Metropolis by Philip Kerr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’ve been a fan of the Bernie Gunther series since I first picked up the Berlin Noir trilogy; I’ve read them all and enjoyed them. This one is one of the better ones in the series and sadly, with the death of Philip Kerr, it is the last one of the series.

This book is a prequel or sorts. It’s set in Berlin in 1928 towards the end of the five golden years of the Weimar Republic. Bernie Gunther has just been promoted to the Murder Commission and there is a serial killer on the loose. I really can’t say much more about the plot for fear of spoilers. But I will say that during the course of his investigation, we meet several people from the Weimar cultural scene, and we also learn more about Bernie’s service during the First World War.

The murder mystery is interesting, but for me the best part of the book was the atmosphere of Berlin in 1928 and seeing the young Bernie learning the ropes as a detective on the Murder Commission. I really enjoyed the book, and if you’ve liked any of the previous Bernie Gunther books, I’m sure you’ll like this one too.