Prague Fatale (Bernard Gunther, #8) in Around the World in 80 Books

Mar 07, 2012 Tony rated it really liked it

Shelves: novels

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

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

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

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

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Sep 06, 2011 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, historical, germany, world-war-ii, eastern-europe

I adore this series, and this one is a special delight for fans of Golden Age mystery as Kerr tweaks Christie's nose a bit with his take on the locked-room murder. As with all of Bernie's adventures things get ethically complicated quickly and few tidy answers are found, but Kerr keeps the balance of Bernie's humanity throughout. ...more

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