Metropolis

Philip Kerr has written over thirty books of which the best-known are the internationally renowned and bestselling Bernie Gunther series. The sixth book in the series, If the Dead Rise Not, won the CWA Historical Dagger. His other works include several standalone thrillers, non-fiction and an acclaimed series for younger readers, The Children of the Lamp. Philip died in March 2018, days before the publication of his 13th Bernie Gunther thriller, Greeks Bearing Gifts. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature shortly before his death.

Meticulous research, the hallmark of Kerr's novels, is ever present as he shows the Weimar Republic weakening under the growing pressure of the Nazi party. Kerr and Gunther will be much missed - The TimesA fitting swan song for this intelligent and always thought-provoking series. At its heart is a melancholy irony. Chaotic and dangerous though the Weimar capital is, we know, as Bernie doesn't, that far worse if in store for Berlin - SpectatorMetropolis, the last book Kerr finished, returns his memorable antihero to his early days as a policeman in Weimar ... told in the unique voice that Kerr's admirers will happily recognize - Sunday TimesA gritty, graphic picture of a city on the edge of a nervous breakdown. But hard-as-knuckledusters Bernie, a truly great crime fiction character, goes out on a high - SunBernie Gunther - sly, subversive, sardonic and occasionally hilarious - is one of the greatest anti-heroes ever written, and as always he lights up this tough and unflinching novel. We're in good hands here - Lee ChildPhilip Kerr once more shows himself one of the greatest master storytellers in English. The narrative is swift and adept, and so well grounded in the history and custom of the period that the reader is totally immersed - Alan FurstOnce again Kerr leads us through the facts of history and the vagaries of human nature - Tom Hanks