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Gereon Rath #3
Goldstein: A Gereon Rath Mystery
Volker Kutscher, author of the international bestseller Babylon Berlin, continues his Gereon Rath Mystery series with Goldstein as a police inspector investigates the crime and corruption of a decadent 1930s Berlin in the shadows the growing Nazi movement.
Berlin, 1931. A power struggle is taking place in Berlin's underworld. The American gangster Abraham Goldstein is in residence at the Hotel Excelsior. As a favour to the FBI, the police put him under surveillance with Detective Gereon Rath on the job. As Rath grows bored and takes on a private case for his seedy pal Johann Marlow, he soon finds himself in the middle of a Berlin street war. Meanwhile Rath's on-off girlfriend, Charly, lets a young woman she is interrogating escape, and soon her investigations cross Rath's from the other side. Berlin is a divided city where two worlds are about to collide: the world of the American gangster and the expanding world of Nazism.
Berlin, 1931. A power struggle is taking place in Berlin's underworld. The American gangster Abraham Goldstein is in residence at the Hotel Excelsior. As a favour to the FBI, the police put him under surveillance with Detective Gereon Rath on the job. As Rath grows bored and takes on a private case for his seedy pal Johann Marlow, he soon finds himself in the middle of a Berlin street war. Meanwhile Rath's on-off girlfriend, Charly, lets a young woman she is interrogating escape, and soon her investigations cross Rath's from the other side. Berlin is a divided city where two worlds are about to collide: the world of the American gangster and the expanding world of Nazism.
496 pages, Paperback
First published October 5, 2010
About the author
Volker Kutscher
22 books560 followersVolker Kutscher ist ein deutscher Schriftsteller. 1995 veröffentlichte er mit Bullenmord seinen ersten Kriminalroman im Kölner Verlag Emons. 2008 erschien unter dem Titel Der nasse Fisch der erste Band einer auf mehrere Bände angelegten Reihe von historischen Kriminalromanen um die literarische Figur des Kölner Kommissars Gereon Rath, die im Berlin der späten Weimarer Republik und des Nationalsozialismus spielen. Die bis 2019 erschienenen ersten 7 Bände spielen in den Jahren 1929 bis 1935.
Volker Kutscher lebt in Köln.
Volker Kutscher lebt in Köln.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 189 reviews
December 6, 2020
”Berlin was a crazy city and it was getting crazier and crazier.”
It is 1931, and clashes between communists and fascists are almost becoming routine. Jews are starting to get the first taste of what the future will be, and law students are showing up to class espousing the fanatical views of the Nazi party. Against all this turmoil, Charlotte Ritter is trying to find a young girl who witnessed the murder of her friend by police. Gereon Rath is trying to figure out why people with mobster connections keep ending up in the canals. ”He didn’t realize until he saw the eyes staring back at him out of a face so pale and swollen it no longer looked human. But human it was, the skin waxy and green with algae, hair swaying like seaweed. There was a deep, and bloodless--and therefore all the more hideous--wound on the man’s face, which exposed half his teeth and made it look as though he were snarling. He was staring at a corpse.”
Investigating would be easier if he wasn’t, as it turns out ineptly, being forced to keep tabs on the American gangster Abraham Goldstein. Goldstein is as slippery as a greased pig. Back in the states, he learned some skills slipping away from G-men, and he soon has Gereon scrambling to keep up with his movements. The assumption is that Goldstein is up to no good, but his true purpose for being in Berlin remains a mystery. I really enjoy this character. He is a Jew unlike any Jew the fascists have encountered before. There is this scene where he comes upon four Nazis beating up an old Jew, and let’s just say the brownshirt bastards don’t do as well against an American mobster as they do against the nearly helpless people they are used to harassing.
Gereon and Charlotte are also trying to figure out their own relationship. They are crazy about each other, but often work at cross purposes. She is trying to establish a career for herself, a difficult task in 1930s Germany for a woman, and Gereon is often trying to figure out how he works into her future plans. Gereon is also caught between his own mob connections and his job as a police officer. He tries to use both forces to help solve his murder cases without compromising his own integrity. As Gereon and Charlotte pursue their investigations, it soon becomes apparent that their cases intersect, and as always, when they are at their best is when they are working together. I’d love to see them both leave their career paths and open their own private investigation firm.
I was first introduced to the works of Volker Kutscher when I watched the simply amazing TV show on Netflix called Babylon Berlin, which is based on the Kutscher novels. I then learned that Sandstone Press in the Highlands, the furthest North publisher in Britain, had decided to translate the books into English. There are five books out in the series, of which this is the third one. The covers are elegant, noir beauties, and they all match, making a very pleasing grouping on my shelves.
I absolutely adore the way the German actress Liv Lisa Fries plays Charlotte Ritter in the TV series. In fact, I prefer the Charlotte in the TV series to the one in the book, though I will say that in this book Charlotte shows more of the characteristics that I like about the Fries version. I’m hoping I continue to see a fine evolution of her character with each book.
I would suggest watching the three seasons of Babylon Berlin on Netflix first and then, if you want more Gereon and Charlotte, start tracking down the books. I enjoy both, but the TV series does such a wonderful job conveying the grit, the deviances, and the radical politics that turned Berlin in the 1930s into a cauldron of crazy.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
It is 1931, and clashes between communists and fascists are almost becoming routine. Jews are starting to get the first taste of what the future will be, and law students are showing up to class espousing the fanatical views of the Nazi party. Against all this turmoil, Charlotte Ritter is trying to find a young girl who witnessed the murder of her friend by police. Gereon Rath is trying to figure out why people with mobster connections keep ending up in the canals. ”He didn’t realize until he saw the eyes staring back at him out of a face so pale and swollen it no longer looked human. But human it was, the skin waxy and green with algae, hair swaying like seaweed. There was a deep, and bloodless--and therefore all the more hideous--wound on the man’s face, which exposed half his teeth and made it look as though he were snarling. He was staring at a corpse.”
Investigating would be easier if he wasn’t, as it turns out ineptly, being forced to keep tabs on the American gangster Abraham Goldstein. Goldstein is as slippery as a greased pig. Back in the states, he learned some skills slipping away from G-men, and he soon has Gereon scrambling to keep up with his movements. The assumption is that Goldstein is up to no good, but his true purpose for being in Berlin remains a mystery. I really enjoy this character. He is a Jew unlike any Jew the fascists have encountered before. There is this scene where he comes upon four Nazis beating up an old Jew, and let’s just say the brownshirt bastards don’t do as well against an American mobster as they do against the nearly helpless people they are used to harassing.
Gereon and Charlotte are also trying to figure out their own relationship. They are crazy about each other, but often work at cross purposes. She is trying to establish a career for herself, a difficult task in 1930s Germany for a woman, and Gereon is often trying to figure out how he works into her future plans. Gereon is also caught between his own mob connections and his job as a police officer. He tries to use both forces to help solve his murder cases without compromising his own integrity. As Gereon and Charlotte pursue their investigations, it soon becomes apparent that their cases intersect, and as always, when they are at their best is when they are working together. I’d love to see them both leave their career paths and open their own private investigation firm.
I was first introduced to the works of Volker Kutscher when I watched the simply amazing TV show on Netflix called Babylon Berlin, which is based on the Kutscher novels. I then learned that Sandstone Press in the Highlands, the furthest North publisher in Britain, had decided to translate the books into English. There are five books out in the series, of which this is the third one. The covers are elegant, noir beauties, and they all match, making a very pleasing grouping on my shelves.
I absolutely adore the way the German actress Liv Lisa Fries plays Charlotte Ritter in the TV series. In fact, I prefer the Charlotte in the TV series to the one in the book, though I will say that in this book Charlotte shows more of the characteristics that I like about the Fries version. I’m hoping I continue to see a fine evolution of her character with each book.
I would suggest watching the three seasons of Babylon Berlin on Netflix first and then, if you want more Gereon and Charlotte, start tracking down the books. I enjoy both, but the TV series does such a wonderful job conveying the grit, the deviances, and the radical politics that turned Berlin in the 1930s into a cauldron of crazy.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
February 16, 2019
Berlin, 1931
Darkness is starting to fall, and plans of inaction which once seemed acceptable have allowed elements to fester. These are not the halcyon days of summer.
"Believing in something other than the Great Big Nothing, they aroused his envy and scorn in equal measure. He scorned them for their naivety; he envied them their faith."
Oh, Rath I see more of myself in you the more I read.
"You should never talk about love, simply live it."
The failing economy and the scores of unemployed youths have created the perfect breeding ground for instability. The redshirts and the brownshirts clashes in the streets have intensified. The press are looking for the most polemic stories to sell more papers. The police monitor the tension as the gangs of communist and SA youths battle, trying to keep order, and hoping they keep their aggressions confined and collateral damage minimal. After all, if the redshirts and brownshirts only kill each other then it's not too bad.
But, they're not the only ones with ideas.
Rath, having ruffled feathers again, is saddled with babysitting a visitor to Berlin, the notorious Jewish gangster--Abraham Goldstein. Their cat and mouse game uncovers a disturbing incident, another, and then another. When Charlotte Ritter's investigative work collides with Rath's it sows doubt. It breeds in silence, and Charly, feeling further confined by recent events, makes several choices.
Goldstein's character is beautifully nuanced and you see the friction between old world and new world. With the rising unrest, anti-semitism is increasing, and Goldstein is a flawed hero. His motivation and actions are understandable, if not legal.
This installment moves faster than the previous two, I suspect in no small part to that fact that a good deal of background has been laid and less time is required for exposition and it is used for dramatic intents. Kutscher does a wonderful job showing how political the police force is internally. I'm not sure when the next book will be available in English translation, but I hope soon because my German is near nonexistent, but I want to read book #4. Hurry up already.
Darkness is starting to fall, and plans of inaction which once seemed acceptable have allowed elements to fester. These are not the halcyon days of summer.
"Believing in something other than the Great Big Nothing, they aroused his envy and scorn in equal measure. He scorned them for their naivety; he envied them their faith."
Oh, Rath I see more of myself in you the more I read.
"You should never talk about love, simply live it."
The failing economy and the scores of unemployed youths have created the perfect breeding ground for instability. The redshirts and the brownshirts clashes in the streets have intensified. The press are looking for the most polemic stories to sell more papers. The police monitor the tension as the gangs of communist and SA youths battle, trying to keep order, and hoping they keep their aggressions confined and collateral damage minimal. After all, if the redshirts and brownshirts only kill each other then it's not too bad.
But, they're not the only ones with ideas.
Rath, having ruffled feathers again, is saddled with babysitting a visitor to Berlin, the notorious Jewish gangster--Abraham Goldstein. Their cat and mouse game uncovers a disturbing incident, another, and then another. When Charlotte Ritter's investigative work collides with Rath's it sows doubt. It breeds in silence, and Charly, feeling further confined by recent events, makes several choices.
Goldstein's character is beautifully nuanced and you see the friction between old world and new world. With the rising unrest, anti-semitism is increasing, and Goldstein is a flawed hero. His motivation and actions are understandable, if not legal.
This installment moves faster than the previous two, I suspect in no small part to that fact that a good deal of background has been laid and less time is required for exposition and it is used for dramatic intents. Kutscher does a wonderful job showing how political the police force is internally. I'm not sure when the next book will be available in English translation, but I hope soon because my German is near nonexistent, but I want to read book #4. Hurry up already.
September 4, 2019
Goldstein'ı serinin ikinci kitabından daha çok beğendim. yine çok olay, çok insan ama kutscher en küçük detayı bile unutmadan her şeyi o kadar iyi bağlıyor ki birbirine. bu kez amerika'dan gelen bir gangsterin peşine düşen emniyet kendi içindeki pisliklerle yüzleşmek zorunda kalıyor.
amerikalı gangster goldstein'ın kökleriyle tekrar karşılaşması, berlin'deki ortodoks yahudiler ve kendini göstermeye başlayan antisemitizm romanın en önemli kısımlarıydı. kahverengi gömlekli pislikler, nazilerin kendi arasında bitmeyen hesapları, çatışmalar arasında yaşamaya alışan berlinliler ise bana yaşadığımız istanbul'u hatırlattı. akıllarına hayallerine gelmeyecek şeyler yaşayacak olmaları da öyle. romanda sık sık yargı bağımsızlığına, kuvvetler ayrılığına değiniliyor, eh onun da sonu gelecek :(
kutscher çok iyi bir araştırmacı, usta bir anlatıcı. suçluyu önceden tahmin edebildim son iki romanda ama polisiyeden çok tarihi roman diye okunabilir zaten.
amerikalı gangster goldstein'ın kökleriyle tekrar karşılaşması, berlin'deki ortodoks yahudiler ve kendini göstermeye başlayan antisemitizm romanın en önemli kısımlarıydı. kahverengi gömlekli pislikler, nazilerin kendi arasında bitmeyen hesapları, çatışmalar arasında yaşamaya alışan berlinliler ise bana yaşadığımız istanbul'u hatırlattı. akıllarına hayallerine gelmeyecek şeyler yaşayacak olmaları da öyle. romanda sık sık yargı bağımsızlığına, kuvvetler ayrılığına değiniliyor, eh onun da sonu gelecek :(
kutscher çok iyi bir araştırmacı, usta bir anlatıcı. suçluyu önceden tahmin edebildim son iki romanda ama polisiyeden çok tarihi roman diye okunabilir zaten.
July 2, 2018
I thought this one was the best in the series so far — and definitely had an eerie setting in 1931 Berlin. I really hope they translate the remaining novels into English ... and quickly!
November 27, 2024
En sona doğru şaşırtmalı olmuş bu kitap. Dizideki gibi değil yine ama Goldstein muhteşem karakterini kitapta da gösteriyor. Dizinin aynı sezonunda ki bir grup ile burada tanışıyoruz. Kitabı gereğinden uzun buldum ama yine kitabı kötü yapmıyor bu. Kitabı okurken diziden farklı olsa da yaşıyorsunuz
April 8, 2021
Berlin, 1931: Während die Wirtschaftskrise sich verschärft und die Auseinandersetzungen zwischen der SA und der Rotfront immer blutiger werden, bekommt Gereon Rath, Kriminalkommissar bei der Berliner Polizei, den Auftrag, den US-Gangster Abe Goldstein zu beschatten. Was sich anfangs wie eine lästige Laune seines Vorgesetzten anhört, entpuppt sich nach und nach als kleines Rädchen in einem größeren kriminellen Getriebe - denn nicht nur Nazis und Kommunisten schlagen über die Stränge, auch unter den berüchtigten Berliner Ringvereinen tobt ein Machtkampf. Als dann ein missglückter Raub und mehrere Morde zusammen kommen, begeben sich Kommissar Rath und die mittlerweile examinierte Juristin Charlotte Ritter auf eine rasante Spurensuche...
"Goldstein" ist der dritte Teil der historischen Krimi-Reihe um Gereon Rath und Charlotte Ritter von Volker Kutscher - und mit diesem Band hat sich der Autor nun endgültig auf meine persönliche Krimi-Bestenliste geschrieben. Kutschers Kriminalromane sind immer sehr, sehr komplex, es gibt mehrere Handlungsstränge auf einmal und bis kurz vor Schluss ist es fast unmöglich, die Zusammenhänge zwischen den verschiedenen Handlungen zu verstehen. So haben die Lesenden die Möglichkeit, viel mit zu rätseln und mit zu ermitteln, ohne dass die Handlung dabei zu absurd wird.
Besonders gelungen ist auch in diesem Teil wieder das Setting. Ich liebe Kriminalromane, die im historischen Berlin spielen und Volker Kutscher kostet die verschiedenen Schauplätze auch perfekt aus. Ihm gelingt es, die Atmosphäre von Berlin 1931 einzufangen und auch die politischen Spannungen in seinen Roman mit einzubauen. Zeitgeschichte trifft hier auf feinste Ermittlungsarbeit.
Was ich in diesem Band sehr erfreulich fand, waren die vielen Kapitel aus Charlotte Ritters Sicht. Sie ist meine absolute Lieblings-Figur in den Kutscher-Krimis und mal ehrlich - sie ist auch einfach die bessere Ermittlerin. Da kann Gereon Rath nicht mithalten. Umso besser, dass ihr nun auch in den Büchern eine etwas größere Rolle zuteil wurde.
Mit "Goldstein" ist Volker Kutscher eine wirklich sehr gute Fortsetzung seiner (zum Teil mit der Serie "Babylon Berlin" verfilmten) Kriminalromane gelungen. Wie gewohnt hat der Krimi mit über 500 Seiten auch wieder einen recht großen Umfang - kommt aber trotzdem fast ohne Längen aus. Wer in den Genuss von kniffligen, sehr gut konstruierten und wunderbar in den historischen Kontext eingebundenen Kriminalromanen kommen möchte, sollte diese Krimi-Reihe unbedingt lesen!
"Goldstein" ist der dritte Teil der historischen Krimi-Reihe um Gereon Rath und Charlotte Ritter von Volker Kutscher - und mit diesem Band hat sich der Autor nun endgültig auf meine persönliche Krimi-Bestenliste geschrieben. Kutschers Kriminalromane sind immer sehr, sehr komplex, es gibt mehrere Handlungsstränge auf einmal und bis kurz vor Schluss ist es fast unmöglich, die Zusammenhänge zwischen den verschiedenen Handlungen zu verstehen. So haben die Lesenden die Möglichkeit, viel mit zu rätseln und mit zu ermitteln, ohne dass die Handlung dabei zu absurd wird.
Besonders gelungen ist auch in diesem Teil wieder das Setting. Ich liebe Kriminalromane, die im historischen Berlin spielen und Volker Kutscher kostet die verschiedenen Schauplätze auch perfekt aus. Ihm gelingt es, die Atmosphäre von Berlin 1931 einzufangen und auch die politischen Spannungen in seinen Roman mit einzubauen. Zeitgeschichte trifft hier auf feinste Ermittlungsarbeit.
Was ich in diesem Band sehr erfreulich fand, waren die vielen Kapitel aus Charlotte Ritters Sicht. Sie ist meine absolute Lieblings-Figur in den Kutscher-Krimis und mal ehrlich - sie ist auch einfach die bessere Ermittlerin. Da kann Gereon Rath nicht mithalten. Umso besser, dass ihr nun auch in den Büchern eine etwas größere Rolle zuteil wurde.
Mit "Goldstein" ist Volker Kutscher eine wirklich sehr gute Fortsetzung seiner (zum Teil mit der Serie "Babylon Berlin" verfilmten) Kriminalromane gelungen. Wie gewohnt hat der Krimi mit über 500 Seiten auch wieder einen recht großen Umfang - kommt aber trotzdem fast ohne Längen aus. Wer in den Genuss von kniffligen, sehr gut konstruierten und wunderbar in den historischen Kontext eingebundenen Kriminalromanen kommen möchte, sollte diese Krimi-Reihe unbedingt lesen!
December 18, 2020
Bello, scorrevole, forse all'inizio un po' straniante perché qualche differenza c'è rispetto alla (bellissima) serie Babylon Berlin, che per ora ha adattato i primi due romanzi. Quasi quasi mi leggo anche quelli.
L'atmosfera di Berlino alla fine della Repubblica di Weimar si sente crescere fra le pagine ed è manifesta nel finale, l'intreccio regge bene, i personaggi hanno lo spessore necessario.
Consigliato.
L'atmosfera di Berlino alla fine della Repubblica di Weimar si sente crescere fra le pagine ed è manifesta nel finale, l'intreccio regge bene, i personaggi hanno lo spessore necessario.
Consigliato.
February 26, 2020
My favourite until now.
I have conflicted feeling about Gereon Rath. Somehow my image of him from the first two seasons of the TV series that I had seen before I picked up the series in books and his character in the written version do not fit together. And I don't mean his outward appearance.
My favourite until now.
I have conflicted feeling about Gereon Rath. Somehow my image of him from the first two seasons of the TV series that I had seen before I picked up the series in books and his character in the written version do not fit together. And I don't mean his outward appearance.
October 6, 2023
4,2, da zum letzten Teil eine Steigerung zu sehen ist. Marodierende SA, Aufstände von Kommunisten und eine Gruppierung mit dem Namen Weiße Hand. Letztere besteht aus frustrierten Polizisten, die Selbstjustiz ausüben. Es gibt zahlreiche Morde und der von Anfang an verdächtige Abraham Goldstein hat keinen begangen, wie sich am Schluss herausstellt. Das Jahr 1931 in Berlin.
March 1, 2019
The third and best in this trilogy. Better character development, clearer story lines, excellent exposure of the insidious and invidious rise of the Nazis and the lack of understanding of the implications of this by the general public as well as the authorities.
April 26, 2022
David Nathan kann es einfach. Den dritten Band der Gereon Rath Reihe von Volker Kutscher habe ich mir von ihm vorlesen lassen und was soll ich sagen? Ich wünschte, mein Mann hätte seine Stimme! Obwohl er ansonsten schon perfekt ist. 🥰 Der Krimi hat mich wieder zu 100 Prozent überzeugt. Ich bin davon fasziniert, wie Kutscher Zeitgeschichte und Kriminalroman miteinander verbindet. Das einzige, was ich sehr schade fand, war, dass das Hörbuch gekürzt wurde.
April 29, 2019
Případy komisaře Ratha zrají jako dobré víno. Tíseň dějin, která začíná na Berlín dopadat, se už zde objevuje naplno a prostupuje celou společností.
Do dalšího dílu budu mít okousané nehty...
Do dalšího dílu budu mít okousané nehty...
March 20, 2014
Gereon Rath zeigt sich als cholerischer, legalen und illegalen Genußmitteln zugeneigter Zeitgenosse, der zu beruflichen Alleingängen neigt. Rath unternimmt mal wieder Recherchen, zu denen er offiziell nicht beauftragt ist; eine Konstruktion, die in diesen Band für besondere Spannung sorgt. Volker Kutscher verknüpft in "Goldstein" mehrere Handlungsfäden zu einem spannenden historischen Krimi vor dem Hintergrund der Weimarer Republik. Von homsosexuellen Mitgliedern der SA bis zu den Lebensbedinungen der kleinen Leute werden die verschiedensten sozialen und politischen Fragen aufgeworfen. Kollege Tornow, ein Aufsteiger aus dem Streifendienst, verkörpert neben Raths Freundin Charly, die sich als erste Akademikerin für den Höhreren Polizeidienst interessiert, beginnende Veränderungen in den bürgerlichen Strukturen des Höheren Polizeidiensts. Durch Charly in der Funktion der halbofiziellen Ermittlerin werden zugleich die Lebensbedingungen der Berliner "Straßengören" deutlich. Interne Ermittlungen wegen Gewalttaten durch Polizeibeamte im Dienst zeigen, mit welch extremen politischen Strömungen Berliner Polizisten sympathisieren, die (noch) einem Dienstherrn jüdischer Herkunft loyal zu dienen hätten.
"Ich bin einer von den Guten," beruhigt Rath in einer Szene Alex. Ob Gereon Rath tatsächlich wie ein korrekter preußischer Polizeibeamter handelt, sorgt stets für Spannung in Kutschers Krimireihe. In "Goldstein" zeigt Volker Kutscher vielfältige Facetten des Alltags während des Nationalsozialismus. Die gegensätzlichen Milieus, in denen Rath und Charly sich bewegen, wie auch die zusätzliche Perspektive, die Charly als Beinahe-Ermittlerin in die "Burg" der Berliner Kriminalpolizei einbringt, haben mich an einem gemütlichen Lesewochende perfekt unterhalten.
"Ich bin einer von den Guten," beruhigt Rath in einer Szene Alex. Ob Gereon Rath tatsächlich wie ein korrekter preußischer Polizeibeamter handelt, sorgt stets für Spannung in Kutschers Krimireihe. In "Goldstein" zeigt Volker Kutscher vielfältige Facetten des Alltags während des Nationalsozialismus. Die gegensätzlichen Milieus, in denen Rath und Charly sich bewegen, wie auch die zusätzliche Perspektive, die Charly als Beinahe-Ermittlerin in die "Burg" der Berliner Kriminalpolizei einbringt, haben mich an einem gemütlichen Lesewochende perfekt unterhalten.
January 31, 2019
Gereon Rath isn't always entirely above-board in his dealings with the law and criminals, but he's always, in the end, on the side of right. He also isn't always the brightest bulb in the basket, and he's often terribly inept when it comes to women. Nevertheless, he's rather appealing most of the time, and I found this third book in the series the best yet. The Jewish gangster from Brooklyn provides an interesting entry to at least one of the Jewish worlds of 1931 Berlin, and in this volume the Nazis become much more ominously present than in the earlier ones.
December 14, 2018
The setting is Berlin in 1931, as the economic crisis intensifies, and the clashes between the SA and the Red Front become more violent, a power struggle rages in the underworld, and Komissar Gereon Rath of the Berlin Kripo is commissioned to shadow the US gangster Abraham "Abe" Goldstein, as a favour for the FBI.
The action never stops and the conclusion is nail biting. Another winner from Volker Kutscher.
The action never stops and the conclusion is nail biting. Another winner from Volker Kutscher.
February 27, 2020
Definitely better than the second book. I liked how the story jumped around from person to person and how the characters progressed. I like Gereon Rath more than I did at the beginning.
February 3, 2022
3,5 αστεράκια. Πολύ καλή η υπόθεση και πολλά και ενδιαφέροντα στοιχεία βασισμένα σε πραγματικό ιστορικό πλαίσιο, αλλά σε μερικά σημεία αδύναμη μετάφραση και κακή επιμέλεια.
October 27, 2020
Надзвичайно цікава третя історія берлінського поліцейського Гереона Рата (Gereon Rath) розгортається у 1931 на тлі буремних політичних і соціальних змін у Німеччині. У цій історії, на відміну від попередніх, нацисти виступають на перший план і все частіше присутні у міських перипетіях. Знову зустрічаються у книзі вже знайомі колеги Рата з Polizei, любовна історія з Шарлоттою Рітер набирає нових обертів. Головна інтрига твору - американський гангстер Гольдштайн, який прибуває у Берлін з секретною місією, мету якої Гереон і має відгадати...
September 10, 2020
I found Goldstein to be a nice step forward in this series and enjoyed it more than the first two books. As described, it centers on Kommisar Gereon Rath's assignment to tail an American gangster and a simmering conflict in the Berlin underworld but Kutscher also does a fine job to weave in exploration of the growing economic despair and expanding Nazi influence of the period. He does a fine job to establish interesting threads and slowly bring them together in a way that kept my interest but was also more grounded than the second book.
Interestingly, in addition to still being pretty unlikable, Rath is also a pretty poor investigator in this book. Hercule Poirot he is not. It makes me feel that there could be a better series centered on Charly instead. However, I am still very interested to see where Kutscher takes the series as political events in Germany grow more desperate.
Interestingly, in addition to still being pretty unlikable, Rath is also a pretty poor investigator in this book. Hercule Poirot he is not. It makes me feel that there could be a better series centered on Charly instead. However, I am still very interested to see where Kutscher takes the series as political events in Germany grow more desperate.
June 9, 2018
"Goldstein" is the third novel in German author Volker Kutscher's "Gereon Rath Mystery" trilogy. I have the English version of the paperback, but the audio version is in French. Definitely some marketing issues here on Amazon, but that may be because I think Kutscher's work has been adapted for television in one language or another. I've read the first two books in the series, which is set in Berlin in the late 20's, early 30's, in the later days of the Weimar Republic, when the brown-shirts are battling on the streets with other factional groups. And woe to people caught in the middle.
The series features police officer Gereon Rath, who has lately transferred from the Cologne police department to the Berlin department. Housed in the famous Alexanderplatz building - known as "Alex" - Rath is a young man with a future, if he can break his little cocaine habit and stop consorting with some of the same criminals he should be putting behind bars. But what cop can remain totally honest in the miasma of corruption and vice that seems to hang heavy over the Prussian capital?
Kutscher's story is full of bloodshed and bad guys. People get knocked off (sometimes indiscriminately), department stores get robbed, bar brawls turn into street brawls, and one hit man - Abraham Goldstein - is visiting from the United States. Who has he come over to make a hit on? Rath is assigned to keep his eye on Goldstein, while his girlfriend, Charly, is trying to find a young hooligan she allowed to escape from custody in the department store robberies. A lot is happening in "Goldstein", and Kutscher keeps up the pace in the 535 pages of the book.
Volker Kutscher's work can be compared to the books of the late Philip Kerr. Kerr's "Bernie Gunther" series, which also features pre-war police and detective work in Berlin, is more concisely written. The only problem with Kutscher's book is that it's a bit too long. That's why I'm giving it four instead of five stars. But I can still heartily recommend it, particularly for those who have read the first two books in the series.
The series features police officer Gereon Rath, who has lately transferred from the Cologne police department to the Berlin department. Housed in the famous Alexanderplatz building - known as "Alex" - Rath is a young man with a future, if he can break his little cocaine habit and stop consorting with some of the same criminals he should be putting behind bars. But what cop can remain totally honest in the miasma of corruption and vice that seems to hang heavy over the Prussian capital?
Kutscher's story is full of bloodshed and bad guys. People get knocked off (sometimes indiscriminately), department stores get robbed, bar brawls turn into street brawls, and one hit man - Abraham Goldstein - is visiting from the United States. Who has he come over to make a hit on? Rath is assigned to keep his eye on Goldstein, while his girlfriend, Charly, is trying to find a young hooligan she allowed to escape from custody in the department store robberies. A lot is happening in "Goldstein", and Kutscher keeps up the pace in the 535 pages of the book.
Volker Kutscher's work can be compared to the books of the late Philip Kerr. Kerr's "Bernie Gunther" series, which also features pre-war police and detective work in Berlin, is more concisely written. The only problem with Kutscher's book is that it's a bit too long. That's why I'm giving it four instead of five stars. But I can still heartily recommend it, particularly for those who have read the first two books in the series.
April 30, 2019
I would give the first three books of this series all 3.5 stars if I could, but their setting (in Weimar Berlin) is really vivid and exciting, so closer to a 4 than a 3 in my humble hardboiled opinion
July 14, 2015
Geweldig boek. De derde uit de reeks politieromans die speelt tijdens het einde van de Republiek van Weimar. Deel 1 in 1929, deel 2 in 1930 en deze in 1931. Alles zit erin: spanning, historische achtergronden, de opkomst van de nazis en de botsingen met de communisten. Een geweldig plot en niet te vergeten de hoofdpersoon commissaris Gereon Rath met zijn hond en moeilijke verhouding met zijn vriendin Charly. En natuurlijk Berlijn. Ik kan niet wachten op het volgende deel.
November 12, 2018
Decent police story improved by its time and place. Gereon Rath walks a line between law and vice as Germany reels toward the abyss. I got a little tired of the soapy elements here but the overall story -- lost Weimar youth with Nazis and a Jewish gangster -- is a vigorous page turner. I'll buy and read these books as fast as they can be translated.
December 7, 2018
Fantastic!
December 29, 2018
3rd mystery to be solved by Berlin Detective Gereon Rath....set in 1930s Germany with the storm of National Socialism on the rise...Best written case yet, good to see Charly back as well...
October 13, 2020
I think I'm going to draw a line under this series. I see the dénouement coming a mile off and I dislike the main protagonist intensely.
January 27, 2020
E.L. Corner - per RFS
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Il volume fa parte di una serie di romanzi avente per protagonista il commissario Gereon Rath e ambientata a Berlino tra gli anni venti e trenta, romanzi che, nel 2017, hanno ispirato la serie TV Babylon Berlin.
La storia si sviluppa dunque nella capitale tedesca: siamo nel 1931, la crisi economica mondiale del 1929 è arrivata in Europa e ha investito come un uragano una Germania già al collasso a causa delle sanzioni economiche imposte dal Trattato di Pace di Versailles che ha posto fine alla Prima Guerra Mondiale.
La situazione politica è pericolosamente instabile. Lo scontento della popolazione è alto, la condizione economica generale è disastrosa, la persone faticano a vivere e la disoccupazione è a livelli altissimi. In questo sconfortante panorama gli scontri di piazza tra comunisti e SA, le cosiddette camice brune ovvero la milizia armata del partito fascista, sono all’ordine del giorno e le prime azioni di discriminazione e di violenza a discapito degli ebrei, iniziano a verificarsi nell’indifferenza quasi generale.Al Commissario Gereon Rath viene assegnato un compito inusuale: un gangster americano, forse un killer che agisce su commissione, arriva a Berlino e lui deve tenerlo d’occhio per evitare che commetta degli omicidi in suolo tedesco. Nel frattempo la sua eterna fidanzata Charly, laureatasi in legge, inizia il periodo di apprendistato presso la Procura e lo coinvolge in un’indagine relativa ad una serie di furti presso i grandi magazzini della capitale. Nell’ultima incursione presso il magazzino KaDeWe, uno dei rapinatori, un giovane senza tetto, muore in circostanze poco chiare e così’ all’indagine per rapina subentra anche un’indagine per omicidio. Le due diverse piste si complicheranno e si incroceranno, soprapponendosi fino a diventare due capi della stessa matassa. Verranno coinvolte bande criminali che si contendono il dominio della città, poliziotti prussiani irretiti dalla nuova ideologia nazista, personaggi che svolgeranno un ruolo determinante durante le indagini tentando di indirizzarne gli esiti. Mentre Goldstein, il killer americano, inaspettatamente si rivelerà qualcosa di diverso. Nella storia dunque i ruoli si confondono e non sono ben delineati, il bianco diventa nero e viceversa, ma esistono anche infinite sfumature di grigio. La trama è molto complessa e intrigante, un romanzo giallo ben costruito con un’approfondita descrizione del complicato contesto storico. I personaggi sono ben delineati e caratterizzati, come anche Berlino, la città dove è ambientata la narrazione.
Nonostante il tema dell’Olocausto non sia ancora protagonista, nonostante Hitler non abbia ancora preso il potere diventando cancelliere dei Reich, sono già delineati in modo puntuale avvenimenti e fatti prodromici alle situazioni degli anni successivi.
Persone che con indifferenza si estraniano dal contesto e girano lo sguardo da un’altra parte, mentre altre persone, magari più deboli o in difficoltà, vengono dileggiate e malmenate. Un chiaro sintomo di una decadenza sociale imminente che viene alla luce in modo incisivo durante la lettura.Il protagonista non riveste il ruolo del classico eroe ma al contrario di una persona comune, con pregi e difetti, affettivamente imbranato e poco empatico, che comunque cerca di fare del suo meglio in un ambiente difficile e complesso.
Che posso dire di Goldstein, il personaggio che dà il titolo al libro, il killer pericoloso e brutale?
Si rivelerà qualcosa di completamente diverso, una persona in balia dei ricordi e alla ricerca di un’identità faticosamente tracciata sul cammino della redenzione .
.
Il volume fa parte di una serie di romanzi avente per protagonista il commissario Gereon Rath e ambientata a Berlino tra gli anni venti e trenta, romanzi che, nel 2017, hanno ispirato la serie TV Babylon Berlin.
La storia si sviluppa dunque nella capitale tedesca: siamo nel 1931, la crisi economica mondiale del 1929 è arrivata in Europa e ha investito come un uragano una Germania già al collasso a causa delle sanzioni economiche imposte dal Trattato di Pace di Versailles che ha posto fine alla Prima Guerra Mondiale.
La situazione politica è pericolosamente instabile. Lo scontento della popolazione è alto, la condizione economica generale è disastrosa, la persone faticano a vivere e la disoccupazione è a livelli altissimi. In questo sconfortante panorama gli scontri di piazza tra comunisti e SA, le cosiddette camice brune ovvero la milizia armata del partito fascista, sono all’ordine del giorno e le prime azioni di discriminazione e di violenza a discapito degli ebrei, iniziano a verificarsi nell’indifferenza quasi generale.Al Commissario Gereon Rath viene assegnato un compito inusuale: un gangster americano, forse un killer che agisce su commissione, arriva a Berlino e lui deve tenerlo d’occhio per evitare che commetta degli omicidi in suolo tedesco. Nel frattempo la sua eterna fidanzata Charly, laureatasi in legge, inizia il periodo di apprendistato presso la Procura e lo coinvolge in un’indagine relativa ad una serie di furti presso i grandi magazzini della capitale. Nell’ultima incursione presso il magazzino KaDeWe, uno dei rapinatori, un giovane senza tetto, muore in circostanze poco chiare e così’ all’indagine per rapina subentra anche un’indagine per omicidio. Le due diverse piste si complicheranno e si incroceranno, soprapponendosi fino a diventare due capi della stessa matassa. Verranno coinvolte bande criminali che si contendono il dominio della città, poliziotti prussiani irretiti dalla nuova ideologia nazista, personaggi che svolgeranno un ruolo determinante durante le indagini tentando di indirizzarne gli esiti. Mentre Goldstein, il killer americano, inaspettatamente si rivelerà qualcosa di diverso. Nella storia dunque i ruoli si confondono e non sono ben delineati, il bianco diventa nero e viceversa, ma esistono anche infinite sfumature di grigio. La trama è molto complessa e intrigante, un romanzo giallo ben costruito con un’approfondita descrizione del complicato contesto storico. I personaggi sono ben delineati e caratterizzati, come anche Berlino, la città dove è ambientata la narrazione.
Nonostante il tema dell’Olocausto non sia ancora protagonista, nonostante Hitler non abbia ancora preso il potere diventando cancelliere dei Reich, sono già delineati in modo puntuale avvenimenti e fatti prodromici alle situazioni degli anni successivi.
Persone che con indifferenza si estraniano dal contesto e girano lo sguardo da un’altra parte, mentre altre persone, magari più deboli o in difficoltà, vengono dileggiate e malmenate. Un chiaro sintomo di una decadenza sociale imminente che viene alla luce in modo incisivo durante la lettura.Il protagonista non riveste il ruolo del classico eroe ma al contrario di una persona comune, con pregi e difetti, affettivamente imbranato e poco empatico, che comunque cerca di fare del suo meglio in un ambiente difficile e complesso.
Che posso dire di Goldstein, il personaggio che dà il titolo al libro, il killer pericoloso e brutale?
Si rivelerà qualcosa di completamente diverso, una persona in balia dei ricordi e alla ricerca di un’identità faticosamente tracciata sul cammino della redenzione .
December 9, 2020
Well, Gereon isn't breaking as many laws this time but he's definitely connected to the head of one of the Berlin gangs and now he has a connection to an American alleged hit man, a Jewish one at that.
I find myself reading this series not so much for the mystery as for the history and the atmosphere of Berlin in, in this episode, 1930 Berlin.
The translator is a Scot and every once in a while British usage appears. I don't know what the Germans call them but I have never quite understood British Post Office "giro" accounts. Mr. Sellar obviously assumes we do and uses the phrase for whatever the Germans called the setup. Fortunately it's not important.
After experiencing the broadcast tower in the last book we meet the Berlin gas storage tower in this one. By the end of the series Gereon should be cured of his fear of heights.
The mood gets very dark in this book as a search for an information leak and the source of infiltrators into the police service is mounted. The complaint that the police spend all their energy finding and arresting criminals only to have the courts release them is a familiar one but putting the solution into the hands of individual officers is just not an answer. As we experience more and more of the life of Berlin the rise of the Nazis becomes more and more comprehensible as more and more "average" people do nothing and blame the victims. The next book should be a really scary one, depending on how far past 1930 it goes.
I find myself reading this series not so much for the mystery as for the history and the atmosphere of Berlin in, in this episode, 1930 Berlin.
The translator is a Scot and every once in a while British usage appears. I don't know what the Germans call them but I have never quite understood British Post Office "giro" accounts. Mr. Sellar obviously assumes we do and uses the phrase for whatever the Germans called the setup. Fortunately it's not important.
After experiencing the broadcast tower in the last book we meet the Berlin gas storage tower in this one. By the end of the series Gereon should be cured of his fear of heights.
The mood gets very dark in this book as a search for an information leak and the source of infiltrators into the police service is mounted. The complaint that the police spend all their energy finding and arresting criminals only to have the courts release them is a familiar one but putting the solution into the hands of individual officers is just not an answer. As we experience more and more of the life of Berlin the rise of the Nazis becomes more and more comprehensible as more and more "average" people do nothing and blame the victims. The next book should be a really scary one, depending on how far past 1930 it goes.
March 9, 2021
Another very good book in this series. Now set in 1931 and, as usual, we have a number of story lines introduced as the book evolves.
A pair of teenage homeless are robbing Department stores at night, until a police operation results in one falling to his death when trying to escape. Gereon and Charly are still together and still having major arguments resulting in separations.
An American Jewish gangster is in town and Gereon is charged with puttiing him under surveillance to prevent him committing any crimes in Berlin. The Nazis are becoming more visible and SA brownshirts are involved in riots and much else.
The fairly complex tales all progress to a satisfactory resolution. Looking forward to the next one!
A pair of teenage homeless are robbing Department stores at night, until a police operation results in one falling to his death when trying to escape. Gereon and Charly are still together and still having major arguments resulting in separations.
An American Jewish gangster is in town and Gereon is charged with puttiing him under surveillance to prevent him committing any crimes in Berlin. The Nazis are becoming more visible and SA brownshirts are involved in riots and much else.
The fairly complex tales all progress to a satisfactory resolution. Looking forward to the next one!
September 8, 2019
The best of the series so far with great depiction of a country falling to decay, economic crisis and hell of fascism, corrupt police force and justice system, better character development, real Babylon vibe, thrilling storyline and good editing. Rath sometimes deserves a punch but he is a character that we love with his flaws. Being far from a hero and sometimes rather inept and reckless, his character brings a significant contribution to turn the story into a real good historical fiction that we need. Charly is at her best and her concerns make her relationship with Rath more realistic. The storylines of Goldstein and young criminal Alex are also well written.
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