MARCH VIOLETS

"March violets" is a derogatory term used by the Nazis to refer to those who converted "late." In this first of three novels written with wonderful historical detail about Berlin in the 1930s, called the Berlin Noir Triliogy, ex-policeman Bernie Gunther, who is reminiscent of a hard-boiled gumshoe, has to work hard not to reveal his disgust at what is being done to his Jewish friends. The murder and robbery he is hired to investigate seem like small potatoes against this backdrop of cultural meltdown. John Lee uses an edgy tone and changing timbre to capture the atmosphere of fear and excess that pervades this meticulous glimpse into a dark moment in time. D.G. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2008]