| A German Requiem | |
|---|---|
The cover of the Penguin Books edition of the novel |
|
| Author(s) | Philip Kerr |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Berlin Noir |
| Genre(s) | Crime, Detective, Mystery novel |
| Publisher | Viking Press, London |
| Publication date | 1991 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback and Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-0670835164 |
| OCLC Number | 23903789 |
| Dewey Decimal | 823/.914 20 |
| LC Classification | PR6061.E784 G47 1991 |
| Preceded by | The Pale Criminal |
A German Requiem is a detective novel and the last in the Berlin Noir trilogy written by Philip Kerr.
After spending the latter part of the war in a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp, 1947 sees Bernhard Gunther now married to Kirsten, who seems to be trading sex with U.S. Army officers for scarce goods. Both Berlin and Vienna are overrun by the Russian Army, so Germans, former Nazis, Allied occupiers, and Gunther have the "Ivans" to contend with now. An old comrade from Gunther's days in Berlin, a dirty cop and smuggler named Becker, has been accused and jailed in Vienna for the killing of an American officer, and he offers Gunther big money to investigate the case and spring him. The case throws Gunther into the topsy-turvy world of former Nazis hired by the U.S. to spy on the Russians, but who of course have certain agendas of their own. His investigation also parallels the filming of The Third Man by a British film crew in the city, and what happens to him mirrors the plot of the film in subtle ways. There are almost more plot twists and betrayals than the reader can follow, leading to a shocking climax at a secluded vineyard estate with brutal Latvian guards, a wine press, and other figures from Bernie's past.