Germania
A Novel of Nazi Berlin
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4.4 • 15 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
From international bestselling author Harald Gilbers comes the heart-pounding story of Jewish detective Richard Oppenheimer as he hunts for a serial killer through war-torn Nazi Berlin in Germania.
Berlin 1944: a serial killer stalks the bombed-out capital of the Reich, preying on women and laying their mutilated bodies in front of war memorials. All of the victims are linked to the Nazi party. But according to one eyewitness account, the perpetrator is not an opponent of Hitler's regime, but rather a loyal Nazi.
Jewish detective Richard Oppenheimer, once a successful investigator for the Berlin police, is reactivated by the Gestapo and forced onto the case. Oppenheimer is not just concerned with catching the killer and helping others survive, but also his own survival. Worst of all, solving this case is what will certainly put him in the most jeopardy. With no other choice but to futher his investigation, he feverishly searches for answers, and a way out of this dangerous game.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
What would it be like for a Jewish detective to work for the Nazis on a serial killer case? That's the intriguing premise of Gilbers's stellar debut, which won the Glauser Prize for the best German crime novel. Before Jews were forbidden from working for the police, Richard Oppenheimer was one of Berlin's best criminal investigators. Late one night in May 1944, SS Hauptsturmf hrer Vogler summons Oppenheimer to a crime scene. Arrayed before a WWI memorial is the body of a young woman with nails driven into her ears; her pelvic area is a "single massive wound." Vogler reveals that two other women were slaughtered in the same way over the preceding nine months, and in desperation the SS has turned to Oppenheimer, who once apprehended another serial murderer who mutilated women. Despite his new role, Oppenheimer is still at risk in a city filled with anti-Semites. When evidence surfaces that one of the victims was connected with Lebensborn, Himmler's program to produce children with as pure blood as possible, the investigation becomes even more delicate. Gilbers makes Oppenheimer's fears, and the moral compromises he makes, palpable. Philip Kerr fans will want to check this out.
Customer Reviews
Very good book.
Very good