Author: Volker Kutscher
Publisher: Sandstone Press
Release Date: May 19, 2016
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewer: Jessica Higgins
Netlflix’s newest crime noir has some deep roots from the base novel!
Berlin in 1929 is a dangerous place to be, but for Gereon Rath, it proves to be even less fun than dangerous. He was a rising star on the police force in the Cologne Homicide Division when one case went sideways and he ended up killing man. Now transferred to vice in Berlin, Gereon finds himself working to shut down pornography factories as part of the health division’s effort to clean up the city. Even though his new boss is a great guy and confidant, Gereon still wants back in homicide. When a car is pulled out of a canal containing a corpse that can’t be identified, Gereon believes that he has found his chance to make is way back into his preferred line of work. But what he discovers can hardly be what he signed up for!
As far as crime noirs go, this one was spelled out pretty well. The scene was done well as was the presentation of the timeframe of political clashes. I also thought that the flow was great and pushed the story along pretty quickly. However, I had trouble relating with Gereon. I just couldn’t find that connection that made me want to see how things were going to work out for him. Fortunately, several other aspects of the story keep it moving and I really enjoyed it.
There is a lot of language throughout the book as well as sex as it is dealing with pornography. I recommend this book for mature readers and those that want to compare it to the television series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.
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