Philip Kerr: Quiet Flame (2008, Quercus Publishing, Brand: Quercus)
paperback, 368 pages
Published April 18, 2008 by Quercus Publishing, Brand: Quercus.
I had no idea that so many 'negative things' were exported from Nazi Germany into the Peron regime of Argentina. Very tragic. The tale was typical Philip Kerr, both interesting and disturbing.
Perhaps the weakest Bernie Gunther mystery to date. The flashback style felt especially forced, for some reason. A few good lines, but once again, the web that ensnares Bernie just seems far too convoluted. Maybe I'm just not subtle enough, but the long range goal seems so unlikely in hindsight that it bugs me.
In this one, Bernie has just got off the boat in Argentina, where he was bound at the end of the previous book. He meets the Perons, both Evita and Juan, gets involved in counter spying on other Germans and, most especially, other ex-SS agents. He also gets tangled up with more Jewish refugees, including romantically. There are a few close calls, and the main disappearance mystery is solved in the end.
Speaking of the main mystery's solution, I hated it. It was both vastly unlikely as well as far too neat. Usually there are many …
Perhaps the weakest Bernie Gunther mystery to date. The flashback style felt especially forced, for some reason. A few good lines, but once again, the web that ensnares Bernie just seems far too convoluted. Maybe I'm just not subtle enough, but the long range goal seems so unlikely in hindsight that it bugs me.
In this one, Bernie has just got off the boat in Argentina, where he was bound at the end of the previous book. He meets the Perons, both Evita and Juan, gets involved in counter spying on other Germans and, most especially, other ex-SS agents. He also gets tangled up with more Jewish refugees, including romantically. There are a few close calls, and the main disappearance mystery is solved in the end.
Speaking of the main mystery's solution, I hated it. It was both vastly unlikely as well as far too neat. Usually there are many strands in a Bernie Gunther book, and while there were several here too, they got all tied up in a manner that made me think Kerr just got tired of writing.
There was also far too much anti-Nazi speechifying. Yes, we all know how horrific it was, and must have been. And we know Bernie wasn't a Nazi, but man, he got strident about it. Maybe Kerr was trying to draw some modern parallels, but I prefer my private eyes to be more cynical and less strident.
The ending seems to have left open the possibility of more, but much like [a:Lee Child|5091|Lee Child|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205263586p2/5091.jpg]'s Reacher series, it all seems worn out by now. I hope Mr. Kerr stretches out again.
