This historical crime novel takes place in war torn Berlin in 1944. A serial killer is killing women, placing their mutilated bodies in front of war memorials. The main character is Richard Oppenheimer, a Jew who was once a highly thought of investigator with the Berlin police. He is enlisted to help catch the killer while fearing for his own safety.

Gilbers gives us some insight into what it was like being a Jew in Nazi Germany. Oppenheimer's wife was not a Jew so he escaped early exile. He is under pressure because the murders must be solved but the investigation must be kept quiet. The Nazi regime did not want to admit there could be a murderer in the ethnically cleansed society. There was pressure to identify the killer as a Jew.

I enjoyed the investigative process. It first appears the murders are random but Oppenheimer finds relationships the victims had to Nazi officials. He has to avoid Allied bombing as he pursues leads. He has to walk the fine line of finding the truth while not alienating those who could send him to a deadly future.

Gilbers' writing style is clear and informative. I felt there was a good balance between the investigation and the character development of Oppenheimer. I was disappointed in the ending but other than that, an enjoyable crime novel with an interesting historical setting.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

I was invited to read "Germania" by Harald Gibers. While the description wasn't really the type of book I usually read, I couldn't NOT read it because it is nearly impossible for me to say "no" to a reading invite ;).
I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. Just when I think that I am done reading about Nazi Germany, something refreshing like "Germania" is added to my reading list.

Translated from German, "Germania" is a historical-fiction police thriller. It is 1944 and former police investigator Richard Oppenheimer has been called on a case. As a Jew, he must do whatever the SS tells him to do- in this case, solve a crime-- Oppenheimer is happy to work the case, even though the threat of being sent to a camp or killed is not far from his mind.

Of course, reading a story about Jewish people set in Nazi Germany is sad and horrible. Also horrible: the mutilation of the victims in the story.

There were so many moments in this book that I turned to Wikipedia to gain a better understanding of the history. "Germania" did a great job weaving a fictional police thriller into a time period piece. The ending concluded the mystery, but was very abrupt. (Like the ending of this review, haha)

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. "Germania" was released on December 1st- it's ready to read everyone! :)

A surprisingly tense and engulfing thriller set in Nazi Germany at the end of WWII, a Jewish former police officer, forced out of his work due to Nazi race laws finds his knowledge is needed in the face of sudden horrible crimes the officials would prefer remain secret. GERMANIA does an excellent job of creating the claustrophobia of the protagonist, caught between his desire to solve a crime and feel human once again, and his equal desire to use the occasion to secure passage out of Germany while he still may have a chance. If he has a chance and the entire situation isn’t just a political ploy to set him up as a fall guy for someone else. The plot is good and the mystery holds throughout the tale. While it seems implausible, the book still holds together well and remains compelling throughout. It is a great thriller. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for inviting me to read this copy.

It's 1944 in Berlin and as if the war wasn't enough, a serial killer is preying on women and placing their mutilated bodies in front of war monuments. The victims are all linked to members of the Nazi party, and contrary to what one might think, the perpetrator might very well be a loyal Nazi also.

To solve the case, the Gestapo reinstates former Jewish police investigator, Richard Oppenheimer. But the case is fraught with danger. For as he helps to secure the survival of others, his own life is put on the line.

A dark thriller, this is a great read for mystery fans and those who like WWII fiction. Author Harald Gilbers paints a realistic backdrop of life in Germany as the events during the latter part of the war unfold. It's complex and heavy--don't expect a light, fast-paced thriller here; this one has some meat on its bones.

The only downside was that it read like many translations do--the writing didn't seem to flow that cleanly but felt a little forced at times.

An exceptional tale. Oppenheimer is a Jewish investigator living in Berlin during the time of Hitler. The story details his day to day life as he becomes involved in an investigation of a serial killer. It is eerie to watch him do this investigation while his life is also at stake everyday from the very people he is being forced to work with. The challenges he faces with his Arian wife as they struggle to survive in a world that wants to divide them is palpable. The author shows the deep struggles between good and evil that each of the characters faces without ever seeming to come to any conclusion.

This is an interesting novel that reads with ease. It takes place in Berlin, during the Summer of 1944, where there’s a serial killer murdering women that he deems unworthy and mutilating them. When former inspector Oppenheimer is approached by the SS to assist in a sensitive investigation, he's wary to accept the request and feels he has no other choice but to do as told. As a Jewish man living in war-torn Nazi Berlin, there's no safe way to investigate without putting his life in danger.

Police procedural with a twist: serial murder investigation in the middle of Berlin in WWII

The set-up: a Jewish former detective, Richard Oppenheimer, is asked by the SS to find a serial killer in Berlin in 1944. At first I was puzzled as to how a German Jew could still be alive in Berlin in 1944 but as I read on, the author made it clear that this was due to Oppenheimer being married to a non-Jew and that a number of Jews, after a protest by a lot of non-Jewish wives, had been spared, at least from being sent away to concentration camps.

This is a very unusual World War II story, in that it describes police detective work, but set in the middle of a city under bombardment and ordinary people trying to survive under extreme circumstances. Definitely not your typical WWII setting!

Germania was published in German in 2013 but is only now being made available to English-language readers. Translated from the German by Alexandra Roesch, the writing flows beautifully, with crisp descriptions of the bombed out city and the countryside. Harald Gilbers has written more books featuring Oppenheimer. I hope these will also be translated for English-language readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Thomas Dunne Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

"...has the Jew got any authority?... Oppenheimer thought that it would be a difficult investigation if every person he talked to first had to question his status as an external advisor."

The above is one of many problems in plaguing Jewish Detective Richard Oppenheimer as he hunts a serial killer in Berlin during World War II. Germania by Harald Gilbers, translated by Alexandria Roesch, is a heart stopping murder thriller wrapped in a gut wrenching historical fiction war novel.

From the very first page of chapter one where Oppenheimer wakes up in the middle of the night in darkness and senses, rather than sees, a stranger in his bedroom staring at
him and his wife, we are taken on a wild ride filled with tension, fear, anger, and twisty surprises and I loved every minute of it.

Our detective earned a reputation for solving the unsolvable but as a Jew in Nazi Germany he could no longer work. This Nazi rule is overturned when police cannot figure out who is killing women and leaving their mutilated bodies by war memorials.

Oppenheimer has several dilemmas. Once he solves the case he will most likely be sent to a concentration camp. If he doesn't solve it he will most likely be killed. His resistance friends want him to spy on his Gestapo handlers and by the way, there is a freaking war going on and Berlin is being pummeled by the Allies everyday with bombs. I can't even get into his conflicting psyche over wanting the Allies to win and feeling unpatriotic toward his home.

This writer put me in the middle of the action, the emotions and the consequences not only of the war from Berlin's side of it but of the insane reasoning of a tormented serial killer.
Perfect reading for a lover of murder mystery thrillers, historical fiction and war novels.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

World War II is drawing to a close, but in 1944 Berlin tensions are still running high. In fact, the German high command may be acting even more forcefully because suddenly the outcome may not favor them. Worse, a serial killer is on the loose. His methods are ritualistic and grotesque. His victims are young women, who may or may not be somehow connected to one of their own.

In spite of their reach, methods and resources, the Gestapo is not making headway in solving the case. Pressure is building upon them to come to a solution that stops the murders and resolves the case while not ruffling any political feathers. Who better to assist them if things go wrong – Richard Oppenheimer, a former Jewish detective still surviving within the city. He cannot say “no” to the Gestapo, and his resolve and professionalism resurfaces to further draw him in.

Gilbers strength in this book is the detail given to the city of Berlin, its architecture, parks, streets and wartime environment. He is also quite thorough in building a police procedural with twists that may solve the case and still bring doom to Oppenheimer. Gilbers’ weaknesses are the slow pacing of the story, chapters take sudden leaps in narrative and location, and the necessity to suspend belief about Oppenheimer’s personal brand of intuitiveness and naiveté.

Readers who enjoy a period procedural that dwells in meticulously setting the stage, may enjoy this title. More ponderous, more descriptive and more gruesome, Richard Oppenheimer’s methods require the reader to constantly reconsider his theories. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

I enjoy reading mystery, historical fiction, and WWII fiction, but somehow this combination thereof didn't work for me. I don't know how much was the translation, but the writing didn't appeal to me, often being repetitive in characters asking themselves questions that summed up the previous scene-- like readers can't be trusted to put together the pieces. I do think it was interesting that the main character was an amphetamines addict, I also appreciate that his mores were in line with men of that period. But even though I appreciated the characterization, I didn't really care for the plot or the writing, nor the ending. Picking this up was a bit of a chore and I only finished it out of sheer determination. I certainly won't be continuing with this series.

I love books set in this time and this was an engaging and engrossing read for me. I am grateful for the opportunity to read this and know of this author. I’m looking forward to more! Thank you.

This book was rather unsettling in the basic fact that here was this Jewish detective that had been removed from his job for being Jewish, in Nazi Germany, near the end of WWII, being asked to investigate a serial murderer while bombs are falling around them and Jews are being exterminated. I've read books set during the war but in other countries and it wasn't as odd. The combination of the almost nightly bombings and the situation of a Jew helping the Nazis made for a very surreal read. I did really enjoy getting to know Oppenheimer and seeing his relationship to the world and people around him. The level of gore wasn't quite up to what I expected, assuming this would be similar to Scandinavian noir, but that isn't a complaint, just an observation. I do wonder how this continues as a series but couldn't find book descriptions for the next one in English. But, I'll be waiting for the translation!

Germania by Harland Gilbert’s was a very interesting book from the view of the German people during the later years of WWII. Richard Oppenheimer is a Jewish Inspector that has been requested by the Nazi police to help with gruesome murders. Berlin is just to common a name for such a great city and Hitler wants to change it to Germania and build amazing structures that show the greatness of Germany but Germany is under constant bombardment from the Allied forces so all are running to bomb shelters, very hungry and hoping for the war to end. Richard is constantly worried about being a Jew and just wondering when he will be arrested for being Jewish so when the opportunity to work with the SS to investigate a murder he jumps at the chance hoping to maybe save the lives of his wife, Lisa and himself.
The plot line was very easy to follow and guess what was going to happen. The characters were simple and could have been more developed.
Thank you Thomas Dunne Books for a preview book of Germanic for an honest review.
#Netgalley #ThomasDunneBooks #Germania

I'd like to thank the author, publisher and net galley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.

This book was fully of suspense and espionage, but can be a bit slow at times. Maybe to give your heart a chance to recover before the next twist or turn. Fans of historical fiction and thrillers will enjoy this book.

**Excellent Plot Concept Marred By Subpar Execution!

When I was offered an advance copy of Germania from NetGalley and the publisher I was sure it would be a “home run” with me. After all, in general I’m a big fan of WWII thrillers and especially those that take place in Nazi Germany. Further, I was sure Germania’s plot concept Involving a forced-into-retirement “Jewish detective being recruited (or else) by the SS to work for them on a serial killer case would guarantee its success with me.

Sadly, my incoming excitement turned into major disappointment.

This disappointment stems from the following factors:
...The plot, while having a sufficient amount of interesting moments, too often occurred in “fits and starts”, thus not generating a steady sense of excitement and/or thrills to strongly maintain my reader interest to find out what happens next;
...The characters were serviceable (at best) for moving the story forward, although I found myself not caring enough about them; and
...I found the ending, while interesting, to be pretty predictable with very few surprises.

#Germania #NetGalley

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Harald Gilbers for the [gifted] copy of Germania!

Set in Berlin in the spring of 1944, a serial killer stalks the city. He murders women and leaves their bodies displayed on WWI memorials throughout the city. Convinced that the killer must be Jewish, the SS bring in Jewish detective Inspector Oppenheimer to consult on the case.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set in Berlin at the end of WWII. We all have read about life in London during the Blitz, but the history books rarely talk about the relentless bombing of Berlin at the end of the war. It was an interesting perspective to have the characters scrambling to solve this crime with moral and belief in the Nazi party deteriorating.

This book would be a great gift for fans of WWII historical fiction and investigative dramas. It’s the first book in a series that hopefully will be translated from English to German.

Germania is out on 12/1/2020!

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Review
Germania
Harald Gilbers

reviewed by Lou Jacobs
readersremains.com | Goodreads



,Rejoice fans of Philip Kerr and Alan Furst, a new voice has reached our shores. Germania was published in Germany in 2013 to great acclaim, and garnered the prestigious Glauser Prize for Best Debut Crime novel. Finally, an excellent English translation is available for our reading pleasure.

A cinematic noir thriller is woven through the bombed-out streets of war-torn Berlin in the waning years of 1944 Nazi Germany. SS Hauptsturmfuhrer Vogler has unsuccessfully chased a serial killer for three months. In desperation, he enlists—or rather coerces—Richard Oppenheimer to act as an advisor in his unsuccessful endeavor. Oppenheimer was one of the best investigators in the crime squad before he was removed from public service, because of his odious crime of being “a Jew.” He had successfully investigated and brought to justice three of the most heinous serial killers in German history: Friedrich “Fritz” Haarmann the “Butcher of Hannover,” Peter Kurten the Vampire of Dusseldorf, and Karl Grossman the killer of prostitutes and homeless women. It was Oppenheimer’s involvement in this last one—the killer, monster, madman investigation—that brought his name to the attention of Vogler.

Oppenheimer has no choice and certainly cannot not turn down Vogler’s request. He’s already living in the “Jew House” with his Aryan wife, and slinks around the streets marked by a yellow star, avoiding eye contact with passersby. By joining the case, Oppenheimer hopes to avoid his “evacuation,” an official term used by the National Socialists and euphemism for being shipped off to a concentration camp.

Inspector Oppenheimer quickly, reflexively, takes on the familiar role of hunter. At the multiple murder sites he finds a young women, strangled and displayed in a somewhat sacrificial manner on top of a World War I memorial with her legs splayed open, revealing a horrendous mutilation of her genitals. With further exploration the victims have had long steel nails driven into both ear canals, which were embedded into the brain.

Gilbers weaves together a complex and convoluted narrative that culminates in multiple unexpected reveals. His cinematic and atmospheric tale obviously pays homage to the great noir films of Fritz Lang. Like any good historical novel, this story is populated by the main players of the time: Hitler, Goebbels, Speer, and Goring, though they are only present tangentially. The main focus are the protagonists of Oppenheimer, Vogler, and the murderer. And, lastly perhaps, the German people.

The bottom line: An excellent translation to a deeply engaging historical noir. All the markings of a classic.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin’s Press for supplying an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. This tale measures right up there with the best of Philip Kerr’s beloved “Bernie Gunther” series. I look forward to English translations of Gillber’s four other “Oppenheimer” novels.

I read 50% of the book and it was so detailed about the war in Germany and the history that the characters got lost in the story. It was very difficult to follow and after spending so much time trying to follow this mystery of a serial killer I lost Interest. I got this free from net galley, an advanced copy and thank you for the opportunity to review it but just couldn't follow it through to the end.

I found this book to be both disturbing and intriguing. Obviously, a serial killer who mutilates his female victims is very awful to read about, but somehow more so when it is in the middle of WWII in Berlin. The irony is that the SS calls on Oppenheimer, a former Jewish police detective to help them find the serial killer. I liked the ending and the gift he was given.

I was invited to read this one by the publisher, and it wasn't one that I would have picked on my own. However, I ended up really enjoying it. It's unique and different, and set in a horrible time, but still a good, solid story.

Thank you for the opportunity to read.

4.5/5 Stars