The Lady From Zagreb

By: Philip Kerr

Narrated by: John Lee

From New York Times best-selling author Philip Kerr, the much-anticipated return of Bernie Gunther in a series hailed by Malcolm Forbes as "the best crime novels around today".

A beautiful actress, a rising star of the giant German film company UFA, now controlled by the Propaganda Ministry. The very clever, very dangerous propaganda minister - a close confidant of Hitler, an ambitious schemer and flagrant libertine. And Bernie Gunther, former Berlin homicide bull, now forced to do favors for Joseph Goebbels at the propaganda minister's command.

This time the favor is personal. And this time nothing is what it seems.

Set down amid the killing fields of Ustashe-controlled Croatia, Bernie finds himself in a world of mindless brutality where everyone has a hidden agenda. Perfect territory for a true cynic whose instinct is to trust no one.

©2015 Philip Kerr (P)2015 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Kerr is the only bona fide heir to Raymond Chandler." (Jonathan Ames, Salon)

"Bernie isn't one of those detectives who gets to solve crimes and put things right. Instead, he just tries to behave decently in a world where the serial killers run the governments and history itself may be the biggest crime of all." (John Powers, NPR's Fresh Air)

"On any continent, in any decade, no one does melancholy better than Bernie Gunther, and melancholy, after all, is the hard-boiled mystery fan's emotion of choice." (Booklist)

Great to have Bernie Gunther back

Except for some graphic violence near the end of the first half which other sensitive listeners may want to skip over, this book was very engaging. The plot had lots of surprises, but ones that actually made the story make more sense. I had times I couldn't put the book down, which doesn't happen too often for me. We're far enough from WW2 now that drawing in real people in historically correct ways doesn't seem like a gimmick, because, after all, there would always have been details of their lives we wouldn't have known and why not these ones? That enhanced the fictional story for me. There were aspects of history the author included that are very relevant to today's news which further enriched the story. As far as I remember, I liked this Bernie Gunther book as much as any of the others, perhaps even more. As always, John Lee was so outstanding it seemed unthinkable that the different voices were actually being done by one person.

John Lee is back!

So glad John Lee is back as the narrator in this series. Classic Philip Kerr/Bernie Gunther at its best.

Pleased to see Bernie Gunther back.....

Returns to a familiar time WW2 jaded, cynical detective is one of my fave characters. Was kind of lost with some of Philip Kerr's recent offerings, recommend the whole series for Noir fans.

Love this series

Another great Bernie Gunther novel, this one involving Goebbels' Propaganda Ministry and a famous movie actress. I love these German noir novels.

Not one of the best

While John Lee does his usual excellent narration, I have come to be a Paul Hecht aficionado. I think Hecht captures Bernie's cynicism much more effectively. The narrative has too many side trips that really don't propel the story.

Good to be back in Berlin with Bernie.

Any additional comments?

When you've lived life through with this great Nazi hating dick for a while - this is the 10th Bernie Gunther novel by Kerr - you begin to really enjoy his breath and pace, like the last drag of a smoke on the firing line, Bernie might say. He loves similes. This book is more of a love story than a detective novel, and really it's more of a rumination on the Faustian nature of bargaining and re-bargaining your way through Hitler's Struggle. Survival with a grain of dignity preserved, if even only preserved in high octane grain alcohol or with the fine leading grain of a few well placed bullets. Keeps a man feeling like a man. But nothing will make a man of you more than falling for and - of course - losing that lovely Lady From Zagreb.

A good Nazi?

Would you listen to The Lady From Zagreb again? Why?

No. too slow in the beginning and too confusing.

What other book might you compare The Lady From Zagreb to and why?

Some Alan Furst, because of the setting and the relaxed style.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

I liked it all very much except i didn't like that he did english accented voices.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

some beautiful cynical phrases from the main character.

Any additional comments?

have John Lee read more books.

Nigh-il-ism

The previous entries that I have heard featured an American narrator whom seemed appropriate given that the main character, Bernie Gunther is out of the L.A. school of hardboiled detectives. However, selecting this particular very English narrator has almost destroyed the joy of the novel. After enduring countless unnecessary mispronunciations in the favor of an English flavor, I have drawn the line at nigh-heh-lism. I have talked to my multicultural friends, not including English at the moment but including Irish, French, Italian, Hispanic and Polish. Nobody has said anything but neee-hi-lism. Philip Kerr's stories remain a joy but this particular reader is dreck of the worst, English snob, sort.

I recommend the story but also recommend some whiskey of the Irish, Scots or American sort or better, schnapps from Germany to listen to this. Perhaps it will calm raging for the snotty English narrator.

Kerr at his very best!

Kerr takes Bernie on the ride of his life, showing us a side of the famous detective not seen before. John Lee again is Bernie Gunther and all the rest of the characters. No one does it better!

Another Bernie Gunther novel to be treasured.

I was listening to this when I read that Philip Kerr had died. It was like a punch to the gut. Bernie will always be with us but I know that eventually he will stop coming by for a visit with tales of his latest adventures. The Lady from Zagreb is another story where Bernie has to make deals with the devil in order to survive in a regime he hates and to make peace with himself. Philip Kerr's research is as meticulous as ever and it's great to have John Lee back as the narrator.