A multitude of dark characters make brief appearances in this violent and complicated novel set in what was the German city of Breslau. In a sweltering 1930’s summer, corruption, blackmail and violence abound as Nazi power grows. Although the methods of the police, Mock and Anwaldt, vary little from those of the Gestapo you develop an empathy for them and the dangers they face as the tension rises. In the end, I had to stay up to finish this.
