The title of Philip Kerr’s latest Bernie Gunther novel, the 12^th in the series is PRUSSIAN BLUE, a title that is either the antidote for a nasty odorless and colorless poison or the color of Prussian Army coats worn during the Great War.  The novel that includes the usual array of Nazi historical figures takes places rotating between Nazi Germany in October, 1939 and France during April, 1956.  Kerr deftly moves back and forth between the two time periods as Gunther must weave his way among Hitler’s Nazi henchmen and East German Stasi secret police.  The mysteries in two separate time periods seem disconnected for part of the novel and then hints emerge and finally the two time periods come together.

Gunther learns about “Prussian Blue” at a dinner on the French Riviera from General Erich Mielke, a Nazi era acquaintance who happens to be the Deputy Head of the East German secret police – the Stasi.  It is October, 1956, and Mielke has a simple proposition for Gunther, kill another old acquaintance, Anne French who is living south of London.  If Gunther chose not to cooperate the Stasi head would arrange his death, by hanging, which is used to convince him take on the task, or by other means.  Supposedly, once the mission is accomplished Gunther would be assigned to West Germany setting up a neo-Nazi organization that would desecrate and vandalize Jewish sites in order to discredit the Bonn government.  Gunther, always a resourceful individual finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place.  However, Bernie being Bernie, decides to escape from his Stasi chaperoned train ride to Berlin and make his way into the French countryside.

As in all the Bernie Gunther novels, Kerr’s command of history is impeccable and he does a wonderful job integrating accurate events and figures into the flow of the story.  This is evident when Kerr introduces Reinhard Heydrich, the Chief of the Reich Main Security Office, also known as “the butcher of Czechoslovakia” who summons Gunther to a meeting in April, 1939.  Gunther is told that he is being dispatched to solve a murder that has taken place in Berchtesgaden, the site of Hitler’s Berghof retreat.  It seems that the Fuhrer’s birthday is only a week away, and the murder of Dr. Karl Flex, a civil engineer has put a damper on the coming festivities.  In true Kerr fashion, Gunther must work with Martin Bormann who sees himself as Hitler’s right hand man.  Upon meeting Bormann, Gunther is told he must solve the murder within seven days or else.  If the Fuhrer will not visit until the murder is solved, and if Gunther fails, Bormann could lose his esteemed position in the Nazi hierarchy (which would make his rival Heinrich Himmler very happy!).  Despite Bormann’s seeming power, Heydrich wants Gunther to spy on Bormann while he is conducting his investigation, in addition to gathering dirt on Ernst Kaltenbrunner, the SS Head in Austria who is in the midst of a number of extra-marital affairs, something Hitler frowns upon.    As in the first story line, Gunther is once again caught in the middle and though he has always been a resourceful detective, a Social Democrat and not a Nazi Party member, he may not have the skill to navigate these situations.

Kerr creates a number of characters to augment his Nazi/Stasi types.  Friedrich Korsch is a good example, a clinical assistant to Gunther in 1939, by 1956 he is a Stasi agent in charge of making sure that Gunther carries out his mission to London.  Through this character Kerr describes how Nazi training before the war was put to good use by the Stasi in East Germany in the post war world as the skill set to be successful in the two organizations are quite similar.  Kerr employs Gunther’s sarcasm as a tool to show the continuity between the Nazis and the Stasi, in addition to cutting remarks about the lack of French bravery and the immorality of Nazi society.  Kerr also explores the byzantine world of Nazism and the political rivalries within the Nazi hierarchy as he unveils the egoism, corruption and cruelty of the likes men like Heydrich, Himmler, Bormann, Kaltenbrunner and others.

(Hitler in his Berghof study)

It appears that Kerr has read the new book that describes drug use among Nazi security services and the military, BLITZED by Norman Ohler that describes the use of meta-amphetamines before and during World War II.  As Bormann gives Gunther the drug pervitin he becomes more alert, productive, and while on the drug he seems to lack fear.  As the plot evolves Gunther discovers that meta-amphetamines are being diverted from civilian to military use as part of the run up to the war which seems to have a great deal to do with his murder investigation.

As in all the Gunther novels, Bernie is the ultimate survivor who has committed acts in the past that weigh on his conscience, and in his own intrepid way manages to move on.  As is evident in previous installments Kerr has a strong handle on historical research, character development, and the ability to surprise and capture his readers.  PRUSSIAN BLUE should be added to the list of successful Bernie Gunther novels, and hopefully number 13 will follow.

(Hitler’s Berghof retreat)

(Verona, Italy, April, 1945)

Ben Pastor’s LIAR MOON is the second installment of her Martin Bora series that follows her first effort, LUMEN.  In her latest book we find Wehrmacht Major Bora lying on a gurney in an emergency room in German occupied Verona, Italy in September, 1943.  By this time the Italian government had switched sides and declared war on Germany.  Italy was divided with the north under the control of the Fascists, and the south was being liberated by allied troops as they worked their way up the Italian boot.  Bora lay in unbearable pain, having lost his left hand suffered in a grenade attack by partisan forces in which three of his men were killed.  Bora had experienced a great many deaths during the war as he had spent time in Spain, Russia, and Poland witnessing the slaughter of civil war and the eastern front.

After a few months in which he recovered somewhat he was approached by a Fascist Centurion named Gaetano DeRosa to assist in the investigation of the murder of a Fascist official named Vitoria Lisa.  The evidence in the case seemed to point to Visi’s ex-wife who was thirty years younger than him who had been divorced for months when he had been killed.  Visi’s death was deemed important because he was a friend of Benito Mussolini.

The story has a number of important threads.  First, is the death of Lisa, the local Fascist official.  Second, there appears to be an escaped convict on the loose, who may be a serial killer and the case has been assigned to Police Inspector Sandro Guidi.  Third, is the search for partisans who attacked Bora and his men who remain very allusive with mounting attacks against German troops.  At certain points all three cases overlap and Bora and Guidi are forced to work with each other leading to a rather tenuous relationship.

Pastor’s grasp of history is admirable and she presents her story through the perspective of Bora and Guidi.  Bora is the central character and he continues to be the same flawed man that appeared in LUMEN.  He is deeply troubled professionally and on a personal level.  He is a Wehrmacht officer who is morally against the war, but as a good soldier he carries on.  He deplores the tactics employed by his government, particularly the SS who seem to be hunters who have no respect for human life.  The Final Solution of the Jewish problem is ongoing and he resents being co-opted into assisting in the transportation of Jews, priests, and partisans to death camps.  On a private level he worries about his marriage to his wife, Dikta, an equestrian who still does not know about the attack on her husband that left him with a prosthesis for a left hand and shrapnel in his body.  Bora worries that they do not have an intellectual relationship and find that physical attraction is what keeps them together.  Bora would like to have a child as he fears he will not survive the war and would like to leave some type of legacy.  The problem is that his wife’s activities do not lend themselves to a successful pregnancy.  Pastor introduces Sandro Guidi to work with Bora.  Guidi seems to have his own issues as he still lives with his mother and suffers from an extreme lack of confidence.  He is a foil for Bora, as each point out the deficiencies that each seem to suffer from.  Guidi is an integral part of the plot, and tends to soften Bora’s personality.

Pastor’s approach to creating a good mystery is to begin her story with what seems to be a rather routine murder investigation and then tries to spin into a detailed plot with tentacles that reach out to numerous characters amidst the military situation in Italy in the Fall and Winter of 1943-44.  Her approach was very successful in LUMEN, but it does not work as well in LIAR MOON as the story evolves almost in slow motion, and lacks the excitement of her previous effort.  However, the plot results in a surprising ending and an interesting twist to Bora’s relationship with Guidi.  Though the book was somewhat disappointing there is enough here to make me move on to read her next Bora installment, A DARK SONG OF BLOOD.

(Verona, Italy, April 26, 1945)

(Cracow, Poland, 1939)

The key figure in Ben Pastor’s excellent historical mystery LUMEN seems to be a murdered nun.  Mother Matka Kazimierza was not just any nun.  Known as the “Holy Abbess,” Kazimierza was considered a visionary who could supposedly predict the future.  In early October, 1939 her body is found in a convent in Cracow, Poland by a German officer who was surreptitiously meeting with her as he tried to cope with the approaching death of his four year old son.  The Germans were slowly wrapping up control of Cracow following their invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939.  In addition they were implementing joint occupation of the country, as per the Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 26, 1939, as the Soviet Union had invaded Poland in mid-September to seize their half of the country.  The German Commander, Lt. Colonel Emile Schenck appoints Captain Martin Bora to head up the investigation into the nun’s death.

LUMEN is the first in Pastor’s well received series of historical mysteries that take place during World War II that Capt. Bora, a well-educated Ph.D from the University of Leipzig, and veteran of the Spanish Civil War is the main character.  For the investigation of the “Holy Abbess” Bora, a Jesuit himself must collaborate with Father John Malecki, an American priest from Chicago who had been sent by the Archbishop to study the phenomenon of Matka Kazimierza.  Once she was murdered he was instructed to remain in Cracow and assist in the investigation with the German authorities.

(Nazis marching through Cracow, Poland during World War II – a city that made it through the war unscathed)

Bora faced a number of difficulties in dealing with the case.  First, his roommate Major Richard Retz had a very productive love life that made Bora very uncomfortable as he was expected to stay away from their apartment for Retz’s liaisons.  Second, were his personal values.  Though only in Cracow for a short period of time he witnessed a number of things that more than troubled him.  The use of Jewish slave labor; executions; beatings; revenge killings; rape; massacres; seizure of private property; enforcement of racial laws; and the destruction of books and documents from university libraries all went against his moral code.  Third, he resented the constant lectures from his commander concerning what was expected of the pure blooded Aryan male – propagate the Reich for the next generation.  Lastly, trying to work with Father Malecki whose loyalties and values seemed to conflict with his own.  As the story evolves Bora’s moral confusion no longer controls him as he witnesses what Nazism has brought to Poland.  Bora’s consciousness raising awareness stems from seeing Ukrainians hanged, and “Polack farmers” shot, and while some remained alive locked in a barn to be burned to death.

Pastor has an excellent grasp of historical events that are woven into her story.  German-Russian distrust is on full display over boundaries and accusations that each side is engaging in atrocities.  The action of the German SD, or secret police reflect everything Bora finds reprehensible about Nazi rule.  The competition between the Wehrmacht and the SS for control of certain investigations, jurisdiction, and territorial oversight is analyzed carefully.

(Main Square, Cracow, Poland, 1948)

The core of the story involves why the “Holy Abbess” was murdered?  Was it a result of her predictions for the future?  Did she help the Polish underground?  These questions factor into the investigation as does the Abbess’ predictions as to whether they were apocalyptic or political.

Pastor does a remarkable job developing her characters, particularly the relationship that grows between Bora and Father Malecki.  The author also develops the characters of a number of Polish actresses, especially Ewa Kowalska and her daughter Helena Sokora who were both involved with Bora’s roommate.  There are numerous other characters from the Polish Archbishop, SS Captain Salle-Weber, Lt. Colonel Nowotny, the German coroner, among others who greatly impact the plot.

Pastor’s novel is a combination of the Catholic faith, politics, ethics, as some are conflicted by events, while others seem to enjoy what ultimately will lead to the Holocaust and murder of countless Poles.  Lumen (light) and darkness are in conflict with each other throughout the story and through Bora’s quest for truth the reader should have a satisfactory read.  If you are a fan of Philip Kerr’s Bernie Guenther series you will especially enjoy Pastor’s work.   I look forward to enjoying, LIAR MOON the next installment of the Martin Bora series.

(Cracow, Poland, during World War II)

(World War II Venice)

For those that are familiar with the work of Martin Cruz Smith the author of GORKY PARK, STALIN’S GHOST, TATIANA, among others, his latest effort, THE GIRL FROM VENICE should prove very satisfying.  The novel is centered in Venice in the small fishing village of Pellestrina.  One evening during the spring, 1945, Innocenzo Vianello, a poor fisherman is watching allied planes pass overhead on their way to rain havoc on Turin, Milan, or Verona, as he tries to secure his catch, when he notices a body floating in the water.  The body turns out to be a survivor of a Nazi SS raid on San Clemente, a mental institution.  The survivor is Giulia Silber, from a wealthy Jewish family, whose parents, aunts and uncles, in addition to many others have been seized by the Nazis and are presumed dead.  Cenzo, against his better judgement rescues the girl and immediately is confronted by an SS boat in a lagoon.  It seems the SS is looking for the escaped Jewess.  Cenzo hides the girl and an incident will occur that makes him as much of a target as Giulia.

(Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler)

Smith’s writing is very clear and he does a remarkable job developing the relationship between Cenzo and Giulia, from teaching her to be a fisherman, how to enunciate as not to appear upper class, friendship, and finally falling in love.  For Cenzo thinking about his own miseries pale in comparison to what Giulia has been through and he becomes very protective of her.  They are both in a quandary as to how to proceed when Cenzo’s friend, Eusebio Russo, who was a smuggler, arranged to take Giulia north and turn her over to Communist partisan to allow her to escape.  However, at this point Cenzo and Giulia realize they might mean more to each other than they thought.

As the novel progresses the reader will come across a number of interesting characters.  There is Cenzo’s brother Giorgio a famous actor and follower of Mussolini who he is estranged from.  Nido, the owner of a bar in Pellestrina, who along with his good friend Cenzo oppose the war after their experiences fighting against Haile Selassie’s forces in Abyssinia.  Colonel Steiner, a Nazi officer that may have turned against Hitler.  Steiner claims he needs to locate Giulia as she is the only witness to what happened at San Clemente when Steiner’s conduit to the Americans disappeared, Vittorio Silber, Giulia’s father.  The catch is Steiner wants Cenzo to work with his brother to find her.  Maria Paz Rodriguez, the wife of the former Argentine Counsel in in Salo, the capitol of the remainder of the Italian Socialist State.  Paz is an interesting character as she is an excellent forger for both Jews and Germans who are fleeing.  Otto Klein, supposedly a neutral Swiss filmmaker, but he has ties to the black market, Joseph Goebbles, and seems to want to bring down the Germans.  Farina, an Italian Fascist who cannot understand that the war is lost.  Lastly, Dante, the partisan leader whose loyalty is to communism.

There is a Kafkaesque quality to the story.  As the war winds down everyone thinks it is almost over and they begin to contemplate their lives once hostilities will come to a close.  They wonder who will be in charge and most conclude the Germans will just leave, but Italian fascists and partisans will battle for Italy’s soul.  Smith provides unique insights into society in the “capitol,” Salo.  The nerves of the people are being shredded as they worry about who they will be able to trust.  Cenzo will undergo a remarkable transformation as he tries to find Giulia and has to deal with his brother Georgio, but also has nightmares over the death of his younger brother Hugo, who had been killed by an American pilot the year before.  The novel has an undercurrent that pervades each page as Cenzo, also a talented artist had painted a picture of the scene where his brother Hugo had been killed.  The problem is that Cenzo is transfixed by what he has created, and it takes him almost to the end of the story to finally understand what his unconscious was telling him.

The novel itself is an indictment of Mussolini’s regime and the marionettes that followed him.  Smith’s dialogue reeks of sarcasm as he points to the weaknesses and incompetence of Italian fascism.  Il Duce is a comic figure, however the story that he is a part of is not.  Martin Cruz Smith’s new book is worth engaging and I recommend you take a few hours, get comfortable with a glass of wine, and enjoy-it will be bellissimo!

(June 25, 1941, the Venice Conference)

Robert Harris’ new novel, CONCLAVE takes the reader inside the world of the Vatican and its byzantine politics.  Set in Rome, the Pope has died and there is a question of what he said to certain Cardinals upon his passing and what impact it might have on the impending election of a new Pope.  Harris’ moderator is the seventy-five year old Jacobo Lomeli, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, but a person who would like to return to a religious order to live out his life in prayer.  With the death of his holiness, Lomeli finds himself as the overseer of the Conclave to choose the next leader of the Catholic Church.  As is true with any large organization that must choose a new leader, there is a great deal of intrigue and power brokering.  As I read the novel all I could think of was the American Congress and its inability to come to fruition on something substantive.

The factions within the College of Cardinals is somewhat traditional.  On one side we have the liberal wing that is coalescing around its intellectual Secretary of State Aldo Bellini; the Confessor-in-Chief Joshua Adeymi, who hopes to be the first black Pope; the Chamberlain of the Holy See, Joseph Tremblay, a Canadian with strong links to the Third World, and the Patriarch of Venice, Goffredo Tedesco, the hope of conservatives who are against the ordination of women and wants to move away from Italian to the use of Latin in all areas.  Lomeli immediately faces two challenges aside from assuaging the egos of these cardinals.  It seems that before the Pope passed away he created a new Cardinal, Vincent Benitez, the Archbishop of Baghdad and he did it “in pectore” (only the Pope knows) and did not inform anyone.  Benitez appears unannounced at the Conclave and is recognized for his work in Africa dealing with victims of terrorists like Boko Haram and the dangers of leading the Catholic Church in Iraq.  The second challenge occurs when he chooses to forgo part of his prepared oration to the Conclave and speaks extemporaneously.  As a result of what he calls for in the church, many Cardinals now see him as a candidate.

The tradition, ritual, and pageantry of the Catholic Church is on full display as Harris develops his novel.  The ceremonies are intricate as Lomeli leads the 118 member College of Cardinals in choosing the next Pope.  But what dominates the plot is the contending factions and the behind the scenes actions taking place.  Harris takes the reader through each ballot with intrigue and deal making paramount.  The first four ballots are dominated by scandals and stress for Lomeli, but then events take place that the Conclave cannot control.  Those who are fans of Robert Harris, be it because of his books FATHERLAND, ARCHANGEL, or his trilogy dealing with the struggle for power in ancient Rome will not be disappointed, particularly with the ending!

(Taconic region of New York State)

For those who enjoyed Caleb Carr’s THE ALIENIST and THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS his latest effort is something to look forward to.  It takes place up in the Taconic area of New York state called Surrender, hence the title SURRENDER, NEW YORK.   The novel’s narrator is Dr. Trajan Jones, a former criminal psychologist and profiler for the NYPD, who suffers from the effects of childhood osteosarcoma that forces him to be bent over while working on his online forensic course that he teaches for SUNY Albany with his partner Dr. Michael Li, a trace evidence expert.  Their classroom is an old fuselage of a pre-World War Two Junker that Jones’ father purchased and flew to his sister’s farm in Burgoyne County, NY.  Dr. Li is about to begin Skyping with his class when Deputy Sheriff Pete Stienbrecher pulls up in his patrol car and asks them for their assistance in a murder case.  Jones and Li had been run out of New York because of their unorthodox methods and opposition to “forensic corruption” that has dominated some news cycles.  Both men have a low opinion of CSI types who are so popular on television.  When they arrive at the crime scene, there is a lot that is unspoken by Sheriff Steve Spinetti, particularly what is meant by “a series of murders” involving teenage girls.  When Dr. Ernest Weaver, the Medical Examiner pronounces that the death of the fifteen year old girl “is cut and dried, murder of a teenage runaway, with possible sexual implications,” Jones and Li are very skeptical, as Weaver’s conclusions make little sense.

As Carr develops his plot his own views of the criminal investigative system emerge.  Through Jones and Li, Carr complains that bullying, incompetent collection and observation of evidence made the chain of forensic investigation fatal to the field’s ascension to a true science.  He argues that investigators have “careerist ambition” that leads to “tunnel vision” whereby supposed experts see and hear only those facts and theories that reinforce their initial impressions and suspicions in order to satisfy their law enforcement superiors to solve the case quickly.  Carr calls this “cognitive shortcuts, that make ones initial; instincts, prejudices, and simple hunches appear the result of legitimate intellectual processes.”  It is obvious that the author has a distaste for CSI television programs as they create expectations in investigating real crimes that are not achievable.  For Jones and Li their work is hampered by serious political and turf battles as people above the Sheriff and his Deputy have political ambitions and are willing to “select, blend and pervert evidence in these murder cases to suit their own agendas.”  Throughout the book there is a great deal of social commentary that is both caustic and thoughtful that enhances the flow of the novel.  Another important area of concern deals with children that are abandoned by their parents so they have to make way all by themselves with little or no resources.  Jones analyzes and has great sympathy for these “throwaway children,” especially when all the murder victims seem to fit that description.

The novel revolves around Dr. Jones and Dr. Li becoming drawn deeper and deeper into the investigation until it becomes extremely dangerous.  It appears that there is a force that does not like where their investigation is leading them.  The political powers that the doctors are up against want to blame the murders on a serial killer, but Jones and Li believe it has more to do with the actions of the “throwaway children” which is seen as an embarrassment to state officials, and evidence that leads back to New York City.    When people who work with Jones and Li are attacked, the doctors realize how precarious their position is, and from this point on the novel becomes addicting.

The relationship between Jones and Li is very similar to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson.  Their banter throughout the novel is fascinating as they conjecture about the victims they investigate as well as the state of forensic pathology as they apply it to their current and past cases.  They seem to mirror each other’s thought patterns and apply deductive logic in reaching similar conclusions.  Their interactions are unique and entertaining as they are masters of wit and sarcasm as their dialogue contains many important conclusions for the murders they are trying to solve.  Their approach is very flexible and resilient as they try and incorporate new methods and ideas to assist them, for example Li’s use of a portable X ray unit developed for veterinarians and the military for their cases.  Their flexibility is also reflected with their relationship to a fifteen year old boy named Lucas Kurtz.  Kurtz is another example of the “throwaway children,” but in his case he runs into Jones on his property and the doctor is impressed with the young man’s precocious nature and intelligence and as a result makes him a junior partner in their investigation as a junior investigative trainee.  Jones’ reasoning is clear, he and Li are investigating the murder of fifteen year olds, why not use an expert of that age group.  In addition to Lucas, Carr introduces a number of interesting characters.  Derek Franco, Lucas’ autistic friend, also a “throwaway child” who has been adopted by Lucas’ sister Ambyr, a twenty year old blind women who is exceptionally bright, caring, and ultimately cunning.  Adding to this group is Jones’ aunt Clarissa, who took him in when he was recovering from cancer, along with Li to live on her farm, and Jones’ large pet, an “African hunting dog” named Marcianna.

According to Michael Connelly, Carr’s work “is charming and eloquent between the horrors it captures,” further by linking his story and “making Jones the world’s leading authority on Laszlo Kreizler – the Alienist,” Carr is celebrating “the dawning era in the application of science to crime detection, from fingerprinting to other means of physically and psychologically identifying suspects [as] Carr now uses Jones to sound the warning that things may be going awry.  Forensics should not be treated as faith.” (NYT, August 15, 2016)  Dr. Trajan Jones is a wonderful character to build the novel around.  He is an empathetic figure with a sense of what is wrong with society and how it might be improved.  His engaging manner will capture the reader’s attention, and the result will be a very satisfying few days immersed in a painful, but real story.

(Taconic region of New York State)