March Violets
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| March Violets | |
 The cover of the Penguin Books edition of the novel |
|
| Author | Philip Kerr |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Berlin Noir |
| Genre(s) | Crime, Detective, Mystery novel |
| Publisher | Viking Press, London |
| Publication date | 1989 |
| Media type | print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 466 pp (Hardback edition) |
| ISBN | 978-0670824311 |
| Followed by | The Pale Criminal |
March Violets is a detective novel and the first written by Philip Kerr. Set in Berlin during the Olympics of 1936, the major themes of the novel include the every-day violence and anti-Semitism of the regime and the inability or unwillingness of ordinary Germans to act in the face of the coming war.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
Living in Berlin during 1936, the third year of the Third Reich, Bernhard (Bernie) Gunther is a former police officer turned private eye. Many of Gunther's cases involve missing persons, but when a rich industrialist, Hermann Six, asks him to investigate the death of his daughter and son-in-law, Gunther sees the chance to make a good deal of money. Six also wants Gunther to retrieve a diamond necklace that disappeared from the couple's bedroom safe. Unfortunately, the son-in-law is a lawyer in the SS working directly for Heinrich Himmler investigating corruption, and no-one is very keen to help Gunther's investigation. With the Gestapo leaning on him, and more bodies turn up, and the trail eventually leads through Reinhard Heydrich and into Dachau concentration camp.
The title of the novel refers to a common expression in Germany at the time for individuals who joined the Nazi Party after their seizure of power, many of whom seemed to appear from nowhere like violets in the springtime.
[edit] Characters in "March Violets"
- Bernhard Gunther
- Von Greis
- Hermann Six
- Red Dieter
- Paul Pfarr
- Ilse Rudel
- Marlene Sahm
- Herr Haupthändler
- Inge Lorenz
- Frau Protze
- Bruno Stahlecker
- Reinhard Heydrich
[edit] References to actual history, geography and current science
[edit] Publication history
- 1989, London, United Kingdom, Viking Press, ISBN 9780670824311, Hardback
