March Violets

By: Philip Kerr

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Hailed by Salman Rushdie as a “brilliantly innovative thriller-writer,” Philip Kerr is the creator of taut, gripping, noir-tinged mysteries set in Nazi-era Berlin that are nothing short of spellbinding. The first book of the Berlin Noir trilogy, March Violets introduces listeners to Bernie Gunther, an ex-policeman who thought he’d seen everything on the streets of 1930s Berlin - until he turned freelance and each case he tackled sucked him further into the grisly excesses of Nazi subculture. Hard-hitting, fast-paced, and richly detailed, March Violets is noir listening at its best and blackest.

“Echoes of Raymond Chandler but better on his vivid and well-researched detail than the master” (Evening Standard)

©2008 Philip Kerr (P)2008 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"The brutality and corruption of Nazi Germany serve as the backdrop for this impressive debut mystery novel. Scottish-born Kerr re-creates the period accurately and with verve; the novel reeks of the sordid decade that saw Hitler's rise to power." (Publishers Weekly)

"Echoes of Raymond Chandler, but better on his vivid and well-researched detail than the master." (Evening Standard, London)

Gritty. Graphic. Gripping

A gritty, noir thriller, and the first of what promises to be a gripping series. Bernie Gunther has left the police force and struck out on his own as a private investigator. What makes his work interesting is the time and place: Berlin, 1936 when the Nazis are in full power and preparing for the Summer Olympics. His services are more or less forcibly retained by a millionaire industrialist who has just lost his beloved daughter and her husband to a fire in their home. Both bodies are found in their bed, and the safe containing a priceless diamond necklace has been broken into. Was this a straightforward murder and burglary or is there more than first meets the eye? As Gunther investigates local jewelry vendors, he can't help but be horrified at how the Jews are being taken advantage of, with glaring anti-semitism at it's peak. Desperate to sell their valuables to get away from the repressive measures taken against them (most professions are banned to them, and everyone is quick to add "German" as a preface to their profession on their business cards to indicate they are of good Arian stock), they are forced to sell their belongings well below the market price. Trying to find out anything in this repressive system is bound to bring about all sorts of complications, and when Bernie's widowed secretary is too scared to return to work after being bullied by Nazi police officers, he's delighted to find a beautiful and single replacement for her in ex-journalist Ilse, but their romantic involvement is bound to render him that much more vulnerable. “March violets” was a term used for late-comers to the Nazi Party after the passage of Hitler's Enabling Act which rendered him a dictator on March 23, 1933. In May, the Nazi Party froze membership, and those with the lowest membership numbers were given preferential treatment, though everyone was eager to be seen as a Hitler supporter. Not so Bernie, who has Jewish clients and doesn't care for the views of a party he never chose to support, which is dangerous in and of itself because dissidents are daily being sent to concentration camps, where few are expected to survive the harsh conditions. I loved every bit of this private dick story set during a very dramatic period in history. Those who've enjoyed the more recent John Russell series by David Downing are bound to find this precursor highly satisfying. I'm very much looking forward to the next book!

Love the Genre, Overall Good, Story a little flat

I love books in the detective novel genre, and really enjoy stories written about the WWII era. This one takes place in pre-WWII Nazi Germany and introduces the protagonist Bernie Gunther as an Ex Cop, "Good Guy" detective.

Overall the story is a little flat and predictable, but the fictional tale around actual historical characters is interesting from a lot of angles. I like the author's writing style and his candid depiction of the real life brutality and violence that existed in 1936 Berlin, and I do look forward to continuing the series.

The narrator John Lee is one of the best in the business and is terrific in this one!

Overall Recommended, especially if you like the genre and stories about this era.

I love this author, subject and performer

What did you love best about March Violets?

It intertwines history and fiction, it's full of suspense and I love Bernie Gunther's character. He is gritty and sarcastic. I didn't like the ending too much and there is a lose end that does not get resolved. But these are minor bumps in an otherwise smooth narrative.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bernie Gunther is a cool cat.

Which character – as performed by John Lee – was your favorite?

Bernie, but I am amazed at John Lees spectrum of talent. He is great as every character, even females.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!!!!!

Any additional comments?

Just finished the next book in series, Pale Criminal. Even better than the the March of Violets.

Pulls you in and keeps you interested - Compelling

This is a new take on the detective story for me. The setting pre ww11 Germany - Berlin here. It is gritty and graphic but very compelling. The historical truisms you will recognize. It is dark - All the books are dark as they should be when dealing with Nazis. Bernie makes a change from my usual British detectives and John Lee the narrator is superb. I followed John Lee from Folletts books and look where he brought me into a whole new world of mystery.

One dose of Bernie Gunther and you're hooked.

And if you dig history, this one's steeped in deftly tossed in asides. I was just in Berlin and it was great to follow Bernie with a map through neighborhoods I had familiarity with now. Berlin is such a tinderbox of historical allusion and Kerr does a terrific job of mining those diamonds, "bells", for this series. And anything that John Lee reads goes from good to engrossing with those first gravely syllables.

Great historic plot and really well read.

Great historic plot and really well read. A study in the rise of Nazism in inter-war Germany. So applicable to today's US and the rise of White Nationalism. And yet, somehow the author made it funny and the reader delivered it with wry humour.

The past in more ways than one

Any additional comments?

The private eye in Hitler's Germany is a great idea, and in some ways it's executed well. I didn't find the dialog particularly convincing, though, and was put off by the book's attitude toward women.

Bit hard to follow and care until the second half

Any additional comments?

Mind wandered more than usual. I like Deighton and Ambler..Silva and LeCarre. This was simple character dev but hard to follow. Too many characters and was not sure who was who. Maybe the book was too short at 9hrs. Found it hard to care about and like John Lee reading Follett better. Maybe it just takes some getting used to as by the end, I thought I might try the second book. Love the era/genre.

Good Introduction to Berlin Noir

The first book in Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series is a solid introduction to Berlin Noir. This novel, set in Germany in 1936, gives a cold eye to the "March Violets" - ordinary Germans who have opportunistically jumped on the Nazi bandwagon after Hitler comes to power either to try to ensure their own survival or because they sense a chance to grab money and power. It's terrifying how timely this book feels in 2018. Note: graphic descriptions of sex and sexual violence.

Excellent from start to finish!

A beautifully presented detective novel. The characters became real and were cleverly guided thru the work by the author. For those of us fascinated by historical connections to an otherwise fascinating story listening to the extraordinary twists and turns of this book we were more than satisfied.

WGL