Bernie Gunther’s Last Hurrah

METROPOLIS by the late PHILIP KERR, the last adventure of Bernie Gunther from Quercus Publishing was published yesterday 4^th of April 2019, and coming in a couple of days to the US and Canada from PenguinRandomHouse North America

I have been savouring it, reading it slowly, for it is a beautiful crime novel, one with writing that is so thought-provoking it makes you gasp for breath. It is a rather Dark Narrative as it details Gunther’s start with the Police, at Berlin’s Murder Squad, in 1928. What appears as the serial murder of Prostitutes by a Madman, soon morphs into an investigation of the slaying of WW 1 veterans, beggars – but becomes something more, something troubling for Bernie Gunther.

It was written under tragic circumstances, so it required from me some respect.

I finished it last night, and had trouble sleeping for it is thought provoking, as well as hugely entertaining.

Bleary-eyed, I penned my review this morning >

The last of these remarkable historical crime thrillers is aptly set at the start of Bernie Gunther’s police career with Berlin’s Murder Squad, the Kriminalpolizei. It is an origin story, as well a mirror to be held up against the political turmoil of our own contemporary times.

Above all else, it is a melancholic narrative, a reflective work that provokes deep thought in the reader as only a piece of high art can; because Philip Kerr’s final novel is just that, narrative artistry.

Berlin 1928, the Nazi regime is gathering momentum and power in a desperate nation, one humbled by that great war, the one that Bernie Gunther survived where many died in the muddy trenches, and the clouds of gas that the infantry men had to traverse.

Gunther is living in a rooming house that he shares with an overbearing landlady and assorted misfits including an Englishman named Rankin. Gunther’s detective skills have been noticed by his superiors in the Berlin Police; and so, in consequence, he finds himself promoted from the Vice Squad, to the Murder Squad.

As ever, the narrative is peppered with observations and dialogue that could have been torn from the pages of Raymond Chandler, for Bernie Gunther shares the world-weary cynicism of Philip Marlowe. There is much wit within these pages, but that is matched by the oppressive darkness of the story.

Gunther is assigned to track down a serial killer who is hunting the scalps of prostitutes, many who are women trying to earn a little money just to survive, in an economically ravaged city.  High art rubs shoulder to shoulder with the unspeakable cruelties inflicted upon the peoples of this city. There is theatre, there is cinema, music hall as well as drinking, drug taking and sexual depravity that attracts people to its dark streets, and eponymously gives this novel its title. 

Read the Full Review from Shots Magazine HERE

It was launched on Monday 25^th March at Daunt Books on the Marylebone Rd, London by Philip Kerr’s Editor Jane Wood, his wife the novelist Jane Thynne and Howard Jacobson, with their welcome recoded HERE and embedded below

It was good to meet up with friends and colleagues Ayo Onatade, Mike Ripley, Barry Forshaw and Jake Kerridge, as well as writers Henry Porter, Abir Mukherjee (and his charming wife) as well as writer and political satirist Ian Hislop among the invited guests.

We present a few photos of the event.

More Information on these novels and Bernie Gunther >

https://berniegunther.com

If you’ve not read the Bernie Gunther novels by Philip Kerr, then this excellent link HERE acts as a primer

For many, these novels are extraordinary, the research, the characters, the backdrop(s), but most critically the writing in these thrillers is just so good, so thought provoking - these novels suck the air out of your lungs.

Though Philip Kerr wrote over 30 novels in his career, spanning many sub-genres, it will be the 14 novels that featured Bernie Gunther that he will be remembered for, his legacy as a novelist.

Miss this novel (and its 13 precursors) at your peril, for the work of Philip Kerr, and Bernie Gunther’s philosophical investigations sit at the top table of the crime fiction genre.

Shots Magazine would like to pass our thanks to Jane Wood and her colleagues at Quercus Publishing, the novelist Jane Thynne and Daunt Books for a most enjoyable if melancholic evening.

 Video and Photographs © 2019 A Karim

Olivia Kiernan on Strong Female Protagonists

I’m always slightly conflicted referring to my character, DCS Frankie Sheehan, as one who fits the trope of a ‘strong female character’. When I sat down to write Frankie, she presented as tough certainly and I knew she had resources of strength within her that I was surely lacking but ultimately I felt she reflected many of the traits I see in the women I know.

When I wrote my first novel, Too Close to Breathe, Ireland’s first female garda commissioner had just been appointed so it really wasn’t a reach, in any way, to give Frankie a high-ranking role within the gardaí and make her successful with it. The themes in Too Close to Breathecenter around power and control, our perception of victim and predator and what type of person fits those roles so, when writing Frankie, I wanted her to come at that case as both detective and woman but otherwise I sensed, rather than cynically devised, that she was resilient, respected, even if not always liked, in her role. She moved somewhat beyond the idea that her position, her approach or her behaviour might be unusual for a woman. Which of course it’s not. I worked as a chiropractor for years. It’s a physically demanding job but still I don’t recall a day I approached my work as a ‘female’. I approached it as I was trained and this is how I expect Frankie comes at her work. She’s a determined, skilled and dedicated detective who has her weakness, as all of us do.

When working a case, the investigation comes first, she is no more plagued with thoughts around domesticity than her male colleagues. And there are times when it could be said her commitment to work goes further than theirs, that when others fall back, she steps forward; always willing to see a case through to the bitter end, even if it means compromising some part of herself, be that her ethics or her safety. It’s one of the reasons she gets along so well with Baz (her partner), she recognizes some of the same desires in him. She is undoubtedly the toughest person on her team and I don’t mean this in the physical sense but in that she refuses to give up. If anything being a woman in the dark world she works gives her an extra edge, another lens to look through when it comes to understanding a case. She will experience (and does) sexism and judgments around her gender. There are characters who expect her to prove herself before they’ll take her seriously but Frankie is someone who steps over that. If another person wants to underestimate her ability because of her gender then more fool them, she’s certainly not going to deviate from her path because of their ignorance.

In The Killer In Mewe meet another strong female character in Commissioner Donna Hegarty. We soon see that gender doesn’t factor in Hegarty’s view either. There is no womanly kinship between her and Frankie in that way. There is, however, a silent reckoning going on when they first meet, an understanding that to get to where they are they’ve likely had to work harder than their male colleagues. With that feeling of professional respect they each recognize the threat in the other when it comes to getting what they want; Hegarty all about what she can achieve for herself, Frankie for the victims.

In the end, we all want to move away from some of the discourse around the ‘strong female protagonist’. Because it feels unfair that in order to be the hero the female character must possess traits that border on superhuman. That if you’ve written a ‘strong female character’ you’ve created some kind of mythical creature. I welcome the day when we can talk about our female characters as just ‘strong’ rather than speaking about that strength in relation to their gender or as if it was unusual. But I don’t think we’re quite there yet and in some ways we do need a way to announce them in fiction so for the moment I’d prefer to have Frankie stand out and be talked about as a ‘strong female character’ than not have the conversation at all.

 

We need to share stories where we can see women depicted in ways that showcase our strengths. Why do we love a strong female protagonist? Because they reflect the women we meet every day. I know several everyday heroes who happen to be female – why shouldn’t we see them in our novels.

The Killer in Me by Olivia Kiernan is published by Riverrun in hardback on 4th April, £18.99. This is the second instalment of the Dublin-set DCS Frankie Seehan series. 

Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan does not wish to linger on the grisly scene before her eyes. Two mutilated corpses. In a church. In Clontarf. Her profiling background screams one fact: this is just the beginning of a sickening message.  Meanwhile, a 17-year-old case is playing out on a TV documentary, the convicted professing his innocence and historical police errors being exposed daily in the media. Frankie's superior, commissioner Donna Hegarty, makes no bones about who she expects to clean things up - both in terms of past mishandlings and the present murders.  But not everyone working the cases wants the truth to come out. And the corridors of power have their own vested interest. Soon Frankie pinpoints just what is making her so nervous: the fact that anyone could be the next victim when justice is the killer.

More information about the author can be found on her website.  She can also be found on Twitter @LivKiernan

Killer Line up for 2019 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival unveiled its 2019 programme at an exclusive launch party at Browns Courtrooms in London (Wed April 3, 6.30pm).

Chair of the 2019 Programming Committee, Mari Hannah, unveiled a packed line-up for the world’s most celebrated crime writing festival, with authors ‘in conversation’, in action and in the bar.

Now in its 17th year, the festival takes place at Agatha Christie’s old haunt, The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate from 18 to 21 July.

Mari Hannah, award-winning author and festival reader-in-residence said: “The Theakston programming committee has a reputation for attracting the finest crime writers to the festival from around the world and we’ve done it again. The response to this year’s line-up has been incredible. I’m looking forward to welcoming readers in July.”

Special Guests are James Patterson, MC Beaton, Stuart MacBride, Jeffery Deaver, Belinda Bauer, Eva Dolan, Erin Kelly, Harlan Coben, Ian Rankin and Val McDermid, who will be in conversation with Scotland’s First Minister and bookworm, Nicola Sturgeon.

Jo Nesbo will also launch his much anticipated new Harry Hole thriller, Knife, at the festival. A special TV panel will feature Jed Mercurio, author of BBC smash-hit, The Bodyguard.

Simon Theakston, Executive Director of T&R Theakston and title sponsor, said: “Our celebration of the genre is no doubt the best in the world. 2019 is another remarkable line-up and it is a huge privilege to welcome one of the world’s biggest selling authors, James Patterson, a remarkable advocate for reading who has donated millions to reading initiatives in schools, colleges and libraries."

Serving up its usual helping of heated debate, panels will look at Irish fiction exploring borders and Brexit, the rise of Antipodean Noir, the on-going controversy of the role of gratuitous violence, and how crime fiction can put the spotlight on the big social issues of the day.

Up to 90 authors from around the world will take part. The diverse roll call includes

Australia’s hottest author Jane Harper, Jackson Lamb creator Mick Herron, Scotland’s supernova Denise Mina, and Alex North, the pseudonym behind The Whisper Man pitched as 2019’s biggest thriller.

The line-up includes Renee Knight, Stuart Neville, Stella Duffy, Brian McGilloway, Steve Cavanagh, Mark Billingham, Chris Brookmyre, AA Dhand, Joseph Knox, Robert Crais, Elly Griffiths, Sarah Hilary, Imran Mahmood, Martyn Waites and Jonathan Freedland aka Sam Bourne.

Val McDermid’s annual New Blood panel, one of the most anticipated events in publishing, features four hand-picked debuts from the Queen of Crime. 2019 picks are Gytha Lodge’s She Lies in Wait, Holly Watt’s with To the Lions, Chris Hammer’s Scrublands, and Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister the Serial Killer.

The opening night features the crime writing equivalent of The Oscars, with the 15th Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. Hosted by Mark Lawson, the Award is in association with sponsor T&R Theakston Ltd, retail partner WHSmith, and media partner, the Mail on Sunday. The ceremony will also honour a giant of the genre with the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award - previous recipients include PD James, Ruth Rendell, Lee Child and John Grisham.

The day-long writing workshop, Creative Thursday also returns. The festival, delivered by the north’s leading arts organisation Harrogate International Festivals, is one of the most important events in the crime publishing calendar. Agents, publishers, publicists, readers and authors attend from all over Europe and the world.

Famed for its no barriers approach, crime fiction fans, fledgling writers and established superstar authors mingle in the hotel bar, bookshop and Papakåta tents in the hotel grounds.  Tickets for all events go on sale 9 April.

The 2019 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival takes place at the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate 18-21 July. Box office: 01423 562 303, harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

Big News From Piccadilly Publishing

Private Eye Larry Kent started his life as the hero of a half-hour radio show on Australia’s Macquarie Network, and was inspired chiefly by the success of the hardboiled mysteries of Carter Brown. As the popularity of the radio show grew, the Cleveland Publishing Pty. Ltd decided to publish a series of Larry Kent novels. Two authors, Don Haring (an American who lived in Australia) and Des R Dunn (a Queenslander) are primarily associated with the series. Between 1954 and 1983, Larry appeared in well over 400 adventures.

Kent is a typical hard-boiled private eye. He smokes Camels, drinks whiskey and within the first dozen pages or so, has usually met a dame and is fighting for his life. His mean streets are pure New York (although the radio series was set in Australia) and include Harlem nightclubs and Jersey roadhouses.

Generally the body counts are high: about six deaths per novel.

But there’s another side to Larry Kent. He’s a Vietnam war veteran, he used to work for the CIA and still does, usually reluctantly, on occasion. And once, when an attempt was made on his life, the Agency paid for him to have plastic surgery that altered his appearance ... something he never quite managed to get used to.

Larry Kent is fast and fun, and Piccadilly Publishing is proud to be bringing his cases to a whole new generation of fans, complete with their original ‘good girl’ artwork.

The first FOUR books will be available on APRIL 4th!

A Thompson machine gun erupted its violence as soon as the door began to move. A guy stood in the opening, his big gun smoking in his hand. I took one shot and sent a shell into his stomach. The guy went back on his heels for two very deliberate paces, then folded onto his knees. His gun slipped out of his hands and came into the doorway.

There was another guy with my dying friend—a guy with the most surprised face in New York. He wore a hat over his eyes, but I could see a crooked nose and thin lips and a fat-jowled jaw.
I said, “Sleep tight, punk.”

I let him have it.

There’s something about me makes me ornery when guys pump lead into my doorway late at night.