|
 
$17.50
Used Hardcover
Ships in 1 to 3 days
More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionseBook editionsOther titles in the Bernie Gunther Novels series:A Quiet Flameby Philip Kerr
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Philip Kerr returns with his best-loved character, Bernie Gunther, in the fifth novel in what is now a series: a tight, twisting, compelling thriller that is firmly rooted in history.
A Quiet Flame opens in 1950. Falsely fingered a war criminal, Bernie Gunther has booked passage to Buenos Aires, lured, like the Nazis whose company he has always despised, by promises of a new life and a clean passport from the Perón government. But Bernie doesn't have the luxury of settling into his new home and lying low. He is soon pressured by the local police into taking on a case in which a girl has turned up dead, gruesomely mutilated, and another — the daughter of a wealthy German banker — has gone missing. Both crimes seem to connect to an unsolved case Bernie worked on back in Berlin in 1932. It's not so far-fetched that the cases might be linked: after all, the scum of the earth has been washing up on Argentine shores — state-licensed murderers and torturers — so why couldn't a serial killer be among them? But Argentina, just like Germany, holds terrible secrets within its corrupt halls of power. When beautiful Anna Yagubsky seeks Gunther out, desperate for help, to find out what happened to her Jewish aunt and uncle who have disappeared, he is drawn into a horror story that rivals everything he has tried so hard to leave behind half a world away. In this new postwar world, Bernie Gunther is a man without a name or a country, but still in full possession of his conscience. He is "the right kind of hero for his time — and ours" (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review). Review:"At the start of Kerr's stellar fifth Bernie Gunther novel (after The One from the Other), the former Berlin homicide detective seeks exile in Argentina in 1950, along with others connected to the Nazi past (one of his fellow ship passengers is Adolf Eichmann). A few weeks after Gunther arrives in Buenos Aires, a local policeman, Colonel Montalbn, asks his help in solving the savage murder of 15-year-old Grete Wohlauf. Montalbn has noticed similarities between this crime and two unsolved murders Gunther investigated in 1932 Germany. Another teenage girl's disappearance heightens the urgency of the inquiry. In exchange for free medical treatment for his just diagnosed thyroid cancer, Gunther agrees to subtly grill members of the large German community. A secret he stumbles on soon places his life in jeopardy. Kerr, who's demonstrated his versatility with high-quality entries in other genres, cleverly and plausibly grafts history onto a fast-paced thriller plot." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"Authentic period detail, biting wit, sparkling metaphors, and an engaging character whose moral ambiguity places him in perilous situations make this a read to savor....Highly recommended." Library Journal Review:"Kerr makes the best of both locales...but it's in the flashbacks, returning to the sublimely decadent Weimar era, that the idea of a German Philip Marlowe really fits best, and Kerr works it masterfully....A bit bifurcated, maybe, but a treat through either lens." Booklist (starred review) Review:"Warts and all — Kerr makes little attempt to hide them — Bernie Gunther remains endearing, entertaining and eminently forgivable." Kirkus Reviews About the AuthorPhilip Kerr is the author of many novels, but perhaps most important are the four featuring Bernie Gunther —
The One from the Other and the Berlin Noir trilogy. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Product Details
Other books you might like
Related Aisles
|
|||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
Follow us on...
|
||||||||||
Don't Miss
