Doug, Philip Kerr wrote three books with Bernie Gunther
March Violets (1989)
The Pale Criminal (1990)
A German Requiem (1991)
They're all pretty good, and offer a look at a rather unique
time and place
from a fresh angle. He's since written a few other books, all
mostly within
the crime/mystery genre, all rather challenging from what I
hear. They were
all well-received.
The Taste of Ashes is a classic, one of the all-time greats,
IMHO. I envy
you the opportunity to read it for the first time. But I'd
read the other
three in the series first , Halo in Blood, Halo for Satan and
Halo in Brass
(all by Browne but under the moniker of John Evans), to
really appreciate
it.
Ditto the Collins book-the changes in Dan Fortune as the
series progresses,
and the crystalization of his politics are worth the hassle
of tracking
down the books and reading them in order. Of course, if you
have a problem
with the politics, you probably won't get past the later
books. Dan tends
to get a mite preachy lately...
Mind you, if you're not into series, both Ashes and Freaks
are still good
reads, straight up.
Kevin Smith
Web Guy for The Thrilling Detective Web Site
For info, mailto:kvnsmith@total.net
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