The Lady From Zagreb by Philip Kerr

Philip Kerr was such a giant of crime fiction, his protagonist Bernie Gunther such a celebrated character, that it is with some shame that I make this confession: until now, I had never read a Bernie Gunther novel, or any work by Philip Kerr for that matter. I’m not a massive historical fiction reader, generally preferring work set in a contemporary setting; that said, I do love history and have read many non-fiction accounts of the Second World War, and with the Bernie Gunther series set in this period, and winning such consistent plaudits, really I have little excuse. 

The Gunther series starts in the pre-war period, the first book, March Violets, set in 1936. The final and thirteenth book in the series, published just after Philip Kerr tragically passed away, is titled Greeks Bearing Gifts, and is set in Munich in 1956. It is important to note however that the books are not strictly in chronological order and there is some jumping around of timelines, both within individual titles, and within the series as a whole. That said, this is a remarkable series that straddles the whole turbulent period, pre-war to post-war, and thus has it’s backdrop arguably in the most turbulent events of recent history.

The Lady From Zagreb is the tenth book in the series and is set in 1942. Bernie is now working for the NAZI regime - not by any real choice or affection for them, I hasten to add, in fact quite the reverse - and is taking orders from Goebbels himself.  Goebbels wants him to persuade Dalia Dresner, a rising star of German cinema, to star in a movie. She’s resisting, in part because Goebbels has fallen in love with her and she guesses he has ulterior motives. Unfortunately for Bernie, he finds Dalia’s charms equally irresistible and soon he’s in bed with her. This is obviously extremely dangerous for him: if Goebbels discovers their tryst, Bernie’s likely to end up dead, or worse. A ruse Dalia is using to not work for Goebbels is that her father is missing. Goebbels thus orders Bernie to travel to Yugoslavia to find him. 

It is on arrival in Yugoslavia where this novel takes a decidedly dark turn. Philip Kerr was known for his meticulous research, indeed some have said that readers can learn the history of the period from reading his series, for although fiction, they are very firmly based in fact. The Yugoslavia section of this novel deals in horrifying detail with the brutality of the war there, a vicious conflict within a conflict that sowed the seeds that would sprout into the ethnic cleansing of the 1990’s. Like the conflicts of the 90’s, the Second World War in Yugoslavia was characterised by ethnic strife where Croats and Serbs butchered each other with abandon. There was genocide,  industrial slaughter, and concentration camps to rival anything the Nazi’s carried out elsewhere.

The Lady From Zagreb is at times a difficult book to read, Kerr doesn’t hold back on the sheer horror his hero, Bernie Gunther, encounters in Yugoslavia. nor should he of course and the book in that sense is educational, bringing a little known theatre of the war to a wider readership’s attention. This is also a difficult book to read plotwise. As well as the main thread I’ve outlined in this review, there are innumerable other threads and storylines weaving their way through this novel and sometimes it can all get a  little convoluted. That said, Kerr is such a gifted writer that the reader never loses their grasp of what’s going on, though you will need to concentrate. 

It’s not all doom and gloom and one thing Kerr does to lighten the load is gift Gunther with a repertoire of sharp, observational wise cracks. These can be quite witty and certainly help you warm to the character. In Bernie Gunther, Philip Kerr has basically given us Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlow in the Second World War. This is a crude and not entirely accurate analogy and in my opinion Gunther is a more nuanced and complex character, but the two certainly share stark characteristics - witty repertoire, bachelors who engage in unwise and torrid affairs - etc. 

If you like historical fiction, if you like complex and labyrinthine plots, if you like old school pulp private eyes, then The Lady From Zagreb is well worth a read. While the tenth book in the series, as mentioned the books are not set in strict chronological order and are self-contained; certainly, having not read one of these titles before, I found no difficulty in submerging myself in this novel. All in all this this is a great read and highly recommended, though at some points you will need a strong stomach, and you certainly need to pay attention to all the twists and turns.

4 out of 5 stars