telstarbox
Established Member
I'm sure some of us are getting through the lockdown with some good books. What is your current reading matter and is it any good?
I'm (slowly) reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, having seen a couple of TV adaptations.
Hi 'Tel', I was pleased to see you started it. But how did you get on?I've started on An Inspector Recalls by former BTP officer Graham Satchwell (who I believe is on the forum). Very interesting and atmospheric so far!
The Bernie Gunther novels by Phillip Kerr are superb.
It is all of these things. Bernie Gunther is a detective in the murder squad in Berlin in the 1930's. The novels cover aspects of his life and the author interweaves a current story with some aspect of his past. In simple terms the early novels cover Berlin in the 1930's and the late 40's. Later ones cover his escape to Argentina, then Cuba before being forced to work for the American CIA and latterly the Stasi. I won't say too much because that would spoil Kerr's excellent story telling. You learn a bit more about Bernie's life in each novel. Sadly he died in 2019 and the last novel (can't remember the title) was about his very early days as a detective. We will never find out what happened to him after the late 50's. You can start with any novel but they are probably best read in order. My favourite is 'Field Grey' for what its worth.I'm confused -- please, is this the series of mystery / spy / political ugly stuff novels: where the main character is a police detective in Nazi Germany; and his doings and predicaments there and then, and subsequently in sundry places post-war -- or those with a Cold War setting, whose main character is an agent for the West, inside East Germany?