Prussian Blue

By: Philip Kerr

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

From New York Times best-selling author Philip Kerr, the much-anticipated return of Bernie Gunther, our compromised former Berlin bull and unwilling SS officer. With his cover blown, he is waiting for the next move in the cat-and-mouse game that, even a decade after Germany's defeat, continues to shadow his life.

The French Riviera, 1956: The invitation to dinner was not unexpected, though neither was it welcome. Erich Mielke, deputy head of the East German Stasi, has turned up in Nice, and he's not on holiday. An old and dangerous adversary, Mielke is calling in a debt. He intends that Bernie go to London and, with the vial of Thallium he now pushes across the table, poison a female agent they both have had dealings with.

But chance intervenes in the form of Friedrich Korsch, an old Kripo comrade now working for Stasi and probably there to make sure Bernie gets the job done. Bernie bolts for the German border. Traveling by night, holed up during the day, Bernie has plenty of downtime to recall the last time Korsch and he worked together.

The summer of 1939: At Hitler's mountaintop retreat in Obersalzberg, the body of a low-level bureaucrat has been found murdered. Bernie and Korsch are selected to run the case. They have one week to solve the murder - Hitler is due back then to celebrate his 50th birthday. Lucky Bernie: It's his reward for being Kripo's best homicide detective. He knows what a box he's in - millions have been spent to secure Obersalzberg. It would be a disaster if Hitler were to discover a shocking murder had been committed on the terrace of his own home. But the mountaintop is home to an elite Nazi community. It would be an even bigger disaster for Bernie if one of them was the murderer.

Two different eras: 1939 and 1956, 17 years apart. And yet not really apart, as the stunning climax will show when the two converge explosively.

©2017 Philip Kerr (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"[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)

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.

Bernie Gunther Scores Again

Philip Kerr successfully intertwines two narrative streams from 1939 and 1956 to please this fan.

Philip Kerr a his very best!

I have loved the Bernie Gunter series, but Prussian Blue stands heads and shoulders over the rest. It is actually two carefully interwoven novels in one. John Lee always handles the narration deftly, but Prussian Blue challenges him with twice the list of characters, separate moods and swings--whole different colors actually. He nevertheless renders the subtle changes beautifully and helps to raise this work to one of the best in its genre.

Fantastic author, best narrator.

A thoroughly exciting return to action by the German police commissar Bernie Guenther. It's got Nazis, Stasi, murders, brothers who hate each other, as well as the best narrator working today, John Lee.

Another great book by Philip Kerr

What did you love best about Prussian Blue?

Excellent story filled with interesting characters and all kinds of twists and turns. Philp Kerr books read by John Lee are always a must listen.

Vote Bernie

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have read nearly all of Kerr's Bernie Gunther series. Of course, the early ones, as in Berlin Noir, are classics. Later ones were always pleasurable, although sometimes felt like Kerr was phoning it in. But this returns to complex Nazi roots, with amazing historical detail, fascinating ethical questions, and hard-boiled noir fun.

Prussian Blue: one of the better recent volumes

One of the better novels by Kerr. The Berlin Noir set are still my favorites but this one too extended my enjoyment of Bernie Gunther.

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.