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nypeapod's review against another edition
5.0
Why you might want to read:
1. Excellent writer.
2. Interest in Berlin in the late 1920s when the Nazi's are just beginning to appear in public.
3. It contains lots of seedy characters and language.
4. Early police procedural before tasks most detectives take for granted were adopted by the Berlin Police Force.
5. You are kept guessing about the identify of the murderer until the very end.
1. Excellent writer.
2. Interest in Berlin in the late 1920s when the Nazi's are just beginning to appear in public.
3. It contains lots of seedy characters and language.
4. Early police procedural before tasks most detectives take for granted were adopted by the Berlin Police Force.
5. You are kept guessing about the identify of the murderer until the very end.
quaerentia's review against another edition
5.0
And this concludes the exploits of Bernie Gunther, grizzled and ornery Berlin detective, and above all, survivor. Philip Kerr’s series of 14 novels has all the grip and intrigue that you could want in a thriller, but what sets them apart is their historical authenticity. The research was evidently painstaking but worn lightly (crucial if a book is to be readable by any beyond the bounds of the nerdy or scholarly).
Each narrative revolves around actual events from Germany, and particularly Berlin, from the 1920s to the late 1950s. Turbulent seems hardly the world for what was one of the twentieth century history’s tumultuous epicentres. But they are always humanised with a perfect blend of fictional and real characters. Of course the plausibility of one cop having interactions (if not repeated close shaves) with everyone from leading Weimar names like Fritz Lang (this one’s called Metropolis - geddit?!) to the dreaded GDR Stasi boss Erich Mielke, via all the usual Nazi suspects, is exceedingly remote! But each case sustains its own internal logic, even if some of the antagonists are notorious. There is nothing predictable about the stories though; it’s a plus that Kerr doesn’t write chronologically, nor that he’s restricted to Berlin itself. Gunther has to navigate Hitler’s Bavarian retreat above Salzburg, the horrors of the eastern front in Ukraine, the nazi diaspora in South America and even pre-communist Cuba, and the French Côte d’Azur. Each time Kerr sets himself a challenge and seeks to pull his main character through it with something verging towards integrity but mainly just his life intact. Gunther does compromise to survive and never has easy choices. But his redeeming feature is a visceral determination to find the truth even if that causes excruciating confrontations with power.
Like the best of them, this fictional cop is screwed up and melancholic if not downright surly; he never gets to find a girl who sticks with him; he is at the constant mercy of the higher-ups. But he’s good at his job. And rather than just being told that, we actually see how he is.
So I for one am gutted to reach the end. Philip Kerr died in 2018 at only 62. So this, the 14th book, was published posthumously in 2019, introduced with an affectionate tribute from fellow Scot and detective creator, Ian Rankin—no doubt the recipient of a tribute of Kerr’s own since a fellow boardinghouse lodger in this book is a writer called Rankin (whose character and circumstances, in further tribute, is surely based on Christopher Isherwood when he wrote Mr Norris Changes Trains).
So there will be no more, alas. But I loved the ride and I feel sure I will be returning to Gunther’s company before too long.
Each narrative revolves around actual events from Germany, and particularly Berlin, from the 1920s to the late 1950s. Turbulent seems hardly the world for what was one of the twentieth century history’s tumultuous epicentres. But they are always humanised with a perfect blend of fictional and real characters. Of course the plausibility of one cop having interactions (if not repeated close shaves) with everyone from leading Weimar names like Fritz Lang (this one’s called Metropolis - geddit?!) to the dreaded GDR Stasi boss Erich Mielke, via all the usual Nazi suspects, is exceedingly remote! But each case sustains its own internal logic, even if some of the antagonists are notorious. There is nothing predictable about the stories though; it’s a plus that Kerr doesn’t write chronologically, nor that he’s restricted to Berlin itself. Gunther has to navigate Hitler’s Bavarian retreat above Salzburg, the horrors of the eastern front in Ukraine, the nazi diaspora in South America and even pre-communist Cuba, and the French Côte d’Azur. Each time Kerr sets himself a challenge and seeks to pull his main character through it with something verging towards integrity but mainly just his life intact. Gunther does compromise to survive and never has easy choices. But his redeeming feature is a visceral determination to find the truth even if that causes excruciating confrontations with power.
Like the best of them, this fictional cop is screwed up and melancholic if not downright surly; he never gets to find a girl who sticks with him; he is at the constant mercy of the higher-ups. But he’s good at his job. And rather than just being told that, we actually see how he is.
So I for one am gutted to reach the end. Philip Kerr died in 2018 at only 62. So this, the 14th book, was published posthumously in 2019, introduced with an affectionate tribute from fellow Scot and detective creator, Ian Rankin—no doubt the recipient of a tribute of Kerr’s own since a fellow boardinghouse lodger in this book is a writer called Rankin (whose character and circumstances, in further tribute, is surely based on Christopher Isherwood when he wrote Mr Norris Changes Trains).
So there will be no more, alas. But I loved the ride and I feel sure I will be returning to Gunther’s company before too long.
jenjinks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
pdxpiney's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I listened to the audiobook, which I can’t find here. This was not as enjoyable as if I had read the print version, as the complex plot and many characters were hard to track, especially with the odd Anglicized pronunciations of German words. The audiobook reader did reasonably well with the many male characters, but he represented every female with a breathy upspeak, regardless of their class, age, emotion, or experience.
As to the content, it’s Bernie Gunther #0.5, a prequel and finale to the series. Plenty of noir banter, underworld machinations, and Gray Lady Berlin as a character unto herself—districts, architecture, arts, food, fashion, and politics.
As to the content, it’s Bernie Gunther #0.5, a prequel and finale to the series. Plenty of noir banter, underworld machinations, and Gray Lady Berlin as a character unto herself—districts, architecture, arts, food, fashion, and politics.
karijuan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
belanna2's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
iceberg0's review against another edition
4.0
Really good until the very end. Strong characterization.
julia206's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Historisch akkurat ist ja schön und gut (und war in der Hinsicht auch echt gut recherchiert), aber es hätte dem Plot nichts genommen, die Transfeindlichkeit zu reduzieren
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Gore, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, and Police brutality
nicjohnston's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting read and I learnt a huge deal about Berlin between the wars but I felt the plot to be sluggish and there were too many characters dipping in and out.
jacki_f's review against another edition
4.0
Reading this was a bittersweet experience. The latest instalment in probably my favourite series is also the final instalment after the death of author Philip Kerr last year. I'm sad that there will be no more episodes in Bernie Gunther's life. Given that Metropolis is actually the first chronologically (set in 1928, when Bernie is in the Berlin policeforce), I am tempted to immediately re-read all the rest of the books in order of when they are set - although the timeslip element in a few of them does make that slightly difficult.
Metropolis begins with Bernie Gunther's transfer from the Vice division to the Criminal division where he is immediately confronted with a serial killer who is targeting prostitutes. As in all the other books, real people and events are woven into the story, although in most cases they were less famous than the Nazi elite who pop up in the later books. However I always find it satisfying to look up photographs of the people and imagine them as he describes them.
While Bernie is a cynical character, here he is in his early 30s and "still capable of being shocked at human behaviour". He is heavily affected by his experiences fighting in the trenches during WW1 and more deferential to his superiors than in the later books.
The plot concerns Gunther's attempts to identify two serial killers whom he suspects are actually the same person. While the case is eventually resolved, it is in a classic Philip Kerr way, full of compromises and politics.
Ultimately I don't think this was the best in the series but it was still high quality. Philip Kerr, you are missed.
Metropolis begins with Bernie Gunther's transfer from the Vice division to the Criminal division where he is immediately confronted with a serial killer who is targeting prostitutes. As in all the other books, real people and events are woven into the story, although in most cases they were less famous than the Nazi elite who pop up in the later books. However I always find it satisfying to look up photographs of the people and imagine them as he describes them.
While Bernie is a cynical character, here he is in his early 30s and "still capable of being shocked at human behaviour". He is heavily affected by his experiences fighting in the trenches during WW1 and more deferential to his superiors than in the later books.
The plot concerns Gunther's attempts to identify two serial killers whom he suspects are actually the same person. While the case is eventually resolved, it is in a classic Philip Kerr way, full of compromises and politics.
Ultimately I don't think this was the best in the series but it was still high quality. Philip Kerr, you are missed.