Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr

The first three Bernie Gunther detective stories in one volume. I just finished the last one: A German Requiem. I don't quite know what to make of it. Too much stuff crammed into too small a box. We have Bernie being a smart mouth tough guy insulting people who you wouldn't think he should be insulting. We have post WWII Vienna under the control of the four powers (Britain, France, US & Russia), just like Berlin and Germany. The Berlin airlift starts while Bernie is in Vienna. We have intelligence agencies vying with the war crimes commission trying to get a hold of former Nazi's. In the one case to enlist their aid either for or against Russia or the Western allies, depending on who you are. In the other to arrest, try, convict and execute them. Lot's of people running around with guns with secret agendas and secret loyalties. It gets a little confused. But then we have two denouements where a couple of players explain to Bernie just what's going on. As if they would know, and as if they would explain it if they did. Wraps it all up in a neat-ish package, except that it leaves a lot of loose ends in the form of ex-Nazis disappearing.

And then there's the infamous getting-clobbered-from-behind-by-the-guy-he-didn't-know-was-there scene. I'm used to seeing it on TV, and I'm really tired of it. There are situations where it can happen, but when someone is on guard and has any sense, it doesn't. You might have a fight, or you might be struck down by a powerful blow, but you are not going to be taken unawares unless there are special circumstances. Anyway, that's the way I imagine it. It's never happened to me, so I don't really know. I could be all wet.