“Berlin Noir (Crime, Penguin)” (Philip Kerr)
This is the best noir I have read in a while. The spin here is that the intrigue is easily set in 1939 Germany. Hitler, Goerring and Himmler rule and there is enough danger to go around without a former cop getting wrapped up in the the arson of a pair of lovers, stolen jewels and the murder of a gay assistant to a top Nazi along with the Jewish underground and communist anarchy suffering a slow, violent death. Without the violence of “Red Harvest” (Dashiell Hammett) or the over the top mannerisms of “The Long Goodbye” (Raymond Chandler) it still maintains every bit of the darkness that gives the genre its name. This is good stuff. Plus this book is a trio of novels, so it should last me a bit at the rate I’m reading. This is a good break from Leonard and Hiassen.
Just how big IS your meter?