The British author has published 11 Bernie Gunther books, this one in 1989 and the most recent in 2016. March Violets was his first novel.

Herr Gunther is a private detective working Berlin in 1936 as the Games of the XI Olympiad are about to begin. A beyond-wealthy man hires him to find a necklace. As he exposes the complex case, he takes on a new client, Hermann Goering, who wants information related to the case, and later, Reinhard Heydrich, who does not offer him money but does allow him to live.

If you enjoy a tough talking PI in the mold of Marlowe and a richly described setting, you will enjoy Philip Kerr and Bernie Gunther.

Mike Lawrence