A review by varunob
A Quiet Flame by Philip Kerr

3.0

Like the third book in the series, TOftO is also set in post-war Germany and is a gripping adventure through Southern Germany and Austria. Shedding the slightly heavier going-through-the-motions style that defined Berlin Noir, Kerr adopts a more thriller-like approach with this one, throwing into the mix the likes of Adolf Eichmann and Jewish hit squads that went after the Nazis at the end of the war. Then there is the hypocritical Allied stance of taking in and sheltering those Nazis whose work they felt would benefit their own selfish interests. While the book is devoid of the mood and detail that made Berlin Noir so very good, the suspense is built up better and the pacing seems more precise. Kerr also delves into Gunther’s domestic life, a tragedy if there ever was one, and puts his hero through the paces and the rigmarole of a heavily-altered existence, pushing the character to the brink in many ways.

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