Although I dislike reading new stories set in WWII, Kerr writes about daily fear and complicity in a context where it might trigger a deeper understanding in people. And since I inherited a slew of these, I guess I'll keep reading. ( )

another intriguing mystery, character study by Kerr, which takes place in 1942 at another Nazi stronghold. The mystery is ok, but the character studies are exceptional. ( )

Prague Fatale is the eighth novel in the Bernie Gunther series authored by the late Philip Kerr. In this story Gunther is back in Berlin working as a detective again although still a member by way of you might say a "corporate merger" in which the Berlin PD became merged into the SS. Gunther is assigned to investigate the death of what turned out to be a Dutch "foreign worker", i.e., a citizen of a conquered country looking to find employment and survival in Germany. What appeared to be at first glance an accidental death probably as a result of the Berlin blackout turns out to be something different.

In the course of his investigation Gunther encounters an attempted rape of a young woman and being the good cop that he is he rescues her from "worse than death" and pursues her attacker, who apparently gets away in the dark. Bernie pursues his investigations and becomes romantically involved with the woman he rescued. All of this is a prelude to Bernie's "recall" to service by and on behalf of Reinhard Heydrich, the recently appointed Reichsprotector of Bohemia and Moravia, that is, the former Czechoslovakia. Heydrich, who has employed Gunther in the past, believes that he is the object of an assassination plot, not by the Czechs, but by one or more of his Nazi brethren. He needs a real detective, not a party hack with a badge, so he sends for Gunther.

What ensues is a tangled knot that ties together events that occur in Heydrich's mansion outside of Prague with the death of the Dutch foreign worker and the attack on his now girlfriend who accompanies Gunther to Prague. Along the way we are introduced to a collection of thugs, party hacks, timeservers and associated nasties that you would expect to find in the SS. More that this I can't say concerning the storyline without giving the game away.

I will conclude by paying tribute to Kerr's uncanny ability to pull together a complex plot with sub-plots and create character portraits that ring true and do it with his usual mordant wit. As always, his novels have a basis in fact and reflect the quality and depth of the research that went into this novel. Prague Fatale is a great, albeit sobering, read. This is the twelfth book in the series that I have read and like the first eleven I highly recommend it. ( )

Berlín, septiembre de 1941. El detective Bernie Gunther debe abandonar todas sus ocupaciones en Homicidios para atender un asunto de mayor envergadura: pasar un fin de semana en la casa de campo que su antiguo jefe en el SD tiene en Praga. Lo que en principio se presenta como una soporífera reunión en compañía de los más detestables oficiales de las SS y el SD, se convierte de repente en una prueba de fuego para la reputación de Gunther como investigador: deberá descubrir cómo alguien ha podido ser asesinado en una habitación cerrada por dentro. Lo que hay en juego podría llegar a repercutir en las más altas esferas del Reich, aunque, sin lugar a dudas, pondrá en serio peligro la vida del propio detective.

Bernie Gunther is a detective in World War II Berlin, experienced and effective, but held back by his dislike of the Nazi Party. Recently returned from the Ukraine, where he had first hand experience of the growing horrors of the Holocaust, he stumbles into a murder investigation. Before he can progress the case he is seconded to work in Prague and heads an investigation into the murder of an SS captain at a country house where all the suspects are high ranking SS officers.

Gunther is a fascinating character. Dedicated and clever, he is pragmatic enough to work with the ruling Nazi government in order to protect his own existence, but cannot help but call out injustice when he sees it.

This is an excellent book, extremely well written, with a complex plot and involving characters. ( )