Metropolis: A Bernie Gunther Novel

by Philip Kerr Narrated by John Lee

Overview

New York Times best-selling author Philip Kerr treats listeners to his beloved hero's origins, exploring Bernie Gunther's first weeks on Berlin's Murder Squad.

Summer, 1928. Berlin, a city where nothing is verboten.

In the night streets, political gangs wander, looking for fights. Daylight reveals a beleaguered populace barely recovering from the postwar inflation, often jobless, reeling from the reparations imposed by the victors. At central police HQ, the Murder Commission has its hands full. A killer is on the loose, and though he scatters many clues, each is a dead end. It's almost as if he is taunting the cops. Meanwhile, the press is having a field day.

This is what Bernie Gunther finds on his first day with the Murder Commisson. He's been taken on because the people at the top have noticed him — they think he has the makings of a first-rate detective. But not just yet. Right now, he has to listen and learn.

Metropolis, completed just before Philip Kerr's untimely death, is the capstone of a 14-book journey through the life of Kerr's signature character, Bernhard Genther, a sardonic and wisecracking homicide detective caught up in an increasingly Nazified Berlin police department. In many ways, it is Bernie's origin story and, as Kerr's last novel, it is also, alas, his end.

Metropolis is also a tour of a city in chaos: of its seedy sideshows and sex clubs, of the underground gangs that run its rackets, and its bewildered citizens — the lost, the homeless, the abandoned. It is Berlin as it edges toward the new world order that Hitler will soon usher in. And Bernie? He's a quick study, and he's learning a lot. Including, to his chagrin, that when push comes to shove, he isn't much better than the gangsters in doing whatever he must to get what he wants.

Editorial Reviews

MAY 2019 - AudioFile

Narrator John Lee presents the iconic Bernie Gunther in a compelling origin story. At the beginning of his tenure on the Murder Commission, Gunther is focused on pursuing a serial killer who is targeting disabled war veterans. To uncover the killer, Gunther agrees to follow his boss's revolutionary idea of going undercover. Lee imbues the entire production with gravitas and grit, lending the story a haunting literary tone. Characters speak with vivacity and depth, a testament to both the writing and the narration. Lee perfectly captures Gunter's sarcastic voice with a hint of youthful vibrancy. Despite this being both a prequel and the final book in the series, new listeners can easily follow. The entire production feels grander than one voice, with Lee elevating the story to a captivating listen. J.M.M. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

MAY 2019 - AudioFile

Narrator John Lee presents the iconic Bernie Gunther in a compelling origin story. At the beginning of his tenure on the Murder Commission, Gunther is focused on pursuing a serial killer who is targeting disabled war veterans. To uncover the killer, Gunther agrees to follow his boss's revolutionary idea of going undercover. Lee imbues the entire production with gravitas and grit, lending the story a haunting literary tone. Characters speak with vivacity and depth, a testament to both the writing and the narration. Lee perfectly captures Gunter's sarcastic voice with a hint of youthful vibrancy. Despite this being both a prequel and the final book in the series, new listeners can easily follow. The entire production feels grander than one voice, with Lee elevating the story to a captivating listen. J.M.M. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169211900
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	04/09/2019
Series:	Bernie Gunther Series , #14
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	525,619

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