When David Prestidge reviewed the latest from Philip Kerr earlier this year, he called it “a modern masterpiece”. Central character Bernie Gunther is a cynical German cop. He has experienced hell on earth in The Great War, but the German invasion of Russia in 1941 has triggered another armageddon. Under instruction from none other than Joseph Goebbels, Gunther has to prove that the 4,000 corpses lying frozen beneath the Katyn Forest are Polish officers murdered by the Russian NKVD, and not Jews murdered by the SS.

Today we know who killed whom in the Katyn Forest, but while Gunther has his suspicions, the enquiry is anything but simple. He has to follow his own moral code while keeping his head firmly attached to his shoulders. As he battles the world of disinformation orchestrated by Dr Goebbels, Gunther must resort to his basic copper’s instincts to protect himself and uncover the truth.

Read the full review here.