Back in the 1980's Philip Kerr wrote several detective novels which featured Bernie Gunther, a homicide detective in 1930's Berlin. Then he stopped. It was many years before Kerr wrote another Bernie Gunther book. I'm so glad that he picked this series back up again. This is one of my favorites.
Those early books had a rawness and edginess that has been much refined. The later books are more elegant but Bernie is still Bernie. He's jaded and careworn yet he still has an eye for the ladies. As his latest one "The Other Side of Silence" begins Bernie is in the grip of ennui. In fact he's on the verge of taking his own life. But like so many aspects of his existence, that plan doesn't work out either.
This one is set on the French Riviera during the mid 1950's. Bernie is living under a false identity and this murder mystery quickly morphs into a full blown spy novel. Philip Kerr is a master of the genre.
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