Prussian Blue

By: Philip Kerr

Narrated by: John Lee

When his cover is blown, former Berlin bull and unwilling SS officer Bernie Gunther must re-enter a cat-and-mouse game that continues to shadow his life a decade after Germany’s defeat in World War 2...

The French Riviera, 1956: Bernie’s old and dangerous adversary Erich Mielke, deputy head of the East German Stasi, has turned up in Nice—and he’s not on holiday. Mielke is calling in a debt and wants Bernie to travel to London to poison a female agent they’ve both had dealings with. But Bernie isn't keen on assassinating anyone. In an attempt to dodge his Stasi handler—former Kripo comrade Friedrich Korsch—Bernie bolts for the German border. Traveling by night and hiding by day, he has plenty of time to recall the last case he and Korsch worked together...

Obersalzberg, Germany, 1939: A low-level bureaucrat has been found dead at Hitler’s mountaintop retreat in Bavaria. Bernie and Korsch have one week to find the killer before the leader of the Third Reich arrives to celebrate his fiftieth birthday. Bernie knows it would mean disaster if Hitler discovers a shocking murder has been committed on the terrace of his own home. But Obersalzberg is also home to an elite Nazi community, meaning an even bigger disaster for Bernie if his investigation takes aim at one of the party’s higher-ups...

1939 and 1956: two different eras about to converge in an explosion Bernie Gunther will never forget.

Critic reviews

Praise for Prussian Blue

“[B]risk and agile...Gunther is one of crime fiction’s most gratifyingly melancholy creations, and in Prussian Blue we watch him match wits with the officialdom of two Germanys, pre- and postwar.”—The Washington Post

“Bernie Gunther—sly, subversive, sardonic, and occasionally hilarious—is one of the greatest anti-heroes ever written, and as always he lights up this tough and unflinching novel. We're in good hands here.”—Lee Child

“Once again Kerr leads us through the facts of history and the vagaries of human nature. His Bernie Gunther thinks he’s seen it all. But he hasn’t, and luckily, neither have we.”—Tom Hanks

“In Prussian Blue, Philip Kerr once more shows himself one of the greatest master story-tellers in English. The narrative is swift and adept, and so well-grounded in the history and custom of the period that the reader is totally immersed.”—Alan Furst

“Kerr once again brilliantly uses a whodunit to bring to horrifying life the Nazi regime’s corruption and brutality.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“In this skillfully plotted thriller, Kerr punctures the present with the painful past. Fans of the series won’t be disappointed.”—Library Journal

More Praise for Philip Kerr and the Bernie Gunther Novels

“A brilliantly innovative thriller writer.”—Salman Rushdie

“Philip Kerr is the only bona fide heir to Raymond Chandler.”—Salon.com

“In terms of narrative, plot, pace and characterization, Kerr’s in a league with John le Carré.”—The Washington Post

“Every time we’re afraid we’ve seen the last of Bernie Gunther, Philip Kerr comes through with another unnerving adventure for his morally conflicted hero.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“Just as youth is wasted on the young, history is wasted on historians. It ought to be the exclusive property of novelists—but only if they are as clever and knowledgeable as Philip Kerr.”—Chicago Tribune

“Kerr quantum leaps the limitations of genre fiction. Most thrillers insult your intelligence; his assault your ignorance.”—Esquire

“A richly satisfying mystery, one that evokes the noir sensibilities of Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald while breaking important new ground of its own.”—Los Angeles Times

“Part of the allure of these novels is that Bernie is such an interesting creation, a Chandleresque knight errant caught in insane historical surroundings. Bernie walks down streets so mean that nobody can stay alive and remain truly clean.”—John Powers, Fresh Air (NPR)

Prussian Blue Does Not Disappoint

This recent Bernie Gunther novel surpasses expectation. Philip Kerr has reset the Gold Standard in the genre. John is equal to the task and then some

Bernie in the Brambles

More great adventures of Bernie the sarcastically cynical broken hero... Fascinating snapshot of a historical context, and delightful weaving of historical characters into the fabulous fiction... These books don't have to be read in order, you can appreciate the uniqueness of Bernie regardless of which book you pick up first... Murder, conspiracy, Nazis, Commies, twists and turns, and the inevitable near death experiences Bernie always finds himself somehow enduring and surviving... Witty and depressing simultaneously that's Bernie the Bull... Flows smoothly w/ the historical back and forth, and the narration is excellent... Fair warning, there is no such thing as a happy ending in a Bernie Gunther story, only varying degrees of survival...

He just got better every book

I enjoyed the story line the most of any of his books, he got better as he went along.

Parallel Histories

The trio of author, protagonist and narrator bring 2 completely separate plots together seamlessly as Bernie, again, miraculously survives certain death so that we can observe not just history, but it's aftermath. The author's ability to make Bernie almost superhuman, in a believable way, helps us to glimpse how one righteous man might make a difference in a world where man's inhumanity to man is front page news, when the righteous go unnoticed. But they do go on...creating some light in the darkness.

Great mix of Bernie, history and detection

Pre and post-war stories intertwined with the best of Me. Kerr's skill in a hard to put down novel.