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A review by jacki_f
The Other Side of Silence by Philip Kerr
4.0
This is the eleventh book in Philip Kerr's terrific series featuring Bernie Gunther, whom we initially met as a highly jaded policeman in 1930s Berlin who despised the Nazi regime. The subsequent books in the series jumped around in time, and gradually we have learned about Gunther's actions during the 2nd World War and life afterwards in Argentina, Cuba and in this novel, the South of France.
It's 1956 and Gunther is working as a hotel concierge on the French Riviera under an assumed name. His wife has left him, he is lonely and world weary. One day a figure from his past turns up at the hotel. Harold Hennig is a man whom Gunther has reason to hate, and he is about to give Gunther another reason, as it is apparent that he is involved in a scheme to blackmail local resident and celebrated author Somerset Maugham. Gunther is asked to help Maugham, but gradually it will become apparent that things are a lot more complicated than they initially appear.
Unlike the other books in this series, this one doesn't centre on WW2. Although some events from that time are referred to, the central plot is about the Cold War and the Cambridge Spy Ring in England. As usual, Kerr has woven many real life people and events into the story and also includes a postscript to tell us what became of them all.
If you're new to Philip Kerr, I highly recommend this series. It jumps about in chronology so you don't need to read them in order, but I wouldn't recommend this as the best book to begin with. (I started with "If the Dead Rise Not", but the Berlin Noir trilogy would probably be the best starting place and after that you could jump around at will). The books are noir-esque mysteries with a very strong sence of time and place. I was delighted to see in the postscript that Bernie Gunther will return in another book due in 2017.
It's 1956 and Gunther is working as a hotel concierge on the French Riviera under an assumed name. His wife has left him, he is lonely and world weary. One day a figure from his past turns up at the hotel. Harold Hennig is a man whom Gunther has reason to hate, and he is about to give Gunther another reason, as it is apparent that he is involved in a scheme to blackmail local resident and celebrated author Somerset Maugham. Gunther is asked to help Maugham, but gradually it will become apparent that things are a lot more complicated than they initially appear.
Unlike the other books in this series, this one doesn't centre on WW2. Although some events from that time are referred to, the central plot is about the Cold War and the Cambridge Spy Ring in England. As usual, Kerr has woven many real life people and events into the story and also includes a postscript to tell us what became of them all.
If you're new to Philip Kerr, I highly recommend this series. It jumps about in chronology so you don't need to read them in order, but I wouldn't recommend this as the best book to begin with. (I started with "If the Dead Rise Not", but the Berlin Noir trilogy would probably be the best starting place and after that you could jump around at will). The books are noir-esque mysteries with a very strong sence of time and place. I was delighted to see in the postscript that Bernie Gunther will return in another book due in 2017.