Genre: Novel
Grade A
Notable People: Philip Kerr
Title: Prussian Blue
Review: I have finally caught up with all of Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series. This one came out in 2017 , is the 13th in the series and may be the best one yet. Set alternately in pre-war German Bavaria in 1339 and then again in many of the same places in post -war Eastern bloc FDG in 1956, it is a brutally honest look at the impending Nazi takeover of Europe and then of the broken post-war country. Gunther remains the inimitable tough guy detective, who underneath his harsh and cynical demeanor, does all he can to be the Anti-Hitler. Much of the book takes place on “Hitler’s mountain”- a multi- million dollar village constructed over dead bodies for the amusement and comfort of “The Leader”. As in all the books, this one is filed with real historical figures; with Kerr’s imagining of them combined with his acute knowledge of the history of that empire….it is spellbinding. Great writer- great read. Start at the beginning and read them all.