The fourth Bernie Gunther novel ended with our German detective fleeing with Adolph Eichmann to Argentina somewhere around 1950. This fifth installment begins with his arrival in Argentina. He is drafted by the national police to find an abducted girl…though it gets a whole lot more complicated than that.
As always, Gunther (like Forest Gump) finds himself rubbing shoulders with famous historical people–in this case, Juan and Evita Peron, Joseph Mengele, and assorted Nazis who fled to Argentina after the war. A good chunk of the book involves flashbacks to 1932 Germany, where Gunther pursues a case very similar to one in Argentina.
Philip Kerr is an excellent writer, producing detective mysteries that are more literary than most. Kerr has written several more Gunther novels. One awaits on my bookshelf, and I’ll track down the others in due time.
