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majkia's review against another edition
5.0
First of the Hannah Vogel series, the story begins with a 30 year old single woman on her own in 1931 Berlin, The Nazis are just beginning to step up their persecution of Jews and homosexuals.
Hannah’s young brother is a gay man who sings and dances at a gay club in the city. She writes a column for the newspaper and goes to the police station to gather information for a column and finds her brother’s picture on the wall of the unknown dead newly discovered in the city. He’d been stabbed and thrown into the river, naked. She admits to no one her brother is dead and determines to discover who has killed him – someone he knows? Or some roaming bad of Nazi soldiers?
The story takes many twists and turns and the discovery of the killer is complicated by secrets and lies her brother told and kept and the need to hide her interest from the authorities for fear she herself might be killed by learning too much about very powerful men.
I appreciated this view of Germany after the Great War and as Hitler was just beginning to create his fascist state. Hannah as believable and her actions obviously those of someone who navigated dangerous waters just barely ahead of people out to keep her brother’s secrets secret.
I hope to continue this series soon.
A ROOT (from 2012), a 2014Category Challenge (Category 8 Spies and Lies), a TIOLI and a RandomCAT.
sharonfalduto's review against another edition
This was a nice, atmospheric, noirish book set in Berlin in 1931--so the Nazis aren't quite there yet, but they're coming up in power. The heroine, intrepid reporter Hannah Vogel, sees her brother's photo in the Hall of Unnamed Dead at the police station. She can't request help from anyone, though, because her brother's papers are currently accompanying a Jewish friend as he escapes from Germany. So she sets out to investigate the murder and runs in to many surprises along the way. We also step into the early 1930s cabaret scene, as her brother was a crossdresser. I wouldn't call it a fun romp, but it was a good read, and it looks like there's another book in the series so I'll have to check that out.
sarahs_readingparty's review against another edition
5.0
AWESOME book!!! Best mystery/thriller I have read in a long time. This book is so action-packed and with such great characters. I'll admit it--I totally fell in love with Anton and even Boris. I'm completely unfamiliar with 1930s Germany (except for the key events) so reading about the years leading up to WWII are so fascinating. I'm so glad this is a series! I couldn't put it down.
sdc46250's review
5.0
Just an amazing book on so many levels. Superb plot, characterization, atmosphere. I loved that the female protagonist is strong and resourceful!
diane's review against another edition
4.0
Very good mystery set in Berlin, right before the rise of the Nazis. I love depictions of what life must have been like at that time, to explain why people did what they did.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
A decent debut novel. Not as heavy on atmosphere as other Nazi-noir works but still good. The mystery is eh but the characters are compelling enough to make you care.
matthew_p's review
3.0
The story/interactions with Boris (the love interest) were a little spotty, but this was a compelling mystery with queers, Nazis, and plenty of interesting twists. (Although there was a sort of double-climax which sort of screwed with the narrative arc in an unpleasant way.)
emmkayt's review against another edition
3.0
Pacey suspense novel set in 1931 Berlin. The protagonist is a crime reporter, who spots her cross-dressing nightclub singing brother's photograph on the police station's wall of photos of the unclaimed dead. She then gets tangled up in a sordid intrigue or two involving top Nazi party officials. Very well-researched.
mslaura's review against another edition
3.0
For me this book started stronger than it ended.
Ratings:
Writing 4
Story line 4
Characters 3
Impact 3
Overall rating 3.5
Ratings:
Writing 4
Story line 4
Characters 3
Impact 3
Overall rating 3.5