Goldstein:

<b>”Berlin was a crazy city and it was getting crazier and crazier.”</b><br /><br />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. <i>”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.”</i><br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />I was first introduced to the works of Volker Kutscher when I watched the simply amazing TV show on Netflix called <i>Babylon Berlin,</i> 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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />I would suggest watching the three seasons of <i>Babylon Berlin</i> 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. <br /><br />If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://www.jeffreykeeten.com">http://www.jeffreykeeten.com</a><br />I also have a Facebook blogger page at:<a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten">https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten</a> and an Instagram account <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/">https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/</a>

Berlin, 1931<br />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. <br /><br />"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."<br /><br />Oh, Rath I see more of myself in you the more I read. <br /><br />"You should never talk about love, simply live it."<br /><br />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. <br /><br />But, they're not the only ones with ideas.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.

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.<br />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 :( <br />kutscher çok iyi bir araştırmacı, usta bir anlatıcı. suçluyu önceden tahmin edebildim son iki romanda ama polisiyeden çok tarihi roman diye okunabilir zaten.

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!

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. <br />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.<br />Consigliato.

<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1540567625i/26504835.jpg" width="80" height="80" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>My favourite until now. <br><br>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.

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.

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...<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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!

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.

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. <br /><br />"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.<br />