"Berlin Noir" trilogy by Philip Kerr

[Nigeyb]

I'm currently on the third book in Philip Kerr's 'Berlin Noir: March Violets / The Pale Criminal / A German Requiem' and what a treat they are. Hamilton-esque? Nah. Not really. A bit more Chandler-esque I'd say.

Ex-Policeman Bernie Günther thought he'd seen everything on the streets of 1930's Berlin. But then he went freelance, and each case he tackled sucked him further into the grisly excesses of Nazi sub-culture. And even after the war, amidst the decayed, imperial splendour of Vienna, Bernie uncovered a legacy that made the wartime atrocities look lily-white in comparison....

'March Violets' takes place against the backdrop of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and this adds another little level of enjoyment, as the Nazi authorities are trying to convey an image of normality to the many visitors from other countries who will be coming to watch the games. Banned books reappear on the shelves and graffiti is quickly painted over, etc.

Although most of the characters are fictitious, the novel's plot also involves historical figures, including Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, Arthur Nebe, and Walther Funk. One scene takes place at the Reich Sports Field during an Olympic track and field event in which Jesse Owens wins a race.

It's the period detail that really elevates 'March Violets', and this is aligned to an engrossing plot. Bernhard Günther is an engaging presence and I can see how, at the time of writing this review, there are currently 11 Bernhard Günther books.

Whilst not quite as good as 'March Violets','The Pale Criminal', set in 1938, is permeated by an atmosphere of Nazi brutality and anti-Semitism. This time round there are some philosophical and psychological themes that were prevalent during the Nazi era, and the story also embraces homosexuality, drug addiction, mental health, psychotherapy, and spiritualism.

Smells are a theme throughout 'The Pale Criminal', not least the stench of official corruption that characterised Hitler's regime. This novel is more conventional and slightly less successful than 'March Violets' however it picked up significantly in the final third and I can already confirm that 'A German Requiem' is probably the pick of the bunch. Echoes of The Third Man are everywhere as things are getting murkier and murkier for Bernie as he tries to navigate through layers of intrigue and espionage in Vienna in 1947.

Any other Bernie Günther fans out there?

[Nigeyb]

I read all three books in quick succession. All are good books, however it’s when taken as a whole that the achievement of the ‘Berlin Noir: March Violets / The Pale Criminal / A German Requiem’ trilogy becomes apparent. Read together they form a wonderful tale that covers the rise and fall of the Third Reich which brings home the day to day realities of life for a typical German. Bravo Philip Kerr, a brilliant achievement.

I also reviewed each book separately....

Click here to read my review of March Violets (Bernard Gunther, #1)

Click here to read my review of The Pale Criminal (Bernard Gunther, #2)

Click here to read my review of A German Requiem (Bernard Gunther, #3)

With ‘A German Requiem’ Philip Kerr has saved the best until last, at least in terms of the original Berlin Trilogy ('March Violets’/'The Pale Criminal’/‘A German Requiem’). Ten years after this original trilogy Philip Kerr returned to the character and, in 2006, started to write more Bernie Günther books. At the time of writing this review in 2016, there are currently 11 Bernhard Günther books.

I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

[Mark]

As I think I'd mentioned somewhere before, I'd read the trilogy years ago, when Penguin UK published all three titles as a compendium. I can't remember much, apart from really liking it quite a lot, and especially liking how historical events and figures were woven effortlessly into the novels.

Perhaps it would be a good idea for me to re-read the trilogy before ploughing through the remaining Günther titles.

[Nigeyb]

Mark wrote: "Perhaps it would be a good idea for me to re-read the trilogy before ploughing through the remaining Günther titles. "

Hmmm. That's a tricky one. I suspect they all work as stand alone novels - that's certainly the case with the first three however, as I suggest, I think most readers would get more out of them as part of a wider narrative. I've no idea how much continuity there is in the following books, and I do know the chronology jumps around quite a bit, but my suspicion is that having some prior knowledge makes for a richer and more immersive experience. I'm going to take a small break before pressing on whilst the first three are still fresh in my mind. I hope to have read the lot by mid 2017.

In a related debate, and as highlighted in this discussion thread, the view seems to be reading them in the order of publication despite this chronology...

Here are the books in chronological order (published order in parenthesis).

Note that some of the books are are set in more than one time period. The date given below is the date of the beginning of the book.

1934 If the Dead Rise Not (6)
1936 March Voilets (1)
1938 The Pale Criminal (2)
1941 Prague Fatale (8)
1942 The Lady from Zagreb (10)
1943 A Man Without Breath (9)
1947 A German Requiem (3)
1949 The One From The Other (4)
1950 A Quiet Flame (5)
1954 Field Gray (7)
1956 The Other Side of Silence (11)

http://berniegunther.com/forum/index....

I just reread them all again (the Berlin Noir books for the 3rd time!) and I think the published order is the only way to go.

I also recommend rereading these books, they were more enjoyable each time I read them because there's so much in them that you may miss some things the first time around.

_

We recommend reading the books in the order in which they were written. The list Michael wrote above is a little misleading. Some of the books have flashbacks, which means there are early years but also later years in the same book. So there is really no way to accurately read them in chronological order (Bernie's chronological time) because the timelines skip around within some of the books. For that reason we think first-time readers are better off getting to know Bernie in the way Philip Kerr presented him.

These are all the books in published order...
http://berniegunther.com/thebooks/

And from Wikipedia...

Bernie Gunther...

"Berlin Noir" "Bernie Gunther" trilogy, republished 1993 by Penguin Books in one volume. ISBN 978-0-14-023170-0.
March Violets. London: Viking, 1989. ISBN 0-670-82431-3, set in 1936
The Pale Criminal. London: Viking, 1990. ISBN 0-670-82433-X, set in 1938
A German Requiem. London: Viking, 1991. ISBN 0-670-83516-1, set in 1947–48

Later "Bernie Gunther" novels

The One From the Other. New York: Putnam, 2006. ISBN 978-0-399-15299-3, set in 1949
A Quiet Flame. London: Quercus, 2008. ISBN 978-1-84724-356-0, set in 1950
If The Dead Rise Not. London: Quercus, 2009. ISBN 978-1-84724-942-5, set in 1934 and 1954
Field Grey. London: Quercus, 2010. ISBN 978-1-84916-412-2, set in 1954 with flashbacks over 20 years
Prague Fatale. London: Quercus, 2011 ISBN 978-1-84916-415-3, set in 1941
A Man Without Breath. London: Quercus, 2013. ISBN 978-1-78087-624-5, set in 1943
The Lady From Zagreb. London: Quercus, 2015. ISBN 978-1-78206-582-1, set in 1942-3, with framing scenes in 1956.
The Other Side of Silence. London: Quercus, 2016. ISBN 978-1-78429-514-1, set in 1956
Prussian Blue. London: Quercus, 2017.

[Nigeyb]

Nigeyb wrote: "I'm going to take a small break before pressing on whilst the first three are still fresh in my mind. I hope to have read the lot by mid 2017."

Change of plan. I was going to take a break from Bernie Günther but I can't stop thinking about them so have decided to press straight on with number 4, The One from the Other, the novel which follows the 'Berlin Noir Trilogy'.

Another addictive series. Hurrah.

[Lobstergirl]

I was certainly willing to be a fan when I started the series, but it just didn't work out for me and I stopped after two.

My short little reviews explain why.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've never been drawn to noir, but I'm certainly willing to read mild noir. This wasn't mild enough for me, I guess. I also read quite a bit of Third Reich history so I thought the settings would be a good fit for me.

[Nigeyb]

Yep, I agree with those reviews Lobstergirl.


As I say in my review of Pale Criminal...

The relentless misogyny got a bit more wearing this time round. I'm guessing (hoping?) Philip Kerr was trying to capture the prevailing attitudes of 1938, but did he have to do it with quite so much apparent relish?

However the good news is that, in those terms, things improve considerably by number three...

I’m also pleased to say that the rampant misogyny of the first two books is far more reigned in here, and Bernie emerges as a more rounded, likeable and humane individual, which augers well for the rest of the series.

I'm interested to see how the series develops, not least as I think the period details are what help to make the books so credible, but agree that some aspects are very jarring. I'm hoping these negative things continue to diminish.

[Greg]

Nigeyb, a few months I picked up a free discard copy from the local library of Prague Fatale. The Penguin cover attracted me, and the period 1941 Germany.
From reading this thread, your thoughts about what best reading order to tackle these books. Should I plunge in this one or start at the first published title when I find a copy?
Do charcters reappear through the series like with A Dance To The Music Of Time?
I've nearly finished The Kindly Ones 6, which I think is one the best so far, one the funniest.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Greg. I'm now underway with number four as it happens. I am not sure about whether a strict adherence to the published order is the way to go or not. On balance I'd say read the one you've got first and then see if it inspires you to read more. One thing I would say, based on the first few chapters of number four (The One from the Other), and the first three, is that the quality of Philip Kerr's writing discernibly improves, and becomes a bit more nuanced. Bernie is far more world weary and likeable in books 3 and 4.

Characters do reappear through the series, but nothing like to the same extent as in the A Dance To The Music Of Time series. I am so glad to hear you are enjoying it. I thought the three WW2 books (6-9) were the best (shades of The Sword of Honour Trilogy). Then again, they are all varying degrees of wonderful - and like what I've read so far of these Günther titles - perhaps work best of all as a forensic exploration of an era.

I was musing more on Lobstergirl's comment....

Lobstergirl wrote: "I've never been drawn to noir, but I'm certainly willing to read mild noir. This wasn't mild enough for me, I guess. I also read quite a bit of Third Reich history so I thought the settings would be a good fit for me. "

I can understand your preference for mild noir but on the other hand it's hard to conceive of how a book set in the Nazi era, and aftermath, could be anything other than the darkest shade of noir. It's the period detail, which feels entirely credible, and generally quite subtle, that really elevates these books. It's a shame you never made it to number three Lobstergirl, as I think you'd have found more to appreciate there, and less to object to.

[Lobstergirl]

Maybe I will read #3 some day. It's not like I've taken a vow not to read another one, or anything.

When I think of noir as a literary or cinematic genre, it has two elements, one a hard-edged, very masculine, sometimes crude or brutal tinge, but the other something vaguely ridiculous and borderline comedic. I think both these elements make it an easy target for parody, because even pre-parody it seems to be approaching something over-the-top.

From one vantage point, this makes it appropriate for Nazi-themed fiction, but from the opposite vantage point, it makes it inappropriate.

An interesting work of Nazi-themed Third Reich/WWII fiction is The Kindly Ones, which can certainly be called historical fiction but is also extremely pornographic and sexually erotic, and disturbing. The pornographic aspects don't seem out of place given the whole tone of the novel.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Lobstergirl. I'll investigate The Kindly Ones.

It's probably the non-Noir aspects of the Kerr books that resonate most with me. The little daily compromises that even decent people have to make to avoid being sent to a KZ e.g. the Hitler salute etc. Similar in some ways to the Hans Fallada books which we have discussed....

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Coincidentally about three years ago you said...

Lobstergirl wrote: "I bought Every Man Dies Alone and will be reading it...."

...Did you ever get round to it?

[Lobstergirl]

Nigeyb wrote: "Thanks Lobstergirl. I'll investigate The Kindly Ones."

I'm not really giving it my stamp of approval, more that it occurred to me since we were talking about noir and Nazis. (And it's not noir, it's literary fiction.) Just be forewarned that in addition to the pornographic aspects it's extremely long so will take up a large chunk of your leisure.....however I don't mean to scare you away from it either.

I still haven't gotten around to Every Man Dies Alone. But I haven't forgotten it. I know exactly where it is in the house....

[Nigeyb]

Mark wrote: "Perhaps it would be a good idea for me to re-read the trilogy before ploughing through the remaining Günther titles. "

Just coming back to your query Mark, and now with the added benefit of having read 50% of The One from the Other (Bernard Günther, #4) I would be more inclined to say that it would be a good idea. I am definitely getting more out of this book by being able to recall characters that have appeared in the initial trilogy. It's far from essential but, I think, makes reading each book a richer experience.

[CQM]

After all this talk I took the plunge and purchased a copy of the trilogy. Lined up to read once I'm finished my current book.

[Nigeyb]

Here's hoping you like it CQM.

[CQM]

Nigeyb wrote: "Here's hoping you like it CQM."

Agreed although I'll at least have someone to blame if I don't...

[Nigeyb]

I've just finished 'The One from the Other' (Bernie Günther #4) and it is every bit as good as ‘A German Requiem’, the finale of the Berlin Trilogy.

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 has it created momentum, it also allows me to keep track of the recurring themes and to track and understand the changes in Bernie.

I eagerly anticipate Book 5 - 'A Quiet Flame' - but can't help wondering if Philip Kerr can keep this level of quality going.

5/5

Click here to read my review

[Nigeyb]

Nigeyb wrote: "I eagerly anticipate Book 5 - 'A Quiet Flame' - but can't help wondering if Philip Kerr can keep this level of quality going."

Sadly, the answer is no. 'A Quiet Flame' (Bernie Günther #5) is fine, just not up to the sky high levels of the previous two novels ('A German Requiem' and 'The One from the Other').

Click here to read my review

3/5

I'm hoping normal service is resumed with Book 6 - 'If The Dead Rise Not'

[Nigeyb]

Having read about 40% of Book 6 - 'If The Dead Rise Not' - so far at least, we are back up to the usual standard and 'A Quiet Flame' (Bernie Günther #5) appears to have been a blip.

Watch this space.

[Nigeyb]

Nigeyb wrote: "Having read about 40% of Book 6 - 'If The Dead Rise Not' - so far at least, we are back up to the usual standard..."

Now I'm at the 70% mark, I can only echo what I wrote above.

In my review of 'A Quiet Flame' (Bernie Günther #5) I said that Bernie’s love interest, Anna Yagubsky, was one of the least credible and most annoying characters to ever appear in a Bernie Günther novel.

I’m pleased to report that Noreen, the love interest in 'If The Dead Rise Not' (Bernie Günther #6), is the complete opposite: credibly, unpredictable, well defined, clever, worldly and more. Normal service has been resumed.

The story from 1934 was at quite a dramatic moment when it was left for an update on Bernie’s current life. Now we’re in Havana in 1954 and, whadaya know, here’s Noreen, now with a wild teenage daughter and she’s staying in Ernest Hemingway's house. Bernie is undoubtedly poised to get himself dragged into post-war Cuba’s Castro-fuelled revolutionary politics.

'If The Dead Rise Not' is a great read and back up to the same high water marks of books #3 and #4. I love it.

[Nigeyb]

This article I saw today seems to fit in well with the world evoked by Bernie Günther...

It's a photo-album found in the possession of SS adjutant Karl-Fririedrich Hocker containing 'holiday-snaps' from a recreation camp built by prisoners from Auschwitz (20km away) for the SS staff of the concentration camp.

Most of the photos are from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The accompanying notes by writer William Ryan are personal and mostly speculative apart from dates and personnel IDs but the images need no comment.

What still seems incredible is that Hocker and many other Nazis were allowed to return to life as normal after the war as though nothing had happened. Hocker, who resumed his work as a banker was finally arrested in 1962.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/gal...

By the by, William Ryan has written a book called 'The Constant Soldier' which has been shortlisted for the Irish book awards crime fiction book of the year.

By the Christmas tree photo William Ryan writes...

As a writer, these photos intrigued me – and led directly to my novel, 'The Constant Soldier', a fictional imagining of life during the last few months of the war in a rest hut similar to the one in the photos.

Anyone read, or know anything about, 'The Constant Soldier' by William Ryan? It has got a plethora of five star reviews here on GR...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

1944. Paul Brandt, a soldier in the German army, returns wounded and ashamed from the bloody chaos of the Eastern front to find his village home much changed and existing in the dark shadow of an SS rest hut - a luxurious retreat for those who manage the concentration camps, run with the help of a small group of female prisoners who - against all odds - have so far survived the war.

When, by chance, Brandt glimpses one of these prisoners, he realizes that he must find a way to access the hut. For inside is the woman to whom his fate has been tied since their arrest five years before, and now he must do all he can to protect her.

But as the Russian offensive moves ever closer, the days of this rest hut and its SS inhabitants are numbered. And while hope - for Brandt and the female prisoners - grows tantalizingly close, the danger too is now greater than ever.

And, in a forest to the east, a young female Soviet tank driver awaits her orders to advance

[Nigeyb]

I've now finished Book 6 - 'If The Dead Rise Not' - a return to form. Hurrah!


Click here to read my review

5/5

'If The Dead Rise Not' is an engrossing and absorbing read and fills me with renewed enthusiasm for 'Field Gray' (Bernie Günther #7).

[Susan]

So glad you have discovered this series, Nigeyb. Bernie is my hero!

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Susan. It was your enthusiasm that inspired me. Overall, and book 6 aside, I really think they are getting more and more compelling. The dark, dark cynicism in 'Field Gray' (Bernie Günther #7) is magical. I feel we're now enmeshed in Le Carre's nightmarish twilight world of Cold War madness with poor old Bernie forever trapped by the agenda of others, whilst being forced to relive the past again and again. Quite brilliant.

[Susan]

I loved the initial trilogy and I was SO thrilled when he finally brought Bernie back. I have no idea whether it was simply that his other books were not selling, as he certainly seemed to have finished with the first three books. Interestingly, his wife wrote a series in a similar period, with a female main character, but they are not as good.

[Nigeyb]

I have just finished 'Field Gray' (Bernie Günther #7)

Quite brilliant. One of the very best in the series, if not the best.

Can Philip Kerr sustain this sky high level of quality with 'Prague Fatale' (Bernie Gunther #8)? I should have the answer to that question very soon.

Click here to read my review

5/5

[Nigeyb]

And so onwards and upwards with 'Prague Fatale' (Bernie Gunther #8) where (after having read about 10%) and after his adventures in Argentina, Cuba, USA, Vienna, Munich, Russia, & Paris we’re back in both place and time - Berlin in 1941 - where a disillusioned Bernie is back at his old desk working Homicide in Kripo HQ, & feeling suicidal after the horrors of the Eastern Front. Berlin in 1941 is a city of severe rationing, blackouts & RAF bombing raids, the S-Bahn murderer, Czech terrorists and widespread disillusionment.

[Nigeyb]

I have just finished 'Prague Fatale' (Bernie Gunther #8) by Philip Kerr

'Prague Fatale’ is an absorbing, clever book with many unexpected twists, and is every bit as dark and compelling as the others in this series.

I now eagerly anticipate 'A Man without Breath’ (Bernie Gunther #9), the next instalment in this addictive series.

Click here to read my review

4/5

[Andrew]

To anyone who is, like me, addicted to Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels, I cannot recommend too highly Alan Massie's superb Bordeaux tetralogy, "Death in Bordeaux", "Dark Summer in Bordeaux", "Cold Winter in Bordeaux" and "End Games in Bordeaux". The very human Superinrendant Lannes does his best to be a decent cop in the vileness of Vichy and Nazi occupied France.
5/5

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Andrew. I'm going to need something to replace the Gunther sized hole when I get to the end of this series and Superintendent Lannes sounds just the ticket....

https://www.goodreads.com/series/8387...

[Nigeyb]

Today I finished the ninth instalment of the highly addictive and engrossing Bernie Gunther series. 'A Man without Breath’ is a good detective story but an even better slice of historical fiction. Philip Kerr’s research is as impressive as ever and I was soon engrossed.

Click here to read my review

Now I’m poised to start The Lady from Zagreb (Bernie Gunther #10) by Philip Kerr

[Nigeyb]

I have just finished….


….The Lady from Zagreb (Bernie Gunther #10) by Philip Kerr

It’s another superb slice of Gunther greatness. The standard of these last few books has been sky high. I’m so glad I have stuck with this series as they get ever more engrossing, informative, enjoyable and addictive. There are numerous histories of the Third Reich but I doubt there are many better ways than the Bernie Gunther books to explore its leaders, corruption, and the mood in Germany during their rule. Brilliant.

5/5

Click here to read my review

[Nigeyb]

I'm on the final (for now and until April 2017 when 'Prussian Blue' should be published) Bernie novel 'The Other Side of Silence' and about a third of the way through. The rich rewards continue for anyone who has followed Bernie through previous books.

In 'The Other Side of Silence' it's Burgess and Maclean, or at least a tape of Burgess talking to KGB officers which incriminate W. Somerset Maugham and, probably more significantly, the British intelligence services. Meanwhile Bernie concludes he is already a dead man and his dark philosophising is truly the stuff of legend. All hail Gunther and Kerr - this is already ace.

[Nigeyb]

I’ve just finished 'The Other Side of Silence' Bernie Gunther #11


From mid-October 2016 through to early January 2017 I read all eleven of the Bernie Gunther series - at least until April 2017 when 'Prussian Blue’ is due to be published).

There are rich rewards for anyone who follows Bernie through this series and these continue in 'The Other Side of Silence’. This time out it's Burgess and Maclean, or at least a tape of Burgess talking to KGB officers which incriminate W. Somerset Maugham and, probably more significantly, the British intelligence services.

Click here to read my review

4/5

[Andrew]

Prussian Blue
Philip Kerr's latest Bernie Gunther novel, out next month, has just been reviewed very favourably in the current "Literary Review". Can't wait!

[Nigeyb]

I've got a review copy from NetGalley - it's my next book

[Andrew]

I am jealous!

[Nigeyb]

Andrew wrote: "Prussian Blue - Philip Kerr's latest Bernie Gunther novel, out next month, has just been reviewed very favourably in the current "Literary Review".

Can't wait!"

I'm enjoying it do far. Very familiar but no less enjoyable for that.

[Nigeyb]

Andrew wrote: ""Prussian Blue - Philip Kerr's latest Bernie Gunther novel, out next month, has just been reviewed very favourably in the current "Literary Review".

Can't wait!"

It's another goodie Andrew.

Whilst there are rich rewards for any reader who has followed Bernie throughout the 12 novels, 'Prussian Blue' can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.

'Prussian Blue' picks up, in 1956, exactly where previous novel 'The Other Side of Silence' left off, with Bernie still living and working in the French Riviera.

Bernie cannot refuse a dinner invitation from Erich Mielke, the Stasi chief, who long time readers know as an old adversary. Before long Bernie is being hunted through France by a group of Stasi agents, one of whom is a former Kripo colleague, which prompts a detour back to 1939, when both men were tasked with solving a murder at Hitler's Berghof, his mountain retreat in Bavaria, prior to the Fuhrer’s 50th birthday celebrations.

As usual Philip Kerr skilfully weaves to the two stories together, illuminating day-to-day life in Nazi Germany and the high levels of brutality and corruption, whilst simultaneously providing readers with interesting new developments, and plenty of excitement too, for Bernie in his “present day” life.

'Prussian Blue' is a splendid addition to the series which will satisfy long-term fans but leave them wanting more. This series appears to have plenty more mileage. As always Philip Kerr finishes by explaining a bit more about the real historical characters who populate this gripping novel, Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for the next one.

4/5

[Andrew]

I am waiting impatiently for my copy to arrive! Don't forget to try the Allan Massie Bordeaux tetralogy!

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Andrew - will do

[Susan]

Greeks Bearing Gifts: Bernie Gunther Thriller 13

New Bernie book coming! Great excitement!

[Nigeyb]

My heart is gladdened - thank Susan

[Susan]

If I come across it on NetGalley, I will be sure to let you (and anyone else interested) know.

[Nigeyb]

Thank Susan. That would be very helpful.

[Nigeyb]

The news of Philip Kerr's death on 23 March 2018 made reading 'Greeks Bearing Gifts' bitter sweet. I've now finished it.


A new Bernie Gunther novel is always cause for celebration however the knowledge that 'Greeks Bearing Gifts' is probably the last one is very sad. What makes this worse is that 'Greeks Bearing Gifts' ends with Bernie considering the tantalising prospect of working to capture Nazi war criminals.

Click here to read my complete review

3.5/5

[Susan]

I think Philip Kerr wrote a last novel, but I am not sure I will be able to cope with reading it...

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Susan.


I notice there is a 14th Bernie Gunther book called ‘Metropolis’ listed on Goodreads due to come out in 2019, but I wonder if he had finished it when he died? Or whether it was sufficiently written that someone else could finish it?

On balance, I think I would rather the series ended here. That said, if a 14th book comes out then I will definitely read it.

[David]

Quite a list of post-war Berlin fiction recommendations in today’s Guardian:

https://amp.theguardian.com/books/202...

[Nigeyb]

That list is great David


Thanks so much

Most of them are new to me