Фолькер Кучер: The March Fallen

‘Set in atmospheric 1930s Berlin where a maverick detective is hunting a serial killer The Silent Death , like its predecessor, Babylon Berlin , owes much to its author’s commitment to historical accuracy and the cynical feel of the times.’

1931: Abraham Goldstein, professional hit man, arrives in Berlin from New York. Gereon Rath is assigned to keep him out of action – a boring job when the city’s stores are being robbed, an underworld power struggle is playing out, and Nazi brownshirts are patrolling the streets. But Goldstein will surprise them all.

‘ Goldstein is maybe the best of the series so far… like the bastard love child of Christopher Isherwood and Raymond Chandler.’

1932: A drowned man is found in a freight elevator in the giant pleasure palace on Potsdamer Platz, far from any standing water. Inspector Gereon Rath’s hunt for a mysterious contract killer has stalled, but this new case will take him to a small town on the Polish border and confrontation with the rising Nazi party.

‘The body count steadily mounts in Rath’s most complicated case to date.’

‘Kutscher successfully conjures up the dangerous decadence of the Weimar years, with blood on the Berlin streets and the Nazis lurking menacingly in the wings.’

‘Gripping evocative thriller set in Berlin’s seedy underworld during the roaring Twenties.’

‘ Babylon Berlin brings a fresh perspective to images and material that might otherwise seem shopworn, and its frenetic rhythms are particularly apt for a moment when we appear to be dancing our own convulsive tango on the edge of a fiery volcano.’

‘If you like crime, historical or translated fiction, this gives you all three.’

‘James Ellroy fans will welcome Kutscher’s series, a fast-paced blend of murder and corruption set in 1929 Berlin. Kutscher keeps the surprises coming and doesn’t flinch at making his lead morally compromised.’

‘The novels on which the dramas are based are even more rewarding than television’s slick production.’

‘Gripping, skilfully plotted and rich in historical detail.’

‘Splendid and chilling… This is as good as Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series.’

‘Noir of exceptional quality… Truly entertaining and deliciously dark.’

Volker Kutscherwas born in 1962. He studied German, Philosophy and History, and worked as a newspaper editor before publishing Babylon Berlin , first of the award-winning series of novels to feature Gereon Rath and Charlotte (Charly) Ritter and their exploits in 1930s Berlin. The Gereon Rath series was awarded the Berlin Krimi-Fuchs Crime Writers Prize in 2011 and has sold over one million copies worldwide. A lavish television production of Babylon Berlin was first aired in 2017 in the UK on Sky Atlantic. Volker Kutscher works as a full-time author and lives in Cologne.

Niall Sellarwas born in Edinburgh in 1984. He studied German and Translation Studies in Dublin, Konstanz and Edinburgh, and has worked variously as a translator, teacher and reader. He lives in Glasgow.

Babylon Berlin (Der nasse Fisch)

The Silent Death (Der stumme Tod)

Goldstein (Goldstein)

The Fatherland Files (Die Akte Vaterland)

Lunapark (Lunapark)

Marlow (Marlow)

First published in Great Britain by

Sandstone Press Ltd

Suite 1, Willow House

Stoneyfield Business Park

Inverness

IV2 7PA

Scotland.

www.sandstonepress.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.

First published in the German language as “Märzgefallene” by Volker Kutscher

© 2016/2014 Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch GmbH & Co.

KG, Cologne/Germany

© 2014 Volker Kutscher

The right of Volker Kutscher to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

Translation © Niall Sellar 2020

The translation of this work was supported by a grant from the Goethe Institut which is funded by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

ISBN: 978-1-913207-04-5

ISBNe: 978-1-913207-05-2

Cover design by Mark Swan

Ebook compilation by Iolaire Typography, Newtonmore