in Germany at this stage is a murky chequered affair, compromised, and subject to the demands of real politik. Amongst the allies, the fractures between them are transparent and each is in a race for 'what shines in the rubble', particularly German scientists and others perceived as of high value irrespective of what they may have done. This novel captures this period of Berlin's history in an impressive manner. It delineates the complications, past and family of characters like Reinhardt such as the return of his son, Friedrich, who is struggling to come to terms with all that he did in the war and after. This is a scarred city and people, much has happened, none of it is pretty but there is the huge task of building for the future. No easy task and and there is the inevitable moral ambiguity as to how this is achieved. The author is brilliant in painting this complexity and this tumultuous time in the book. This is a superb novel which I highly recommend. Thanks to Oldcastle Books for an ARC.
This is an impeccably researched and atmospheric novel featuring Gregor Reinhardt now working as a police detective in a much reduced and fractured police 'kripo' unenviably trying to serve four masters in post war Berlin in 1947. The bombed out ruins of the city is a hotbed of theft, assaults, rape, extortion, black marketeering and corruption. All malice is foisted on the desperate whilst the desperate try to get away with as much as possible. There are gangs of feral orphans and people are struggling to stay alive amidst the poverty, starvation and bleakness. Berliners try to ally themselves with the occupiers in an effort to gain access to food, cigarettes, alcohol and other goods and favours. German women who go with the allies are treated with contempt and savagery, in the time honoured tradition of a man taking out his failings on women and children.
Treated with suspicion and contempt within the police, Reinhardt is working the nightshift when he is called to Neukolln and the murder of two men. One turns out to be David Carlson, a military lawyer working with the British faction on war crimes and the other is Andreas Noell, a man who served in the German airforce. The allies interfere in the investigation and succeed in separating the two murders whilst Reinhardt focuses on Noell. This is a twisted trail of a case that draws in the powerful and knowledgeable Russian, Skokov, who seems to know everything about the case and insists that Reinhardt keeps him informed about all developments, as indeed do the Americans and British. The political intrigue and danger seeps into every corner of the case. We have die hard Nazi SS sympathisers who have no intention of going away and are a force to be reckoned with. More murders occur and it becomes clear that there is a connection with the victims and an airforce group in North Africa and the darkest of secret deeds that happened under the Nazi regime. There is a dangerous and highly skilled killer with the qualities of a chameleon in search of his own brand of justice.
Justice in Germany at this stage is a murky chequered affair, compromised, and subject to the demands of real politik. Amongst the allies, the fractures between them are transparent and each is in a race for 'what shines in the rubble', particularly German scientists and others perceived as of high value irrespective of what they may have done. This novel captures this period of Berlin's history in an impressive manner. It delineates the complications, past and family of characters like Reinhardt such as the return of his son, Friedrich, who is struggling to come to terms with all that he did in the war and after. This is a scarred city and people, much has happened, none of it is pretty but there is the huge task of building for the future. No easy task and and there is the inevitable moral ambiguity as to how this is achieved. The author is brilliant in painting this complexity and this tumultuous time in the book. This is a superb novel which I highly recommend. Thanks to Oldcastle Books for an ARC.
February 7, 2017
A great story for your “Berlin Noir” shelf
This is the third Gregor Reinhardt novel by Luke McCallin and is set in 1947 Berlin rather than the wartime former Yugoslavia which provided the back drop for the first two.
McCallin re-creates the war weary terrain of Berlin incredibly well. His research is impeccable and his writing entertains as well as educating the reader on Berlin’s post war history and its politics.
Gregor Reinhardt, the main character who has returned to his pre-war job of police detective is a detailed character whose wartime experiences have moulded into a conscience ridden soul. A murder in the American sector brings him up against all 4 occupying authorities as he tries to solve the crime.
Even if you are not interested in the history, it’s a great police procedural that will keep you guessing. If you are a fan of John le Carré or Len Deighton, and have read Philip Kerr's "Bernie Gunther" series then this will absolutely appeal to you.
This is the third Gregor Reinhardt novel by Luke McCallin and is set in 1947 Berlin rather than the wartime former Yugoslavia which provided the back drop for the first two.
McCallin re-creates the war weary terrain of Berlin incredibly well. His research is impeccable and his writing entertains as well as educating the reader on Berlin’s post war history and its politics.
Gregor Reinhardt, the main character who has returned to his pre-war job of police detective is a detailed character whose wartime experiences have moulded into a conscience ridden soul. A murder in the American sector brings him up against all 4 occupying authorities as he tries to solve the crime.
Even if you are not interested in the history, it’s a great police procedural that will keep you guessing. If you are a fan of John le Carré or Len Deighton, and have read Philip Kerr's "Bernie Gunther" series then this will absolutely appeal to you.
May 27, 2018
An entry in the surpringly ever popular hard bitten German detective is morally conflicted in 1930s 1940s Berlin. Ashes of Berlin is a very good, if not one of the best books in this sub genre.
September 14, 2017
A magnificent historical thriller, set amid the ruins of 1947 Berlin.
This is the 3rd in the Gregor Reinhardt series and it finds Gregor working as a murder detective for the city's Kriminalpolizei. Someone is killing former Luftwaffe personnel and there follows Gregor's tireless investigation, which will bring him into conflict with the Allies - American, British, French and Russian - who control the 4 sectors of Germany's ruined capital as well as his work colleagues who view him with suspicion, although some admire him for his scrupulous fairness and ability to always make an arrest in the most convoluted of criminal cases.
Gradually, he uncovers a plot by a murderer seeking "justice - and revenge", along with details of horrific experiments carried out by the Luftwaffe during World War II in their bid to judge the effects of freezing water on pilots as well as the effects of flying at high altitudes. The Russians and Americans are particularly interested in the latter and a Soviet intelligence agent dangles the threat of retribution against Gregor's son Friedrich, recently returned from a Soviet POW camp, unless he cooperates with them. But Gregor is already in the employ of the Americans who gave him his job in the "new" Berlin police force.
The author, Luke McCallin , effortlessly captures the desperate atmosphere of post-war Germany as Berlin women almost prostitute themselves in return for cigarettes and chocolate and bands of orphaned children scour the streets and bombed-out buildings to find shelter and scraps of food.
As well as the wheeling and dealing of the various Allied powers, which now includes at least one enigmatic British intelligence agent, Gregor has to confront former servicemen who cling to their Nazi beliefs, hoping to use them to make Germany great again.
As a determined Gregor carries out his painstaking investigation, he realises he has sympathy for the man who is doing all the killing but, unlike him, this dogged police detective seeks only justice, not retribution.
This is the 3rd in the Gregor Reinhardt series and it finds Gregor working as a murder detective for the city's Kriminalpolizei. Someone is killing former Luftwaffe personnel and there follows Gregor's tireless investigation, which will bring him into conflict with the Allies - American, British, French and Russian - who control the 4 sectors of Germany's ruined capital as well as his work colleagues who view him with suspicion, although some admire him for his scrupulous fairness and ability to always make an arrest in the most convoluted of criminal cases.
Gradually, he uncovers a plot by a murderer seeking "justice - and revenge", along with details of horrific experiments carried out by the Luftwaffe during World War II in their bid to judge the effects of freezing water on pilots as well as the effects of flying at high altitudes. The Russians and Americans are particularly interested in the latter and a Soviet intelligence agent dangles the threat of retribution against Gregor's son Friedrich, recently returned from a Soviet POW camp, unless he cooperates with them. But Gregor is already in the employ of the Americans who gave him his job in the "new" Berlin police force.
The author, Luke McCallin , effortlessly captures the desperate atmosphere of post-war Germany as Berlin women almost prostitute themselves in return for cigarettes and chocolate and bands of orphaned children scour the streets and bombed-out buildings to find shelter and scraps of food.
As well as the wheeling and dealing of the various Allied powers, which now includes at least one enigmatic British intelligence agent, Gregor has to confront former servicemen who cling to their Nazi beliefs, hoping to use them to make Germany great again.
As a determined Gregor carries out his painstaking investigation, he realises he has sympathy for the man who is doing all the killing but, unlike him, this dogged police detective seeks only justice, not retribution.
July 21, 2021
Having enjoyed both The Man from Berlin (2013) (Gregor Reinhardt #1) and The Pale House (2014) (Gregor Reinhardt #2) I was keen to press on with The Ashes of Berlin (2016) (Gregor Reinhardt #3).
The Ashes of Berlin is unquestionably the best one so far. It all really comes together as Gregor Reinhardt becomes a fully realised character, this time in the rubble of occupied 1947 Berlin.
In common with the first two books, the reader is given a wonderfully credible and convincing sense of historical atmosphere with a vivid sense of place, time and those important everday issues. The characters are all fully fleshed and convincing too not least Gregor himself who has so much to contend with and is understandably a melancholy and cynical individual.
This is historical fiction at its best, and right up there with the Bernie Gunther books (RIP Philip Kerr). Although there's an air of finality about this volume, I am relieved to report that there is a fourth book - Where God Does Not Walk - due in December 2021. There are plenty more miles in the tank for this character and, whilst the next book goes back to Gregor's time on the Western Front in 1918, I really hope we get to know how he fares in the 1950s.
5/5
More about The Ashes of Berlin...
The Ashes of Berlin is unquestionably the best one so far. It all really comes together as Gregor Reinhardt becomes a fully realised character, this time in the rubble of occupied 1947 Berlin.
In common with the first two books, the reader is given a wonderfully credible and convincing sense of historical atmosphere with a vivid sense of place, time and those important everday issues. The characters are all fully fleshed and convincing too not least Gregor himself who has so much to contend with and is understandably a melancholy and cynical individual.
This is historical fiction at its best, and right up there with the Bernie Gunther books (RIP Philip Kerr). Although there's an air of finality about this volume, I am relieved to report that there is a fourth book - Where God Does Not Walk - due in December 2021. There are plenty more miles in the tank for this character and, whilst the next book goes back to Gregor's time on the Western Front in 1918, I really hope we get to know how he fares in the 1950s.
5/5
More about The Ashes of Berlin...
From the author of The Man from Berlin, shortlisted for the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger
'Bold, brutal, bloody and brilliant' - Crime Review
1947 and Gregor Reinhardt has been hired back onto Berlin's civilian police force. The city is divided among the victorious allied powers, tensions are growing, and the police are riven by internal rivalries as factions within it jockey for power and influence with Berlin's new masters.
When a man is found slain in a broken-down tenement, Reinhardt embarks on a gruesome investigation. It seems a serial killer is on the loose, and matters only escalate when it’s discovered that one of the victims was the brother of a Nazi scientist.
Reinhardt's search for the truth takes him across the divided city and soon embroils him in a plot involving the Western Allies and the Soviets. And as he comes under the scrutiny of a group of Germans who want to continue the war – and faces an unwanted reminder from his own past – Reinhardt realizes that this investigation could cost him everything as he pursues a killer who believes that all wrongs must be avenged...
'Tough, gritty and atmospheric – a new Luke McCallin novel is a cause for celebration' – William Ryan, author of The Constant Soldier
'If you like Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther books, you will love The Ashes of Berlin. Luke McCallin has skilfully crafted an atmospheric and gripping tale set amid the ruins of a war ravaged city that feels wholly authentic. Historical fiction at its best.' - Howard Linskey, author of Behind Dead Eyes
'A gripping and atmospheric thriller ... a thoroughly involving and worthwhile read' - Crime Time
Look out for other books in the Gregor Reindhart series: The Man from Berlin and The Pale House
March 31, 2017
A Divided City is the third book featuring German policeman Gregor Reinhardt. The first two were set during the war, but this one begins in 1947 Berlin, where Reinhardt has returned to the police force. Everything has changed now, and even though he's back, his colleagues neither like nor trust him. Each person on the force has been sponsored by one of the four temporary governing powers – England, France, United States, and Soviet Union. Reinhardt has been sponsored by one of the Americans.
One night he is called to a rundown building, where he finds two dead bodies that appear to be unconnected. One of the dead men is identified as Carlsen, a British agent, who is thought to have been killed by a criminal as part of a bar fight. The other dead man is Noell, a former German Air Force veteran. Reinhardt volunteers to investigate the Noell case, while the rest of the police focus on Carlsen, who appears to be the more important of the dead men.
I love the way the author describes post-war Berlin, a city ravaged by war and the wreckage of the city. He also has given us one of the most haunted of characters in Gregor Reinhardt. The secondary characters are incredibly well done. The story can be difficult to get started due to the unfamiliar names of people and places, but once I had them settled in my own language, I had no difficulty following the story. A Divided City is more of a crime novel that the previous stories and can easily be read as a standalone book. It's impossible not to compare this to the Bernard Gunther series by Philip Kerr, but they are actually quite different. Most books that have WW2 settings stop at the end of the war, or give us a perspective from the victor's side. This one gives the reader a completely different side of the story – one from the view of a German.
One night he is called to a rundown building, where he finds two dead bodies that appear to be unconnected. One of the dead men is identified as Carlsen, a British agent, who is thought to have been killed by a criminal as part of a bar fight. The other dead man is Noell, a former German Air Force veteran. Reinhardt volunteers to investigate the Noell case, while the rest of the police focus on Carlsen, who appears to be the more important of the dead men.
I love the way the author describes post-war Berlin, a city ravaged by war and the wreckage of the city. He also has given us one of the most haunted of characters in Gregor Reinhardt. The secondary characters are incredibly well done. The story can be difficult to get started due to the unfamiliar names of people and places, but once I had them settled in my own language, I had no difficulty following the story. A Divided City is more of a crime novel that the previous stories and can easily be read as a standalone book. It's impossible not to compare this to the Bernard Gunther series by Philip Kerr, but they are actually quite different. Most books that have WW2 settings stop at the end of the war, or give us a perspective from the victor's side. This one gives the reader a completely different side of the story – one from the view of a German.
November 9, 2017
To times and men that might have been.
This is one hell of a well-researched piece of historical fiction. Luke McCallin manages to thrust the reader right into the post-war turmoil of 1947's Berlin, conjuring up a dark stage for a gripping crime investigation, by one of the city's true inspectors on the force, Gregor Reinhardt. 440 pages later, I find myself wanting to read on, to delve ever deeper into the political mess and international intrigues that haunted Berlin just after yet another European apocalypse.
McCallin has managed to put an excellent variety down to paper; smoothly switching between the ongoing investigation (which is pretty thrilling as it is) and the surrounding historical background. Reinhardt embarks on a journey into the gruesome past of the now competing Allied forces, who are struggling to denazify a population which is sometimes more innocent than at first glance.
À la le Carré, McCallin excels. 5/5 stars and a definite recommendation from my side.
In the middle of the park, the colossal bulk of the Friedrichshain flak tower squatted like a wounded titan. The fortress had been split in two, the halves leaning away from each other, and millions of tons of rubble from ruins elsewhere in the city were being piled around its massive walls. The tower now seemed to be drowning in the debris that now fringed it, the whole becoming a new landmark to the city's postwar facade. Grass would grow there eventually, Reindhardt knew, trees as well, and a future generation of Berliners would have little to no idea what lay beneath the green hill they lay or walked on.
This is one hell of a well-researched piece of historical fiction. Luke McCallin manages to thrust the reader right into the post-war turmoil of 1947's Berlin, conjuring up a dark stage for a gripping crime investigation, by one of the city's true inspectors on the force, Gregor Reinhardt. 440 pages later, I find myself wanting to read on, to delve ever deeper into the political mess and international intrigues that haunted Berlin just after yet another European apocalypse.
McCallin has managed to put an excellent variety down to paper; smoothly switching between the ongoing investigation (which is pretty thrilling as it is) and the surrounding historical background. Reinhardt embarks on a journey into the gruesome past of the now competing Allied forces, who are struggling to denazify a population which is sometimes more innocent than at first glance.
À la le Carré, McCallin excels. 5/5 stars and a definite recommendation from my side.
In the middle of the park, the colossal bulk of the Friedrichshain flak tower squatted like a wounded titan. The fortress had been split in two, the halves leaning away from each other, and millions of tons of rubble from ruins elsewhere in the city were being piled around its massive walls. The tower now seemed to be drowning in the debris that now fringed it, the whole becoming a new landmark to the city's postwar facade. Grass would grow there eventually, Reindhardt knew, trees as well, and a future generation of Berliners would have little to no idea what lay beneath the green hill they lay or walked on.
December 2, 2016
The darker the night…
I worried about this one. A considerable part of the attraction of the first two Gregor Reinhart novels was the setting, German occupied Bosnia in the 1940s and especially the focus on Sarajevo with all its evocative aspects. Of course Reinhart is a fascinating creation himself and the plots of both novels were finely crafted and gripping, but how would Reinhart transfer to post-war Berlin, an apocalyptic wasteland apparently populated by huge numbers of detectives, policeman, spies and investigators from recent fiction by other novelists?
I need not have worried at all. The author has continued to write excellent, plot driven fiction which holds the reader’s attention throughout. A former pilot in a Luftwaffe squadron is found murdered. Others from the same squadron have suffered a similar fate. How are they linked? And who is the murderer?
The Berlin setting in its ruinous state with its gangs of feral children, its competing factions of Germans and the murderous rivalries of the occupying forces is superbly drawn. Best of all is the characterisation of Reinhart, now an ex-soldier, a former military policeman, placed by the Americans in a communist dominated police force where he is mocked and despised, but continues doggedly to pursue justice as ever. He can trust almost no-one and his investigations are hindered by colleagues and facilitated by self-interested enemies against a background of destruction, prejudice, hatred and danger. He makes use of surviving Nazis, street children, Russian operatives, British spies, old friends and old foes, as well as those whose motivation is entirely unclear. The plot is twisting, labyrinthine, unravelling slowly through Reinhart’s painstaking, determined investigative work. His quarry is as intelligent as he is, but far more ruthless. Justice of a sort is served in the end, but it is untidy, provokes much thought and poses many questions. As for Reinhart, he may have solved his final case – or perhaps not…
I worried about this one. A considerable part of the attraction of the first two Gregor Reinhart novels was the setting, German occupied Bosnia in the 1940s and especially the focus on Sarajevo with all its evocative aspects. Of course Reinhart is a fascinating creation himself and the plots of both novels were finely crafted and gripping, but how would Reinhart transfer to post-war Berlin, an apocalyptic wasteland apparently populated by huge numbers of detectives, policeman, spies and investigators from recent fiction by other novelists?
I need not have worried at all. The author has continued to write excellent, plot driven fiction which holds the reader’s attention throughout. A former pilot in a Luftwaffe squadron is found murdered. Others from the same squadron have suffered a similar fate. How are they linked? And who is the murderer?
The Berlin setting in its ruinous state with its gangs of feral children, its competing factions of Germans and the murderous rivalries of the occupying forces is superbly drawn. Best of all is the characterisation of Reinhart, now an ex-soldier, a former military policeman, placed by the Americans in a communist dominated police force where he is mocked and despised, but continues doggedly to pursue justice as ever. He can trust almost no-one and his investigations are hindered by colleagues and facilitated by self-interested enemies against a background of destruction, prejudice, hatred and danger. He makes use of surviving Nazis, street children, Russian operatives, British spies, old friends and old foes, as well as those whose motivation is entirely unclear. The plot is twisting, labyrinthine, unravelling slowly through Reinhart’s painstaking, determined investigative work. His quarry is as intelligent as he is, but far more ruthless. Justice of a sort is served in the end, but it is untidy, provokes much thought and poses many questions. As for Reinhart, he may have solved his final case – or perhaps not…
December 28, 2016
This is the third book in the series and WWII is now over and Reinhardt is back in Berlin as a policeman. He is still very much a troubled soul, with no family left and only his friend Brauer for company.
Unliked by his colleagues he is working the night shift when called to a run-down tenement where a body has been found. As the investigation develops he is forced to confront his personal demons about his personal role in the war.
There are people though who want to continue with the war and won't accept they have been defeated which leads to problems for all concerned.
Reinhardt finds himself working with British agents as well as Americans and Russians and finds he gets on with them despite having been on opposing sides during the war. As the investigation continues it leads him to discover what scientists were trying to develop and why this has led to what is happening now.
One of my favourite passages is when Reinhardt goes back to his bombed out home desperately searching for anything from his family life there.
This is a fascinating book, not least the descriptions of war-torn Berlin. The people are starving and many have extremely inadequate homes. It's good to read something which shows how the city and people of Berlin suffered and not just showing them all as Nazi sympathisers.
The author does an amazing job of describing the harsh realities of life.
From feral children cadging cigarettes to women ostracised for fraternising this book shows the reality of a defeated people.
The ending of the book is very good and has twists that were not forseeable.
Unliked by his colleagues he is working the night shift when called to a run-down tenement where a body has been found. As the investigation develops he is forced to confront his personal demons about his personal role in the war.
There are people though who want to continue with the war and won't accept they have been defeated which leads to problems for all concerned.
Reinhardt finds himself working with British agents as well as Americans and Russians and finds he gets on with them despite having been on opposing sides during the war. As the investigation continues it leads him to discover what scientists were trying to develop and why this has led to what is happening now.
One of my favourite passages is when Reinhardt goes back to his bombed out home desperately searching for anything from his family life there.
This is a fascinating book, not least the descriptions of war-torn Berlin. The people are starving and many have extremely inadequate homes. It's good to read something which shows how the city and people of Berlin suffered and not just showing them all as Nazi sympathisers.
The author does an amazing job of describing the harsh realities of life.
From feral children cadging cigarettes to women ostracised for fraternising this book shows the reality of a defeated people.
The ending of the book is very good and has twists that were not forseeable.
September 8, 2024
This was a really good historical crime thriller set in the rubble and ruin of post-war Berlin, with the feel of city still in turmoil after the collapse of the Third Reich. Each quarter of the divided city - characters from the Russian, American, British and French sectors all feature as part of the complex narrative, which isn't simply focused on the murder investigations, there is more going on here than just that: it paints a panoramic picture of how people went about their lives in the aftermath of war, and the uncertainty of how a post Nazi Berlin is going to shape out, after the allies took over, and what the plan was looking ahead. Gregor Reinhardt, back on the civilian police force is a brilliant creation, and much preferred him to the wisecracking Bernie Gunther from the Phillip Kerr novels, who I found a bit of a pain at times, but not with Reinhardt. I haven't read the two books prior to this one, but I'd say if you like the Burnie Gunther novels this will be right up your street.
March 10, 2017
I thought this was a really good book. I have read the others in the series and thought this was possibly the best. Gregor Reinhardt is now back in Berlin and in the police force and the time is 1947. The time and place are well described with a devastated Germany being administered by four allied forces and the population hungry and, in many cases, displaced. The police is also riddled with informers or plants from one or more of the allied powers so there is little trust between anyone.
The story is quite complex with a series of murders across Germany being discovered by Gregor which are clearly linked. It takes him some time to work out what is going on and the revelation of the perpetrator, at the end is excellent. Can recommend this and the others if you have not read them yet.
The story is quite complex with a series of murders across Germany being discovered by Gregor which are clearly linked. It takes him some time to work out what is going on and the revelation of the perpetrator, at the end is excellent. Can recommend this and the others if you have not read them yet.
August 24, 2017
BERLIN
Following The Man From Berlin and his follow-up The Pale House, this is the third in the series and it’s a novel of such depth and grit that I really got immersed into it quickly.
The portrait of how life was in Berlin at the time, and the impression of a man newly returned from war was exceptionally done in my view. I felt emotional reading it and believed every word the characters said. This is the only way most of us will ever get to experience that time and place and it’s such a fascinating period of history even if violent and destructive. It’s a broken man in a broken world – but I still liked Reinhardt as he’s never lost his moral compass – he stands out for me and I really hope this isn’t the last in the series!!
I love it when books are packed with detail and atmosphere but you don’t realise it as you;re reading as you’re so fully immersed in everything that’s going on that it’s when you sit back at the end that you realise what a ride it’s been. Some gritty moments, horrible infighting,but a fascinating insight into Berlin, its people and politics.
One to read for sure.
October 30, 2019
The best book of the trilogy! Reduced me to tears towards the end. Superb.
December 8, 2016
I would like to thank Netgalley and Oldcastle Books for a review copy of The Ashes Of Berlin, the third novel in the Gregor Reinhardt series of WW2 novels.
It is all change in this novel. It is 1947 and the war is over. Reinhardt, with nothing better to do, returns to Berlin at the prompting of the Americans and rejoins the police force. Again things have changed but not for the better from his point of view. The Berlin police force is populated with officers whose only merit is their communist sympathies and Reinhardt, championed by the Americans, is vilified, distrusted and ostracised until he catches a murder case and the situation goes from bad to worse. A former airforce pilot has been murdered along with another man no one can identify, until they can and he is a British lawyer working on war crimes. Reinhardt is the only one to believe the murders are linked and having upset the Brits he is given the case of the airman and others the lawyer. Reinhardt soon discovers the airman is not the only victim and he is pursuing a serial killer intent on killing a group of wartime pilots. The novel follows his investigation into the who and why.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Ashes Of Berlin as it is a proper, grown up book which covers a lot of ground. Firstly, there is the murder investigation which is clever, twisted and compelling. Secondly, there is the historical detail of how life was for Berliners, hunger, poverty, rubble and fear. Thirdly, there is the political situation of a Berlin divided into 4 occupied zones and the associated infighting between the allies. It is a long, complex novel but so worthwhile on all levels.
Reinhardt is a difficult character. He is dedicated to his job and committed to finding the killer but not so good at the politics and sometimes falls off the tightrope he is forced to walk because it seems that only the French have no interest in his investigation. The tension when the Russian intelligence officer, Skokov, pays him a visit it palpable because Reinhardt has no idea why he is interested in his investigation. Equally he comes under pressure from both the Americans and British to reveal what he knows. And yet, with so much interest from the occupying forces he gets no support and some active hindrance from the German police. He is prone to melancholy and can see no way out of his predicament but instead of disliking him for his lack of gumption in dealing with it I found myself agreeing with and rooting for him.
The hunt for the killer is riveting and brings Reinhardt into contact with many different groups which allows Mr McCallin to portray, in vignette, many disparate strands of Berlin society, the urchins living rough in the rubble, the disaffected veterans who are viewed with scorn by the rest of the populace, the forerunners of the Stasi and their sneaky, loutish ways, the aristocratic Junkers, stripped of their lands by the Soviets and, obviously, the Nazis who gave gone underground but still cling to their beliefs. They all play their part in a baffling case, although I must admit to guessing the perpetrator before the dénouement, not long before but enough to make it a little drawn out.
Post war politics play a big part in the novel but it is never polemicised, rather it all falls into place naturally as Reinhardt negotiates them, much as one would a minefield, in the course of his investigation. The manoeuvrings and jockeying for position are fascinating but very much background to Reinhardt's case.
Given the setting and Reinhardt's feelings this is a dark, gritty book but somehow it escapes being bleak and just feels realistic. I think it is a very complete novel with a broad canvas and yet Reinhardt's reactions make it seem intimate. The Ashes Of Berlin is an excellent read and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who loves a good book.
It is all change in this novel. It is 1947 and the war is over. Reinhardt, with nothing better to do, returns to Berlin at the prompting of the Americans and rejoins the police force. Again things have changed but not for the better from his point of view. The Berlin police force is populated with officers whose only merit is their communist sympathies and Reinhardt, championed by the Americans, is vilified, distrusted and ostracised until he catches a murder case and the situation goes from bad to worse. A former airforce pilot has been murdered along with another man no one can identify, until they can and he is a British lawyer working on war crimes. Reinhardt is the only one to believe the murders are linked and having upset the Brits he is given the case of the airman and others the lawyer. Reinhardt soon discovers the airman is not the only victim and he is pursuing a serial killer intent on killing a group of wartime pilots. The novel follows his investigation into the who and why.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Ashes Of Berlin as it is a proper, grown up book which covers a lot of ground. Firstly, there is the murder investigation which is clever, twisted and compelling. Secondly, there is the historical detail of how life was for Berliners, hunger, poverty, rubble and fear. Thirdly, there is the political situation of a Berlin divided into 4 occupied zones and the associated infighting between the allies. It is a long, complex novel but so worthwhile on all levels.
Reinhardt is a difficult character. He is dedicated to his job and committed to finding the killer but not so good at the politics and sometimes falls off the tightrope he is forced to walk because it seems that only the French have no interest in his investigation. The tension when the Russian intelligence officer, Skokov, pays him a visit it palpable because Reinhardt has no idea why he is interested in his investigation. Equally he comes under pressure from both the Americans and British to reveal what he knows. And yet, with so much interest from the occupying forces he gets no support and some active hindrance from the German police. He is prone to melancholy and can see no way out of his predicament but instead of disliking him for his lack of gumption in dealing with it I found myself agreeing with and rooting for him.
The hunt for the killer is riveting and brings Reinhardt into contact with many different groups which allows Mr McCallin to portray, in vignette, many disparate strands of Berlin society, the urchins living rough in the rubble, the disaffected veterans who are viewed with scorn by the rest of the populace, the forerunners of the Stasi and their sneaky, loutish ways, the aristocratic Junkers, stripped of their lands by the Soviets and, obviously, the Nazis who gave gone underground but still cling to their beliefs. They all play their part in a baffling case, although I must admit to guessing the perpetrator before the dénouement, not long before but enough to make it a little drawn out.
Post war politics play a big part in the novel but it is never polemicised, rather it all falls into place naturally as Reinhardt negotiates them, much as one would a minefield, in the course of his investigation. The manoeuvrings and jockeying for position are fascinating but very much background to Reinhardt's case.
Given the setting and Reinhardt's feelings this is a dark, gritty book but somehow it escapes being bleak and just feels realistic. I think it is a very complete novel with a broad canvas and yet Reinhardt's reactions make it seem intimate. The Ashes Of Berlin is an excellent read and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who loves a good book.
August 20, 2017
Set in post war Berlin in 1947 Gregor Rainhardt, a former police officer, has returned to his home town to try carry on with normal life but this is now a new world. Berlin is still very much in ruins both the body and the soul of it. Divided into sectors Berlin is a place where it’s residents are more the outsiders, children living like urchins and supporters and fraterniseres of the SS shunned. Even the police force is now divided, being employed by either the Americans, French, British or Sovient Union factions There is no trust even here, as the allies that fought against a common enemy have no trust with each other, informers and spies are in abundance. Rainhardt has been employed by the Americans but he is not a man that is particularly liked or respected by his fellow officers.
When a call is received about, what is thought at first glance, the dead body of a drunk at the bottom of the stairs in an American sector apartment block, Rainhardt is one of the officers to respond. He follows a blood trail up the stairs that very much puts doubt on that being the case and he discovers yet further body in one of the upper apartments. While the other police officers seem to concentrate their investigation on the death of Carlsen, a British Agent, which seems much more high profile, Rainhardt homes in on the death of Noell, a former German Air Force veteran. Rainhardt could really be labelled, ‘does not play well with others’, but he works on instinct as well as facts and this case pulls him like a magnet.
Rainhardt wants a normal life but the past doesn’t want to let go, not yet, for some people the war hasn’t come to an end and it forces Rainhardt to revisit his past that he had worked hard on leaving behind him. This is no ordinary killing and as he begins to piece together murders that don’t work within ‘sectors’, it becomes clear that this is the work of one man. It seems that with each piece of this puzzle Rainhardt’s life expectancy is getting shorter.
This really is a stunning novel that describes a Berlin that feels as much displaced in the world as its residents. There really isn’t anything light and wonderful about this book, it is dark, grave and utterly compelling. This is the third book in the series, the former two set in the war years and Rainhardt’s participation and family. Do read on after you finish the story for a short piece by the author about post war Berlin, truly fascinating. Just Brilliant!
When a call is received about, what is thought at first glance, the dead body of a drunk at the bottom of the stairs in an American sector apartment block, Rainhardt is one of the officers to respond. He follows a blood trail up the stairs that very much puts doubt on that being the case and he discovers yet further body in one of the upper apartments. While the other police officers seem to concentrate their investigation on the death of Carlsen, a British Agent, which seems much more high profile, Rainhardt homes in on the death of Noell, a former German Air Force veteran. Rainhardt could really be labelled, ‘does not play well with others’, but he works on instinct as well as facts and this case pulls him like a magnet.
Rainhardt wants a normal life but the past doesn’t want to let go, not yet, for some people the war hasn’t come to an end and it forces Rainhardt to revisit his past that he had worked hard on leaving behind him. This is no ordinary killing and as he begins to piece together murders that don’t work within ‘sectors’, it becomes clear that this is the work of one man. It seems that with each piece of this puzzle Rainhardt’s life expectancy is getting shorter.
This really is a stunning novel that describes a Berlin that feels as much displaced in the world as its residents. There really isn’t anything light and wonderful about this book, it is dark, grave and utterly compelling. This is the third book in the series, the former two set in the war years and Rainhardt’s participation and family. Do read on after you finish the story for a short piece by the author about post war Berlin, truly fascinating. Just Brilliant!
July 6, 2017
This is not a book to wolf down in one sitting, nor one you can nibble away at in brief bites. It’s too densely detailed and emotionally intense for that. It takes quite a while to get going – but once you’re absorbed in the plot and characters its momentum is unstoppable. It’s a long, slow examination of the human spirit, not in the extreme heat of combat but during the relentless grind of grim existence in an unthinkable situation.
There are, of course, obscure murders and a troubled investigation; a detective and his devious opponent; organisational conflict and familial strife. All the necessary requirements of an accomplished crime novel are present and correct; good old fashioned intrigue set against an extremely uncomfortable backdrop: the divided city of Berlin in 1947, shattered in substance and spirit.
In Ashes, there are patriots who were not Nazis: fascists who were not patriots. Idealists whose beliefs were betrayed and who correspondingly turned their coats… only to find their new religion to be equally hollow. There are consequences for all actions and no obvious way for individuals to make amends. And then there’s the unseemly scramble for technology and influence amid the bristling hostility which laid the foundations for the Cold War. 70 years later, we hear the echoes loud and clear.
This is the third book featuring Gregor Reinhardt and, while it works well enough as a stand-alone, to fully understand the nuance of the character you do need to read the earlier two. In particular, Reinhardt’s relationship with his son is especially important. Friedrich was a Hitler Youth firebrand who despised his father’s generation for the humiliation they suffered at Versailles. This storyline alone encapsulates the cataclysm which all but destroyed German society and brought Europe to the brink of oblivion. It’s geopolitics at the intimate, human level.
Ashes may be the last story about Gregor Reinhardt – but McCallin has introduced several new characters whose future stories beg to be told, not least his trio of spymasters. Idealists, partisans, pragmatists and political animals: I’d love to read more of them.
9/10
There's a longer version of this review - and many other crime-thrillers - over at http://www.murdermayhemandmore.net
There are, of course, obscure murders and a troubled investigation; a detective and his devious opponent; organisational conflict and familial strife. All the necessary requirements of an accomplished crime novel are present and correct; good old fashioned intrigue set against an extremely uncomfortable backdrop: the divided city of Berlin in 1947, shattered in substance and spirit.
In Ashes, there are patriots who were not Nazis: fascists who were not patriots. Idealists whose beliefs were betrayed and who correspondingly turned their coats… only to find their new religion to be equally hollow. There are consequences for all actions and no obvious way for individuals to make amends. And then there’s the unseemly scramble for technology and influence amid the bristling hostility which laid the foundations for the Cold War. 70 years later, we hear the echoes loud and clear.
This is the third book featuring Gregor Reinhardt and, while it works well enough as a stand-alone, to fully understand the nuance of the character you do need to read the earlier two. In particular, Reinhardt’s relationship with his son is especially important. Friedrich was a Hitler Youth firebrand who despised his father’s generation for the humiliation they suffered at Versailles. This storyline alone encapsulates the cataclysm which all but destroyed German society and brought Europe to the brink of oblivion. It’s geopolitics at the intimate, human level.
Ashes may be the last story about Gregor Reinhardt – but McCallin has introduced several new characters whose future stories beg to be told, not least his trio of spymasters. Idealists, partisans, pragmatists and political animals: I’d love to read more of them.
9/10
There's a longer version of this review - and many other crime-thrillers - over at http://www.murdermayhemandmore.net
October 7, 2017
The Ashes of Berlin is the third book to feature former German intelligence officer Captain Gregor Reinhardt. I haven't read the others and found that this read well as a standalone with just enough of the back story present. However I most certainly will be going back and reading the other two.
This is a difficult book to review because I really don't want to give to much of the plot away, this is something to be savoured by each individual reader, so I will keep it brief. It is post World War Two and Reinhardt is back on the police force and is investigating suspicious deaths. A position that could potentially put him grave danger.
The author has managed to capture a Berlin at a time when tensions were rife, everybody was unsettled and full of mistrust. Divisions amongst society still exist, for some the war isn't over.
Reinhardt is excellently written and a perfectly drawn protagonist in the telling of this story, a character not without his faults and flaws, I liked him very much. Whilst full of mystery and intrigue and all the things that keep me entertained as a reader it is the characterisations that really make this story come alive.
Excellently and meticulously researched and full of atmosphere, The Ashes of Berlin is a compelling and complex read. It really was a rewarding experience to read. This story has an excellent plot line and is a realistic and absorbing read. It doesn't go along at a hurtling pace but is more of a simmering plot that allows the palpable tension to breath of off every page.
Really recommend this one.
This is a difficult book to review because I really don't want to give to much of the plot away, this is something to be savoured by each individual reader, so I will keep it brief. It is post World War Two and Reinhardt is back on the police force and is investigating suspicious deaths. A position that could potentially put him grave danger.
The author has managed to capture a Berlin at a time when tensions were rife, everybody was unsettled and full of mistrust. Divisions amongst society still exist, for some the war isn't over.
Reinhardt is excellently written and a perfectly drawn protagonist in the telling of this story, a character not without his faults and flaws, I liked him very much. Whilst full of mystery and intrigue and all the things that keep me entertained as a reader it is the characterisations that really make this story come alive.
Excellently and meticulously researched and full of atmosphere, The Ashes of Berlin is a compelling and complex read. It really was a rewarding experience to read. This story has an excellent plot line and is a realistic and absorbing read. It doesn't go along at a hurtling pace but is more of a simmering plot that allows the palpable tension to breath of off every page.
Really recommend this one.
January 4, 2017
I loved this book from beginning to end but can see that the subject matter would not appeal to everybody. Set in post war Berlin it paints a grim picture of life but at the same time gives hope.
I loved the main character, Gregor Reinhardt – very much in the Harry Bosch mould, but with even more baggage to overcome.
The gritty style appealed to me and the descriptions of post war Berlin rang of authenticity.
The storyline flowed nicely and all of the characters were well developed, interesting and contributed to the plot. All of them left me wanting to know more about them.
All in all a very good book. Despite being the third in the series it was not necessary to have read the first two, although I will be looking out for them in the future.
I loved the main character, Gregor Reinhardt – very much in the Harry Bosch mould, but with even more baggage to overcome.
The gritty style appealed to me and the descriptions of post war Berlin rang of authenticity.
The storyline flowed nicely and all of the characters were well developed, interesting and contributed to the plot. All of them left me wanting to know more about them.
All in all a very good book. Despite being the third in the series it was not necessary to have read the first two, although I will be looking out for them in the future.
July 28, 2017
I didn't want the book to end
This book is the third in a trilogy, and you should read them in order. I think this was the best of the three, but do not start with this one. I love historical fiction, but throw in a good detective story and some Nazis, and you can't miss. This period right after the war is one that I find especially interesting. The lawlessness that was mixed in with the struggle for some semblance of normalcy and order is quite an enticing mix to read about. Luke McCallin does a marvelous job of describing the chaos in which his story takes place, and his historical research is meticulous.
This book is the third in a trilogy, and you should read them in order. I think this was the best of the three, but do not start with this one. I love historical fiction, but throw in a good detective story and some Nazis, and you can't miss. This period right after the war is one that I find especially interesting. The lawlessness that was mixed in with the struggle for some semblance of normalcy and order is quite an enticing mix to read about. Luke McCallin does a marvelous job of describing the chaos in which his story takes place, and his historical research is meticulous.
February 21, 2022
Was to be a 4.5 rating (psychological portrayal of Reinhardt though credible and relevant, not as tightly written as the book warranted) but so well interwoven with historical insight, it had to be a 5star rating. Great holiday read: easy, fast, insightful.
September 2, 2017
I think it’s important to be honest, so I will confess that The Ashes of Berlin was my first foray into the writing of Luke McCallin and of Captain Gregor Reinhardt. However, I had heard the author on a panel at book festivals in the past and the premise of this latest book sounded really intriguing. I don’t think that I was at any kind of disadvantage in not reading the first two books in the series, other than I think I’m probably missing out on something special. I will remedy that as soon as I can. I have, however, read this book and I think you can absolutely read it as a standalone as you are given considerable information about Reinhardt’s past, without it feeling like overload, so readers new and old are both able to enjoy the read.
Now working for the Police in post-war Berlin, Gregor Reinhardt finds himself called to the scene of a suspicious death – a man who has been found at the bottom of a flight of stairs. The man has no papers, unusual for any person in the new Berlin, and his body looks to have been beaten, but whether it was before or the act which resulted in his fall is not clear. As Reinhardt begins to question the residents of the neighbouring apartments he makes a rather grim discovery – a second body. Steered away from investigating the first death by superior officers who are more than a little suspicious of his relationship with the Allied forces, Reinhardt is left to investigate the second death something that pits him against both the Allied and Soviet authorities and puts his life and career in danger.
What I really enjoyed about this book is that while set in post-war Berlin, it was not dominated by any political or historical dissection of the socio-economic status of the country, and yet it still perfectly captured the essence of what it must have been like at the time to live in Berlin, a city trying to rebuild itself around division and mistrust. The city, and the city’s history, are merely a back drop for what is, in essence, a very well written investigation into a serial killer who has been operating across Germany.
Luke McCallin has managed to incorporate all of the sentiment expected post war; of those who back the Allied forces, those who turned to Soviet rule and those who mourn the loss of Nazi principals in society. The plot integrates all of these opposing forces brilliantly, using them to both aid and hinder the investigation, and on more than one occasion to drive the sense of tension as we wait to see what will happen to Reinhardt as he flirts with danger. He is caught in the middle of it all and yet he has only one mission in mind. To solve the case and bring a murderer to justice. McCallin also uses the ruin of a once magnificent city both literally and politically, and its impacts upon the citizens of Germany, to create a feeling of oppression, a depressive gloom which envelops the city and informs the atmospheric nature of the writing. Everything feels constantly balanced on a knife edge, and on occasion, this couldn’t be more truthful.
I really liked the character of Reinhardt. There was something intrinsically honest about him. He had been a part of both Wars, had served his time in a army who he could not always feel an affinity for, and bore the scars, both physical and metaphorical, of war and loss. He is maligned and ostracised by his colleagues, and both trusted and met with suspicion by Allied and Soviet forces alike. And yet, his most honest relationships, besides that with his friend and housemate, Brauer, are with a British agent called Markworth and a Soviet Agent, Skokov. The dynamic in both relationships is very different as you would expect; one is friendly and companionable, the other stilted and driven by duty and desire to control. And yet with both men, Reinhardt seems to enjoy a certain element of trust and perhaps even respect, even if in Skokov’s case, it is balanced with a healthy dose of fear.
The writing in this novel is excellent. It is in no way a quick read, and nor should it be. The story slowly unfurls, the pacing informing both the tension and the investigation. There are part where the narrative will have you on the edge of your seat, where the stakes are at their highest and Reinhardt is placed in jeopardy. And yet the investigation takes a slower pace, reflecting the challenges that faced the police in the early years following the Allied occupation of Berlin. Many records are destroyed and those that aren’t are difficult to access. This was way before the digital age, where teams of secretaries had to plough through thousands of documents in order to find the key piece of evidence required. Telephone connections cannot be guaranteed, and passage around Germany was hampered further by political and geographic boundaries. The Allies v the Communists. It all added to the authenticity of the text and the level of research and understanding of this point in history rings true and shines through in the quality of writing.
Capturing the sense of hopelessness felt by many residents, the disenfranchisement of former Army personnel, and the forgotten children who hide amongst the shadows, Luke McCallin has managed to clearly illustrate the decimated community which Berlin has become. The jaded weariness of Reinhardt, the stoic nature of his landlady and the constant mistrust between the different factions trying to create a new Germany flow from every page. And then there is the craftiness of the author, the constant misdirection, planting the seed of suspicion in one back yard while cultivating an ancient oak of a lie in another, meaning the killer is hidden until the very end and very skilfully too.
If you enjoy historical fiction, atmospheric reads with criminal investigations at the heart, then do give this book a try. You will not be disappointed.
Now working for the Police in post-war Berlin, Gregor Reinhardt finds himself called to the scene of a suspicious death – a man who has been found at the bottom of a flight of stairs. The man has no papers, unusual for any person in the new Berlin, and his body looks to have been beaten, but whether it was before or the act which resulted in his fall is not clear. As Reinhardt begins to question the residents of the neighbouring apartments he makes a rather grim discovery – a second body. Steered away from investigating the first death by superior officers who are more than a little suspicious of his relationship with the Allied forces, Reinhardt is left to investigate the second death something that pits him against both the Allied and Soviet authorities and puts his life and career in danger.
What I really enjoyed about this book is that while set in post-war Berlin, it was not dominated by any political or historical dissection of the socio-economic status of the country, and yet it still perfectly captured the essence of what it must have been like at the time to live in Berlin, a city trying to rebuild itself around division and mistrust. The city, and the city’s history, are merely a back drop for what is, in essence, a very well written investigation into a serial killer who has been operating across Germany.
Luke McCallin has managed to incorporate all of the sentiment expected post war; of those who back the Allied forces, those who turned to Soviet rule and those who mourn the loss of Nazi principals in society. The plot integrates all of these opposing forces brilliantly, using them to both aid and hinder the investigation, and on more than one occasion to drive the sense of tension as we wait to see what will happen to Reinhardt as he flirts with danger. He is caught in the middle of it all and yet he has only one mission in mind. To solve the case and bring a murderer to justice. McCallin also uses the ruin of a once magnificent city both literally and politically, and its impacts upon the citizens of Germany, to create a feeling of oppression, a depressive gloom which envelops the city and informs the atmospheric nature of the writing. Everything feels constantly balanced on a knife edge, and on occasion, this couldn’t be more truthful.
I really liked the character of Reinhardt. There was something intrinsically honest about him. He had been a part of both Wars, had served his time in a army who he could not always feel an affinity for, and bore the scars, both physical and metaphorical, of war and loss. He is maligned and ostracised by his colleagues, and both trusted and met with suspicion by Allied and Soviet forces alike. And yet, his most honest relationships, besides that with his friend and housemate, Brauer, are with a British agent called Markworth and a Soviet Agent, Skokov. The dynamic in both relationships is very different as you would expect; one is friendly and companionable, the other stilted and driven by duty and desire to control. And yet with both men, Reinhardt seems to enjoy a certain element of trust and perhaps even respect, even if in Skokov’s case, it is balanced with a healthy dose of fear.
The writing in this novel is excellent. It is in no way a quick read, and nor should it be. The story slowly unfurls, the pacing informing both the tension and the investigation. There are part where the narrative will have you on the edge of your seat, where the stakes are at their highest and Reinhardt is placed in jeopardy. And yet the investigation takes a slower pace, reflecting the challenges that faced the police in the early years following the Allied occupation of Berlin. Many records are destroyed and those that aren’t are difficult to access. This was way before the digital age, where teams of secretaries had to plough through thousands of documents in order to find the key piece of evidence required. Telephone connections cannot be guaranteed, and passage around Germany was hampered further by political and geographic boundaries. The Allies v the Communists. It all added to the authenticity of the text and the level of research and understanding of this point in history rings true and shines through in the quality of writing.
Capturing the sense of hopelessness felt by many residents, the disenfranchisement of former Army personnel, and the forgotten children who hide amongst the shadows, Luke McCallin has managed to clearly illustrate the decimated community which Berlin has become. The jaded weariness of Reinhardt, the stoic nature of his landlady and the constant mistrust between the different factions trying to create a new Germany flow from every page. And then there is the craftiness of the author, the constant misdirection, planting the seed of suspicion in one back yard while cultivating an ancient oak of a lie in another, meaning the killer is hidden until the very end and very skilfully too.
If you enjoy historical fiction, atmospheric reads with criminal investigations at the heart, then do give this book a try. You will not be disappointed.
October 13, 2022
What a pleasure this book was. Not having read anything by this author previously, the premise on the cover was enough to make this reader begin turning pages.
The period, setting, and descriptions of the lives of those forced to endure the devastion of what was once one of Europe's magnificent capital cities, is superbly evoked, and formed the perfect backdrop and stage to the violent murder story played out within it's ruins.
I will most definitely be seeking out the previous two novels featuring the main character in this story, and would unhesitatingly recommend this one to those wanting a 'good read'.
The period, setting, and descriptions of the lives of those forced to endure the devastion of what was once one of Europe's magnificent capital cities, is superbly evoked, and formed the perfect backdrop and stage to the violent murder story played out within it's ruins.
I will most definitely be seeking out the previous two novels featuring the main character in this story, and would unhesitatingly recommend this one to those wanting a 'good read'.
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August 15, 2022It’s good to give different genres a try every now and then but it’s fair to say that war thrillers just aren’t my cup of tea. Interesting to get an insight into Germany post World War II, and I did like the writing in parts, but I had no interest in the serial killer storyline.
October 21, 2019
An excellent atmospheric post war Germany crime fiction. It combines fine pacing with interesting characters and a suspenseful plot , all within a credible historical framework .
April 14, 2024
4.5 stars! Super historical fiction. An excellent tale of post-war Berlin. I will go back and read the first two books as I'm keen to find out more about Reinhardt's back story.
October 4, 2024
Really wanted to like this, but was kind of a chore to read.
August 5, 2018
4.2 stars
In the US, we refer to our elders who fought WWII as the Greatest Generation. We honor and revere them. How different it must have been in Germany, one thinks, and in this book we see it on full display.
Men have come home wounded, crippled, damaged, and ashamed and those are the lucky ones. Hideous crimes are kept secret. No one knows exactly what their neighbor did in the war. People try to forget. Former Nazis are camouflaged and concealed and everyone kind of knows. It will be another generation before accusations are thrown angrily at older Germans, such as in Gunter Grass's The Tin Drum. All hell will break loose then, but this is earlier.
LM gives us an atmospheric sense of Berlin in the rubble. It is just after the war (Joseph Kanon territory) and Gregor Reinhardt would have to be called a "good German." The murder mystery is absorbing and plays out in a satisfying manner with a good Twist At The End. Some might compare Reinhardt to Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther but McCallin's story is not lighthearted in any way.
The real achievement is in the background and the portrayal of the problematic Allied Occupation at the start of the Cold War.
I will also try to forget as I track down and read the first two books in the series.
In the US, we refer to our elders who fought WWII as the Greatest Generation. We honor and revere them. How different it must have been in Germany, one thinks, and in this book we see it on full display.
Men have come home wounded, crippled, damaged, and ashamed and those are the lucky ones. Hideous crimes are kept secret. No one knows exactly what their neighbor did in the war. People try to forget. Former Nazis are camouflaged and concealed and everyone kind of knows. It will be another generation before accusations are thrown angrily at older Germans, such as in Gunter Grass's The Tin Drum. All hell will break loose then, but this is earlier.
LM gives us an atmospheric sense of Berlin in the rubble. It is just after the war (Joseph Kanon territory) and Gregor Reinhardt would have to be called a "good German." The murder mystery is absorbing and plays out in a satisfying manner with a good Twist At The End. Some might compare Reinhardt to Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther but McCallin's story is not lighthearted in any way.
The real achievement is in the background and the portrayal of the problematic Allied Occupation at the start of the Cold War.
I will also try to forget as I track down and read the first two books in the series.
December 5, 2017
More than a great detective novel, this book is fascinating portrayal of the physical and social wreckage of post-WW2 Berlin. With shared governance by the four Allied powers, the competing political forces were a powerful force to be reckoned with, in addition to the challenges of rebuilding an economy and surviving to do it.
February 14, 2017
It’s 1947, and, after a long and harrowing war, former ABWEHR officer Gregor Reinhardt has returned to the life he knows best — being a police Inspector in Berlin, now a wrecked echo of its former self, and slowly rebuilding.
For Reinhardt, it’s a bittersweet return. He is not liked by his new colleagues, who resent both his American patronage and inability to stop asking inconvenient questions. He can count on old friends, but is unsure of his superiors, and the motives of those higher above them.
There’s also the reminder of the tragedies that happened here, before he left for the war — the things that left him drunk and suicidal in Yugoslavia. Back then, it took a personal connection to a mysterious and brutal case to bring him back to life. Now, as he walks through the ruins, perhaps he sees in them a reflection of his old self: sad and broken, but not without hope.
All the same, such mysteries still awaken something within him, and have a knack of finding their way into his hands.
It starts with a brutal death in a run-down tenement, over in the American sector. One body leads to another in the same building, killed in a slightly different manner. And what Reinhardt discovers in the dilapidated room leads him to wonder what lies behind the case.
Unfortunately his superiors — hands bound by Allied overseers — don’t want him to concentrate on the first body, but rather the second. He’s not happy with that, but has his orders.
However, as the bodies start to pile up before long, he comes to realize this mystery has several layers to it, and many secrets. Some of the secrets have to do with what’s been going on in Berlin since the war, while others lead back to the war itself, and horrible things that many people would rather stay buried in the recent past.
To get to the bottom of this mystery, and not fall victim to it, Reinhardt will have to use everything he learned in Sarajevo during the war. In that city, with its many invisible lines and hidden factions, he discovered how to slip between the cracks and use opposing sides against one another.
Only there were never so many sides in Sarajevo as there are in post-war Berlin. As the victors race to find treasure in the ruins, there are still those who will not let the Third Reich go. And all the while their Russian “comrades” are slowly tightening their fist around the divided city, now afloat in a sea of red, and seem to know of things before they happen.
Who can Reinhardt trust, and who is his enemy? He’ll have to learn to navigate this new postwar political geography if he’s to survive within the divided city…
Luke McCallin’s debut novel, The Man from Berlin, was a complex and compelling wartime mystery that was rightly well-received, inviting favorable comparisons to Alan Furst and Martin Cruz Smith. His second novel, The Pale House, further cemented McCallin as an author to watch out for, and Reinhardt as someone to cheer on, regardless of his uniform.
With The Divided City, the story comes full circle — presenting the Inspector with an extremely intricate and personal puzzle to tease out, clue by clue and body by body. There’s also a sense of redemption here, and of the closing of one long and bloody chapter in a life he didn’t expect to still be living when we first met him.
For Reinhardt, it’s a bittersweet return. He is not liked by his new colleagues, who resent both his American patronage and inability to stop asking inconvenient questions. He can count on old friends, but is unsure of his superiors, and the motives of those higher above them.
There’s also the reminder of the tragedies that happened here, before he left for the war — the things that left him drunk and suicidal in Yugoslavia. Back then, it took a personal connection to a mysterious and brutal case to bring him back to life. Now, as he walks through the ruins, perhaps he sees in them a reflection of his old self: sad and broken, but not without hope.
All the same, such mysteries still awaken something within him, and have a knack of finding their way into his hands.
It starts with a brutal death in a run-down tenement, over in the American sector. One body leads to another in the same building, killed in a slightly different manner. And what Reinhardt discovers in the dilapidated room leads him to wonder what lies behind the case.
Unfortunately his superiors — hands bound by Allied overseers — don’t want him to concentrate on the first body, but rather the second. He’s not happy with that, but has his orders.
However, as the bodies start to pile up before long, he comes to realize this mystery has several layers to it, and many secrets. Some of the secrets have to do with what’s been going on in Berlin since the war, while others lead back to the war itself, and horrible things that many people would rather stay buried in the recent past.
To get to the bottom of this mystery, and not fall victim to it, Reinhardt will have to use everything he learned in Sarajevo during the war. In that city, with its many invisible lines and hidden factions, he discovered how to slip between the cracks and use opposing sides against one another.
Only there were never so many sides in Sarajevo as there are in post-war Berlin. As the victors race to find treasure in the ruins, there are still those who will not let the Third Reich go. And all the while their Russian “comrades” are slowly tightening their fist around the divided city, now afloat in a sea of red, and seem to know of things before they happen.
Who can Reinhardt trust, and who is his enemy? He’ll have to learn to navigate this new postwar political geography if he’s to survive within the divided city…
Luke McCallin’s debut novel, The Man from Berlin, was a complex and compelling wartime mystery that was rightly well-received, inviting favorable comparisons to Alan Furst and Martin Cruz Smith. His second novel, The Pale House, further cemented McCallin as an author to watch out for, and Reinhardt as someone to cheer on, regardless of his uniform.
With The Divided City, the story comes full circle — presenting the Inspector with an extremely intricate and personal puzzle to tease out, clue by clue and body by body. There’s also a sense of redemption here, and of the closing of one long and bloody chapter in a life he didn’t expect to still be living when we first met him.
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