The Butchers of Berlin by English author Chris Petit (
Wikipedia) is the 1st novel in his Schlegel & Morgen series of historical murder mystery/crime thrillers set in Germany during WWII, this one pairing up a man who normally investigates financial crimes with an SS officer to solve a string of murders which become ever more mysterious as he delves deeper into whatever is going on, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Simon & Schuster UK.
This is the featured Free Book of the Week selection in the iTunes UK store and is being made free to promote the upcoming 2nd in series,
Pale Horse Riding, due this week, and has apparently been praised by Alan Moore of comic books fame, who also wrote
a flattering review in The Guardian for one of the author's previous thrillers.
Currently free @
Amazon UK,
iTunes UK,
Google Play,
Kobo (available to the UK only when I spot-checked assorted regional stores, YMMV)
Description
Berlin 1943. August Schlegel lives in a world full of questions with no easy answers. Why is he being called out on a homicide case when he works in financial crimes? Why did the old Jewish soldier with an Iron Cross shoot the block warden in the eye then put a bullet through his own head? Why does Schlegel persist with the case when no one cares because the Jews are all being shipped out anyway? And why should Eiko Morgen, wearing the dreaded black uniform of the SS, turn up and say he has been assigned to work with him?
Corpses, dressed with fake money, bodies flayed beyond recognition: are these routine murders committed out of rage or is someone trying to tell them something ...