MEET DETECTIVE GEREON RATH IN THE BOOKS THAT INSPIRED THE HIT TV SERIES BABYLON BERLIN

'A gripping evocative thriller set in Berlin's seedy underworld during the roaring Twenties.' -Mail on Sunday

Babylon Berlin is the first book in the international-bestselling series from Volker Kutscher. Detective Inspector Gereon Rath is caught up in a web of drugs, sex, political intrigue, deception and murder as Germany teeters on the edge of Nazism.

In 1929, Berlin is the vibrating metropolis of post-war Germany, full of bars, brothels and dissatisfied workers. Arriving in disgrace from Cologne, Gereon Rath is assigned to the Vice Squad.

When a body bearing traces of torture turns up in the canal, Rath sees a chance to earn his way back into the homicide division.

As he investigates, he discovers a gang of exiled Russians intent on purchasing arms with smuggled gold - but others are trying to get hold of the gold... and the guns.

Finding himself up against both paramilitaries and organised criminals, Rath is so far in over his head that he misuses the insider knowledge of Charlotte, a typist in the homicide squad, to get ahead in his investigation. Even though he's falling in love with her.

As Rath's mistakes and enemies pile up, he becomes the prime suspect in the murder - and he's running out of time to clear his name.

About the Gereon Rath Mysteries

1930s Berlin is a hotbed of vice and organised crime. When Inspector Gereon Rath leaves Cologne to join Berlin's murder squad, he cannot begin to imagine the brutality and complexity of the world he is stepping into as communists and Nazis struggle for power.

Full UK publicity campaign by Ruth Killick Publicity.

About the Author
Volker Kutscher was born in 1962 in Lindlar, West Germany. He is the author of the enormously successful Gereon Rath crime series which, in addition to compelling narrative, is notable for its scrupulous accuracy on Germany in the years between its beginning in 1927 and the approach to the Second World War.

Reviews

'Kutscher successfully conjures up the dangerous decadence of the Weimar years, with blood on the Berlin streets and the Nazis lurking menacingly in the wings.'

* Sunday Times *

'Gripping evocative thriller set in Berlin's seedy underworld during the roaring Twenties. A massive hit in its native Germany, Volker Kutscher's series, centered on Detective Inspector Gereon Rath, is currently being filmed for television.'

* Mail on Sunday *

'The first in a series that's been wildly popular in Germany is an excellent police procedural that cleverly captures the dark and dangerous period of the Weimer Republic before it slides into the ultimate evil of Nazism. '

* Kirkus Reviews *

'Babylon Berlin brings a fresh perspective to images and material that might otherwise seem shopworn, and its frenetic rhythms are particularly apt for a moment when we appear to be dancing our own convulsive tango on the edge of a fiery volcano.'

* New York Review of Books *

'If you like crime, historical or translated fiction, this gives you all three ... a triumph for Highland publisher Sandstone Press.'

'James Ellroy fans will welcome Kutscher's first novel and series launch, a fast-paced blend of murder and corruption set in 1929 Berlin. Kutscher keeps the surprises coming and doesn't flinch at making his lead morally compromised.'

* Publishers Weekly *

'The novels on which the dramas are based are even more rewarding than television's slick production... '

* The New European *

'Babylon Berlin is a stunning novel that superbly evokes Twenties Germany in its seedy splendor. An impressive new crime series.'

'a strong and heady brew which never oversteps itself by a descent into the implausible.' ... 'And if you like Babylon Berlin has much as I did, the intolerably bad news is that you must wait until next year for the next title'

* Shots Magazine *

'Gripping, skilfully plotted and rich in historical detail, Babylon Berlin introduces us to Detective Inspector Gereon Rath, who navigates the turbulent waters of Weimar Germany in a suspenseful and noirish tale. The novel is hopefully the first of many to be translated from this best-selling German crime series.'

'Gereon's inquiries drag him through the mire of Berlin's underworld and the chaos of the politics of the period. Riveting and atmospheric...'

* Library Journal *

'The best German crime novel of the year!'

* Bucher *

'Kutscher's undertaking to portray the downfall of the Weimar Republic through the medium of detective fiction is both ambitious and utterly convincing. Let's hope it receives the attention it deserves.'

* Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung *

'With his detective novel Babylon Berlin, Volker Kutscher has succeeded in creating an opulent portrait of manners.'

* Der Spiegel *

'Has all the allure of an addictive drug: you won't be able to put it down until you've read to the end.'

* Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung *

'A highly readable piece of crime fiction set against a politico-historical background.'

* OEsterreichischer Rundfunk *

'Masterfully spun, the plot leads Rath into a dark world with few heroes where the line between solving and committing crime becomes ever more blurred.'

* European Literature Network *

'Riveting and atmospheric'

* Library Journal *

'Murder, betrayal, torture, seedy nightclubs, crooked cops, cocaine - the underworld of the 1920s is here in all its gritty splendour in Babylon Berlin.'

* The Sloan Ranger blog *



Book Information
ISBN 9781910124970
Author Volker Kutscher
Format Paperback
Page Count 544
Imprint Sandstone Press Ltd
Publisher Sandstone Press Ltd
Weight(grams) 361g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 130mm * 34mm