March Violets
Published 2026-08-04 13:46:13
Book info
- Author
- Year 1989
- Genre Historical
- Format Paperback
- Pages 245
Brutal ex-convicts or the Nazi elite - in Bernie Gunther's world it's hard to tell who are the real gangsters.
Ex-Berlin cop and private detective Bernie Gunther has seen his share of bad guys. But when the worst guys of all are the ones running the show, it's much harder to stay out of their reach.
Hired by a wealthy industrialist to investigate the murder of his daughter and her husband in an apparent botched robbery, Bernie soon finds himself drawn into the complex - not to mention lethal - internal politics and corruption of the Nazi party. When Hermann Goering himself calls Bernie in with a task for him that throws his existing case into a whole new light, he must weigh up his hatred of the Nazis against his desire to stay alive.
Thoughts
This was a random recommendation that came my way, a friend of a friend kind of thing. It's not really the kind of book that I would reach for, but I'm always happy to try something a bit different.
It's set in inter-war Germany, with the Nazis in power, the Olympics coming to town, and horrendous circumstances to live in. Trying to be a normal member of society whilst endlessly second-guessing who to trust is unimaginable. Kerr sets the scene perfectly:
That was Berlin under the National Socialist Government: a big, haunted house with dark corners, gloomy staircases, sinister cellars, locked rooms and a whole attic full of poltergeists on the loose, throwing books, banging doors, breaking glass, shouting in the night and generally scaring the owners so badly that there were times when they were ready to sell up and get out.
It's exactly the right setup for a noir thriller, where our private detective hero Bernie Gunther investigates murders and espionage and layers of subterfuge. It's grim, but that's what you expect from this kind of book, and I actually quite enjoyed it. The writing really pulled me in and I could almost feel the heavy atmosphere of every scene.
The one letdown for me was the main character. He seemed like a good guy, very skilled at his job, and not antisemitic in 1930s Berlin. Other characters warmed to him and looked to him for help. But we didn't really get to know him at all.
Is that a feature of the noir genre? Or is it a clever reflection of the time period we're focused on? At every stage it felt like we were at arm's length from him, watching him do the things he did, without always knowing the motivation behind them. That is how you'd have to act in Nazi Germany, I'm sure, but it was mildly frustrating as a reader.
This is the first book in the Bernie Gunther series, so it's the perfect place to start from. Noir isn't my go-to genre but I really enjoyed this book, so I'd recommend trying it even if you think noir isn't for you.
I'm rating this a 4 out of 5, just because I felt a bit distant from the character - intentional or otherwise - but I'm planning to read the second book in the series and see if we do manage to pull back any of his layers.
Rating: 4 / 5
