The Bernie Gunther books are an interesting beast in that mainstream critics love them but mystery fans, from what I've seen anyway, don't really give them much thought. The first book (March Violets) is admittedly pretty mid but after that each book is a banger.
It follows Bernhard "Bernie" Gunther, a German detective trying to hold on to his humanity during Hiter's time in power. It spans, in anachronic order, from 1928 to 1957 and shows the fall of the Weimar Republic, the Holocaust, WW2, the Cold War, all from his pov.
I'm an american and with the way my country is currently going, I'm finding them weirdly comforting. Like, if he can be in a bad place, at a bad time, surrounded by bad people, but still be a good person himself and find ways to do the right thing, maybe I can too.
They're not perfect. The books not being in chronological order means that major events in Bernie's life go conviently unmentioned until they're plot relevent to almost the point of absurdity, and the way women are written can be a bit tastless at times, but I really enjoy them despite their flaws.
Tom Hanks is making a show on AppleTV+ and I hope it's a worthy adaptation.
Any other Bernie fans?
by insane677