March Violets - Hardcover

Kerr, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670824313 ISBN 13: 9780670824311

Publisher: Viking, 1989

Synopsis

This crime novel, set in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s, features private detective Gunther, who is disgusted by the anti-semitism, but is not averse to making money out of the horrors. An industrialist asks him to investigate the deaths of his daughter and her Nazi husband.

About this title

Review:

"Echoes of Raymond Chandler but better on his vivid and well-researched detail than the master." --Evening Standard

"Taut, brutal, coarse, believable and gripping stuff." --Sunday Telegraph

"Kerr's complex intrigue allows space for brilliantly provoking political asides." --Sunday Times

Praise for Philip Kerr and the Bernie Gunther Novels

"A brilliantly innovative thriller writer."--Salman Rushdie

"Philip Kerr is the only bona fide heir to Raymond Chandler."--Salon.com

"In terms of narrative, plot, pace and characterization, Kerr's in a league with John le Carre."--The Washington Post

"Every time we're afraid we've seen the last of Bernie Gunther, Philip Kerr comes through with another unnerving adventure for his morally conflicted hero."--Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

"Just as youth is wasted on the young, history is wasted on historians. It ought to be the exclusive property of novelists--but only if they are as clever and knowledgeable as Philip Kerr."--Chicago Tribune

"Kerr quantum leaps the limitations of genre fiction. Most thrillers insult your intelligence; his assault your ignorance."--Esquire

"A richly satisfying mystery, one that evokes the noir sensibilities of Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald while breaking important new ground of its own."--Los Angeles Times

"Part of the allure of these novels is that Bernie is such an interesting creation, a Chandleresque knight errant caught in insane historical surroundings. Bernie walks down streets so mean that nobody can stay alive and remain truly clean."--John Powers, Fresh Air (NPR)

"The Bernie Gunther novels are first-class, as stylish as Chandler and as emotionally resonant as the best of Ross Macdonald."--George Pelecanos

"Kerr's stylish noir writing makes every page a joy to read."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From the Back Cover:

'The contemporary master of the morally complex thriller' New York Observer

Bernhard Gunther is a private eye, specializing in missing persons. And in Hitler's Berlin, he's never short of work...

Winter 1936. A man and his wife have been shot dead in their bed. The woman's father, a millionaire industrialist, wants justice - and the priceless diamonds that disappeared along with his daughter's life.

As Bernie follows the trail into the cesspit that is Nazi Germany, he's forced to confront a horrifying conspiracy. One that takes him to the very heart of the administration, and, eventually, to Dachau...

The first in the iconic Berlin Noir series, March Violets takes readers to the rotten heart of Nazi Berlin, and introduces a private eye in the great tradition of Hammett and Chandler.

'Wonderfully sharp and satirical' Times

'Impressive' Guardian

'Fast-paced, laconic, unpredictable, and witty' Evening Standard

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0670824313
• ISBN 13: 9780670824311
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256