FICTION

A Man Without Breath: A Bernie Gunther Novel

by Philip Kerr
Putnam. Apr. 2013. 448p. ISBN 9780399160790. $26.95; ebk. ISBN 9781101621097. F
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When Bernie Gunther, a former Berlin detective now working for the War Crimes Bureau in Nazi Germany, is sent to investigate a possible mass grave site near Smolensk, Russia, in March 1943, he soon finds that nothing is straightforward. Goebbels, the minister of propaganda, is pressuring him to help Nazi public relations by finding evidence of Soviet atrocities against Polish officers in the Katyn Forest, but when several Germans are viciously murdered Bernie believes a German is responsible. Bernie's bosses are Prussian aristocrats who close ranks against a cynical, sarcastic investigator opposed to the Nazi regime and driven to seek the truth regardless of political considerations.
VERDICT This ninth Bernie Gunther tale (after Prague Fatale) focuses on two months of 1943, mixing real-life characters with fictional ones. Kerr's historical knowledge and writing skills merge these elements seamlessly in a gripping story of murder, but it is Bernie who holds it all together even as he questions the absurdity of attempting normalcy during war. Mystery, historical fiction, and military history buffs will join existing Bernie fans in welcoming this latest installment in the series.
Reviewed by Roland Person, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale , Apr 01, 2013
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