I have read others by this author. This one is very different from past work. Good pacing, clear plot. Enjoyable read, so I would recommend it. Decent book for a plane ride

It’s Berlin in the Winter of 1939. Blackouts are essential at night, a perfect cover for crime. Poland has just fallen to the Nazis who are on the ascendency in their rule. Their grip is tightening in the country, but even they cannot control ordinary crime. That is the duty of the police, the Kripo. CI Horst Schenke believes he can make a difference and do so without involving himself in the political divides of the times. As the Abwehr and the Gestapo play for ascendency, he believes the Kripo must insure the safety of the citizens. When a former actress is found murdered, Schenke is pulled into the case by the Gestapo who demand results that will not reflect badly on them. Meanwhile, other factions are at work who want the case resolved to their liking. Schenke must navigate politics, guard his own beliefs and get to the truth of the crime. Plot twists, personal background and a grim portrayal of Berlin make this an outstanding historical police procedural. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

So much tension in this one! The Nazis are quickly taking over and everyone is a little paranoid and terrified. There are shortages, blackouts, and murders.

The wife of one of the Nazi lawyers is found murdered. Brutally so. CI Horst Schenke is following the law and doing his investigation. He is already suspicious in the eyes of his superiors for not registering for the Nazi party.

When another body comes up he thinks they may be looking at something truly evil. But who is to be trusted? No one.

This was a tense read. Not only are the Nazis making life impossible for everyone in the country, but they fight among themselves just as cruelly. It was amazing to see someone stand up to them and get some sort of justice.

NetGalley/ March 29, 2022, Kensington Publishers

The novel Blackout has everything and more that you expect from WW2 thriller. Claustrophobic and dangerous Third Reich, chilly winter and murdered women. As it seems, there is a serial killer on the loose.

Inspector Schenke investigates, there is a high pressure from Gestapo and politics, who are involved in every aspect of living in a Third Reich Germany. He stays calm under the threats and continue with his work.

Enthralling and marvellous read with powerful and very well shaped characters, where all a good man can do is stay true to his conscience and survive the war.

For all true crime, historical fiction and/or law enforcement type novels readers.

Thanks, NetGalley. I've been a fan of Simon Scarrow for a time now and finding this one here was awesome.
The book follows an ongoing murder investigation, until then simple enough. The magic of the plot comes in the setting, nazi Germany. The main character a.k.a the detective doesn't want to be political and that is affecting his work. Or more likely his chances of being respected or being allowed to keep it. Until it doesn't, the party needs someone unaffiliated to discover who murdered the wife of a renowned member. As the story goes on his political views collide with the case. And no one wants to help him find the true murderer. The blackouts in Germany and the need for control of the narrative come forward to add spice In every turn. The book is fun to read and unexpected in more than one twist.
I enjoyed reading it. At first, I didn't know what to expect and I feared the plot might be plain. Yet as I keep moving forward the story kept getting better. Every twist, information, and character introduced was very well written and added to the story. In the end, I was at the edge of my seat waiting for answers. The only thing I would like is to know a little more about what happened to the characters, but overall I really enjoyed the book. The setting is simply perfectly done to add the spice the story needs.

I enjoy anything to do with WW2, history was one I'd my favorite subjects in school.

This is a great historical fiction novel, with a bit of thriller. If you like to read true crime or law enforcement type novels, this is for you.

It takes place during WW2 in Berlin and follows an inspector trying to solve a serial killer case. You meet several big name historical figures and see a glimpse into the life of those who didn't fully believe in the SS.

There was some fluff added that made certain scenes drag on, which didn't need to be there. Overall this was a pretty good novel and I would recommend it to fans of historical fiction.

An entertaining thriller/historical fiction set in Germany during a bitterly cold December 1939. A famous actress and wife of an SS party lawyer has been murdered. She’s also a past lover of a powerful and prominent figure in the German government. Against the backdrop of rival police departments in Germany, Horst Schenke has been ordered by the head of the Gestapo to lead the investigation. To exacerbate the situation, a Gestspo agent and junior analyst - Otto Liebwitz - has been assigned to his group to keep an eye on him. An interesting character, Schenke has his private views of the current conditions in Germany. It’s telling that he has not signed up as an SS party member. It’s unclear to which rival chain of command his allegiance lies, if any, which is why he has been commanded to lead this sensitive murder. Besides, Schenke is a former race car driver and from an aristocratic family, both details he prefers not to advertise. As Schenke and his team investigate the murder, they uncover other similar murders, all committed at night during blackout. Balancing his determination to find the murderer, holding back from expressing what he really thinks of the government, keeping the various government factions appeased, and managing his love life is a juggling act that Schenke has to perform. Dialogue wise, there were a few times I winced at the words, e.g. “ain’t” and “reckon,” which seem more associated with Americans and Britishers rather than Germans. I wondered at the usage of “Hail” instead of “Heil” - I’ve usually seen the former. The other question left with me is - was there a deeper reason the murderer had for his deeds, other than the obvious one? Given that the author did a nice job with both the Schenke and Liebeitz characters - that are interesting multidimensional characters, the murderer felt fairly one dimensional to me and I was a tad disappointed. Overall though this was a fast-paced enjoyable mystery thriller - a solid 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Kensington Books for the ARC of this book.

I was immediately drawn into the story of Horst Schenke as the honest cop, maintaining his moral compass in the face of the pressure of the Nazi regime. The mystery was well done, as it had me fooled almost til the end. The historical setting of the story and the depiction of the struggles of the time made this book stand out.

Well written, not exaggerating, a rather low-key but realistic portrait of the time (I guess, because I didn’t live it and given my background I probably never would have). Suspense plus politics and a weeny bit of romance makes a good mix. I could have done without the rather detailed description of violent crime, though. But maybe the author was thinking of the movie already 😉 On the other hand I loved riding the Berlin subway or metro of those years in my mind, when driving through the real Berlin of today. Mood well captured, I’d say. As well as the dilemma of women and men, who tried to be honest or „good Germans“, when being „good“ could cost you your life. my favorite quote from the book: „What, then, was the point of being a policeman when criminals ruled? It was a troubling question, and one for which he could find no answer, no matter what he had said to Karin earlier. And what would he do when the party ordered him to become a criminal like them? What could he do? The choice was stark. Do the right thing and suffer the consequences, or do their bidding and sell his soul to a cause his heart and mind told him represented the opposite of all the values he regarded as civilized. “I’m damned,” he whispered in the darkness. “We’re all truly damned.”

Blackout by Simon Scarrow is set in Berlin in 1939 and it starts with a murder, soon it lands in the hands of the young criminal inspector Horst Schenke. He is not a party member which is the reason why he is picked to solve the murder. It is very clear to him that there is some politics behind the reason he is picked and he is under a lot of pressure. Then they find another victim and Horst and his loyal team suspects a connection and they find more murders with some similarities. The author has created some great characters and the setting in Germany is wonderfully described. The dialogue and balance act in this time in history are some of the things I relly liked about this book and I will definitely read the next book in this new series. I must thank @netgalley #Netgalley @KensingtonBooks for giving me this advance copy of #Blackout and @SimonScarrow for making this stuff appear on paper. Highly recommended.

My thanks to Kensington Books for an advanced copy of this new thriller.

Simon Scarrow in Blackout has written a tense thriller about investigating a murder in a country where most of the leaders are corrupt liars, the populous shudders behind closed doors due to both the weather and fear of their government and the war, and the wrong word or action can find anybody, even a police officer fired, arrested or even worse.

December of 1939 in Berlin was one of the coldest winters in a long time. A woman's body is found in a rail yard, murdered. Being the wife of a high ranking official in the Nazi party, answers are demanded, and Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke and his team are assigned the case. Famed for the glory he gave the Fatherland as a race car driver, before an accident halted those dreams, Schenke has found more fame as a very good detective, and more infamy for not joining the Nazi party as so many others have. Which is both a positive, as one can't accuse the Nazis of hiding anything, but failure can be easily blamed on the person with no pull or power. Soon Schenke finds himself at odds with not just his investigation, but a a corrupt party at war with itself, its own people and the rest of the world. Schenke might just lose everything by solving this case, which grows darker and more disturbing as the body count begins to grow.

The story is very well plotted, and the mystery is fair and very descriptive of life under wartime in Berlin, and under the Nazi regime, even for the people who just went with it, not out of belief but just because. Mr. Scarrow has a gift for creating characters that the reader comes to care about, and want to know more, even from smaller ancillary characters. Horst Schenke is a very compelling lead, with a complicated backstory and a love interest that makes sense. A few real life characters make appearances, and all have enough to make them standout, and seem real. Details like the popularity of the jazz clubs, the film industry, even slang and nicknames, really help make the story move.

A very well researched, well written thriller, about a dark time in history, and those who had to do what they had to to survive. I hope this is the first book in a series, as I found Schenke a character I would like to read more about. Definitely a book for fans of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series, or for the St. Cyr and Kohler mysteries that take place in Occupied Paris. A very moody, atmospheric and enjoyable read.

A dark and suspenseful thriller set in Berlin at the end of 1939 and centered around the manhunt for a serial killer on the loose who specifically targets women at night.
But it's also Berlin at the beginning of WWII when paranoia, fears and suspicion are definitely starting to keep its denizens on their toes....
But very soon, as the
authorities rush to unmask and arrest the man responsible for those deadly attacks, the fact that he might actually belong to the Nazi Party will definitely complicate the hunt...

A riveting mystery and a captivating fictional tapestry of the Nazi political world, tensly and fiendishly plotted from the start and blessed with a large cast of exquisitely drawn characters, this adrenaline-fueled journey into fear kept me on the edge of my seat for a few uneasy hours!

Highly recommended this wonderful thriller deserves to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for this terrific ARC

I really enjoy books of this genre, so I was interested in checking this one out. I've never read any police procedurals set during WWII/Nazi Germany. The mystery was interesting. There are lots of twists to keep the reader engaged, though it was a difficult read, at times, in regard to the treatment of the Jews.

I was engrossed after the first 30 pages and was hooked. For me, a detective who sticks to his job as a policeman, even though pressured in every way to join the Nazi party, but refuses at great risk, was a fresh look at this time period. The characters were not all fully fleshed out, but I found the story compelling and the main characters worth turning pages for. (Which I did late into the night and got up early this morning in order to finish the book.) The untrustworthy atmosphere of Nazi Germany was well developed, and the tension rose as the story played out. Who could Schenke trust?
I cringed at times that Schenke played along with anti-Semitism. I wanted him more removed from the terrible statements being said but his internal thoughts, and often his remarks showed he didn’t deem Jews to be worthless and expendable.

Thank you to Pinnacle Books and NetGalley for the chance to read this book and to give my honest review.

Berlin, December 1939
An sinister evil murder, then discoveries of a second murder. While the heinous grip of the Nazi and the terrifying blackout plunges the city into paralyzing darkness night after night ,it is easy to say why I had a hard time putting this book down even though this is not my usual genre!
I recommend this book especially for the thriller/crime genre lovers!

Well done Jack the Ripper meets wartime Germany.Trying to catch a killer while Germany prepares for war.Will be recommending this book and the author.#netgalley #kensingtonbooks.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review "Blackout" a standalone novel by Simon Scarrow. Set in WWII Nazi Germany, this police procedural is a cut above the usual, featuring a cop's cop, Horst Schenke, who values policing above party or politics.
When a former movie star is brutally murdered, and left on the side of a railway track, "Gestapo" Muller decides that Schenke is the best possible investigator to handle the case (even though his not belonging to the Party or the SS rankles at most of the Nazi brass). But, Muller insists, he must solve the case quickly and report only to him; in return, Schenke is given much leeway in his investigations.
But, shortly another body is found - murdered in quite the same way - and then his team begins to link these murders with others that were deemed 'accidents', but bore the same hallmarks of the recent killings. Then, there is another attack and the woman survives; but there are circumstances with make her eyewitness account difficult.
The author does go down the rabbit hole of Nazi-ism and their treatment of Jews and other undesirables. And at times it is a difficult read.
That being said, it's a great police procedural, with the requisite twists and turns, red herrings, mistakes, etc. and an excellent read.

I loved everything about this book! Mainly, Blackout is a perfect little mystery set in Berlin, Winter of 1939. CI Horst Schenke has yet to join the SS, preferring to steer clear of politics and stick to his job as an investigator. The Third Reich assigns Schenke to investigate the murder of a former film star, Gerda Korzeny, who has ties to the party. Schenke soon discovers Gerda is the victim of a serial killer who strikes during the nightly forced blackouts. It is up to Schenke to find the killer while delicately balancing the politics of the time against his own moral compass. Suspicion abounds, and trust is a precarious thing even amongst friends and lovers, but Schenke is indeed the right man for the job. Blackout is everything I wanted it to be and I highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction, mystery, and police procedurals.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book..

Blackout: A World War II Thriller by Simon Scarrow is a great historical police procedural that takes place in Berlin and kept me entertained from beginning to end.

I love myself a great historical novel, and this is a WWII murder/mystery that is part police procedural, part thriller, part historical fiction. It is set in Berlin, Germany 1939. There is plentu of unease and instability cooking as part of the backdrop and threaded within the plot itself to lend intrigue, suspense, and to heighten the stakes.

Here we have CI Horst Schenke who is a complicated and conflicted character. An excellent detective who is an asset to The Third Reich, yet is a black sheep in that he is morally and ideal logically against the new Nazi regime.

The twists and turns within this dark, gritty plot, and the fact that Schenke is diving deeper and deeper into dark corners and layers within important government figures and situations at odds with what he believes, takes this double homicide to a whole new level.

With the Investigator be able to solve the murders, find the culprit, yet keep the heat off of himself, and escape this sticky situation unscathed?

I enjoyed finding out.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Kensington for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts immediately upon publication on 3/29/22.

Can't review what I can't read. This was just posted on 17 November with no indication at the time that it would archive on 18 November. And it won't be published til March 2022. Geez.