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If the Dead Rise Not: A Bernie Gunther Mystery
 
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If the Dead Rise Not: A Bernie Gunther Mystery (Hardcover)

by Philip Kerr (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £17.99
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If the Dead Rise Not: A Bernie Gunther Mystery + A Quiet Flame: A Bernie Gunther Mystery + The One from the Other: A Bernie Gunther Mystery
Total RRP: £33.97
Price For All Three: £18.50

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Quercus Publishing Plc; First Edition edition (10 Sep 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1847249426
  • ISBN-13: 978-1847249425
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.6 x 4.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 19,937 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Review

'Kerr brilliantly evokes the edgy atmosphere of the post-war period in one of the most gripping and accomplished detective novels published so far this year.' 'The book recently won the Ellis Peters award for historical crime fiction and it's not hard to see why; both sleazy cities are rendered atmospherically, and Bernie - with his Humphrey Bogart-like blend of sardonic humour and sombre integrity - is among the most winning of current sleuths' --Sunday Times.

'Kerr's period detail is utterly convincing. The way he captures a lost Berlin on the brink of cataclysmic change is in turns poignant and gritty ... the sense of Havana's humid languor masking revolutionary plots rings every bit as true ... what also impresses is Kerr's examination of how a man changes and how he stays the same over twenty years, when the two decades are so desperate and blood-spattered ... this is a sophisticated thriller that brings the war and its aftermath to life' 'One of this year's finest crime offerings' 'Philip Kerr has created a wonderful character whose loyalties are not only to his tortured country but to the truth, a vocation that makes for a somewhat dangerous life' (Title selected as Number 1 in the 50 Best Winter Reads.) --Independent.

Product Description

Berlin 1934. The Nazis have been in power for just eighteen months but already Germany has seen some unpleasant changes. As the city prepares to host the 1936 Olympics, Jews are being expelled from all German sporting organisations - a blatant example of discrimination. Forced to resign as a homicide detective with Berlin's Criminal Police, Bernie is now house detective at the famous Adlon Hotel. The discovery of two bodies - one a businessman and the other a Jewish boxer - involves Bernie in the lives of two hotel guests. One is a beautiful left-wing journalist intent on persuading America to boycott the Berlin Olympiad; the other is a German-Jewish gangster who plans to use the Olympics to enrich himself and the Chicago mob. As events unfold, Bernie uncovers a vast labour and construction racket designed to take advantage of the huge sums the Nazis are prepared to spend to showcase the new Germany to the world. It is a plot that finds its conclusion twenty years later in pre-revolution Cuba, the country to which Bernie flees from Argentina at the end of A Quiet Flame.

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6 Reviews
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 (3)
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Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Episode, 22 Sep 2009
By J. E. Parry "Jeff Parry" (Pontypool, Wales) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This is the latest installment in the Bernie Gunter series. This is what Kerr does best and shows how much of a trailblazer he was in setting his books in 30's Berlin. The last few books have been a combination of 30's Berlin and Gunter's post war career.

This time we find him in Berlin in 1934 and find that he has recently left the Kripo (criminal police), following the assumption of power by the Nazis, and is working as a house detective in Berlin's best hotel - the Adlon. A dead guest is found in a locked room and a Chinese box is stolen from another guest.

Gunter is also asked to help out with a former colleague's nephew, who is starting out as a homicide detective. Unfortunately the unidentified body turns out to be a Jew. Homicide detectives in Nazi Germany were not allowed to investigate the murders of Jews - it was considered to be a service to society that they were dead.

So Gunter decides to investigate. The case leads him to an encounter with senior Nazi officials, an American gangster, a beautiful American journalist and the building of the Olympic Stadium. 30's Berlin is again brought to life with the problems faced by Jews and those who are not happy with the new government. The way in which the Nazi's tentacles are beginning to grip German society are a great read.

Things are not resolved cleanly and the story moves to Cuba in 1954. The main protaganists meet again in Batista's Havana, just after Castro is jailed for a failed attack on a barracks. Gunter meets the journalist and the gangster again and also bumps into the leading mobsters, such as Meyer Lansky.

Gunter is asked to investigate another murder, at the request of the Mob and things are not as straight forward as anyone thinks.

This is another great addition to the Gunter series. Kerr shows why he is considered to be the king of pre-war thriller writing. Where Furst and Downing now walk, Kerr has already been and plotted the way.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Another twisting chapter in the life of Bernie Gunther, 5 Oct 2009
By N. Cliffe (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Philip Kerr has written another thoughtful and intriguing story following the eventful career of cynical, world-weary Berlin detective Bernie Gunther. Skilfully plotted, the story shifts between the tropical colour and menacing undercurrent of 1950s pre-Castro gangland Cuba, and the heightening social tensions of pre-war Nazi Germany. Kerr's inimitable humour and writing style are keenly in evidence and again find a voice through our Chandler-esque protagonist. Readers new to Bernie Gunther novels will not find the historical setting or the mystery elements to be radically original but this takes nothing away from the brilliant storytelling and dark humour that is often lacking in other historical detective fiction. Familiar Kerr readers will also enjoy the book, particularly for the fleshing out of Bernie's past exploits as House detective of the Adlon in Berlin.Perhaps not the best Bernie Gunther novel, but a worthy addition to the canon.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Book to remember after the read, 16 Dec 2009
By Alan Conway (U K) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   


A very real and authentic background. Making this a novel worth recomending to others.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Should have left it at the last book.
I'm a big fan of this series. However, the last book appeared to have ended the series in true Bernie Gunther noir style. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Mr. J. Andrew

1.0 out of 5 stars DISAPPOINTING
This is the first book that I've read by Philip Kerr and I'm very disappointed. The story was good but his writing is so irritating, language is used in 1934 Berlin which is... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Carole King

5.0 out of 5 stars It just gets better
This series just getst better and better, although it was pretty damn good to start with.
Published 4 months ago by John Beattie

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