Field Gray
A Bernie Gunther Novel
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
This Edgar® Award-nominated novel in Philip Kerr’s New York Times bestselling Bernie Gunther series reveals the cynical, hard-boiled detective’s harrowing history as an unwilling SS officer in World War 2.
During his eleven years working homicide in Berlin's Kripo, Bernie Gunther learned a thing or two about evil. Then he set himself up as a private detective—until 1940 when Heydrich dragooned him into the SS's field gray uniform and the bloodbath that was the Eastern Front. Spanning twenty-five tumultuous years, Field Gray strides across the killing fields of Europe, landing Bernie in a divided Germany at the height of the Cold War—revealing a treacherous world where the ends justify the means and no one can be trusted...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bernie Gunther's past catches up with him in Kerr's outstanding seventh novel featuring the tough anti-Nazi Berlin PI who survived the Nazi regime (after If the Dead Rise Not). In 1954, Bernie is living quietly in Cuba, doing a little work for underworld boss Meyer Lansky, when he runs afoul of the U.S. Navy and lands in prison in Guant namo. Later, at an army prison in New York City, FBI agents ask him about his service in WWII, in particular as a member of an SS police battalion on the Eastern Front. Another transfer sends him to Germany's Landsberg Prison, where Hitler was imprisoned in 1923. Officials from various governments question and torture him, but grimly amusing Bernie, who's smarter than any of his interrogators, successfully strings each one of them along. Vivid flashbacks chronicle Bernie's harrowing war experiences. Series aficionados and new readers alike will take comfort knowing that Kerr is hard at work on the next installment. Author tour.
Customer Reviews
Anti-American
I was surprised by the anti-American tone of this book. Some the other books were not in the least pro-American but this one got really anti-American. He even made fun of the sculptural tribute to the Berlin Airlift at Templehof. Because the Berlin Airlift save 3 million Berliners from starvation, I thought that was one nice thing you could say about America. Even so, as usual I enjoyed the Bernie Gunther book.
Against All Fascists
In Field Grey Phillip Kerr surveys the fascists, including the Communists, from Cuba to the USA to Germany (East and West) to the USSR and properly finds them all wanting. It is an epic story tied together by his anti-hero Bernie Gunther. A must read with great sense of history and a compelling plot.
Read first
If you enjoy historical thrillers, read Field Gray first then the rest of the series. although written last, so far, it provides an overview. the rest of the stories are more specific time slices. There is obviously one more adventure to come before Herr Gunther can retire.