I would like to thank Netgallery and Simon @ Schuster for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Pale Horse Riding follows on from Petit’s well-received previous novel, The Butchers of Berlin. It once more features August Schlegel, a Berlin financial crimes detective, and SS Prosecuting Investigator Eiko Morgen. Set in late 1943, Schlegel and Morgen are sent to Auschwitz, disguised as post office officials, to apparently investigate an instance of stolen gold being sent through the post. More significantly they are charged with looking into the wide-spread corruption and black-market activity that has blossomed at Auschwitz on the back of the mass transportations and the confiscation of goods from those sent to the camp. Auschwitz is a horrible place and soon Morgen and Schlegel suspect that they are not meant to leave there alive.

This is a very dark and confronting novel that tackles an overlooked aspect of the horrors of the concentration camps. Petit effectively recreates the nightmare world of Auschwitz outside of the actual camps, and readers will look in vain for any engaging or appealing characters. Petit’s central premise seems to be about the corrupting influence of the concentration camps and his book takes the reader down some very gruesome and unpleasant paths.

Petit invests heavily in creating the historical detail and atmosphere of the time and the pacing of the book suffers as a result. Some readers will also be distracted by Petit’s dreamlike sequences and the book will not be to everyone’s taste. Nevertheless, it is a very well written and compelling novel with an intricate plot that builds to tense climax. It will once more cement Petit’s standing as one of the more original and daring writers currently gracing the realm of the crime novel.