Фолькер Кучер: Babylon Berlin

Weinert waved the file. ‘If there’s anything I can do for you – let me know.’

Rath didn’t have to think long. ‘Do you need your car tomorrow?’

‘If you dare show your face again in Nürnberger Strasse, you can have it.’ Weinert laughed and turned round.

Rath gazed after the journalist until he had disappeared into the crowd. He stayed at the table and lit another cigarette. Sometimes you had to lie to reveal the truth. Weinert was all fired up for this story; he would write it, that much was certain.

Rath’s gaze wandered over the sea of houses. He still didn’t know what to make of this city, but in summer Berlin definitely had its charm. It was completely different from the winter. Perhaps it wasn’t so bad here after all.

Now he just had to persuade Charly to take a drive out to the country with him tomorrow. That was the trickiest part, but he would manage it somehow.

Volker Kutscherwas born in 1962. He studied German, Philosophy and History, and worked as a newspaper editor prior to writing his first detective novel. Babylon Berlin , the start of an award-winning series of novels to feature Gereon Rath and his exploits in late Weimar Republic Berlin, was an instant hit in Germany. Since then, a further four titles have appeared, most recently Märzgefallene in 2014. The series was awarded the Berlin Krimi-Fuchs Crime Writers Prize in 2011 and has sold over one million copies worldwide. 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. Alongside his translation work, he currently teaches Modern Foreign Languages in Harrow. He lives in London.

Der stumme Tod (The Silent Death)

Goldstein (Goldstein)

Die Akte Vaterland (The Fatherland File)

Märzgefallene (The March Fallen)

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First published in Great Britain

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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 “Der nasse Fisch. Gereon Raths erster Fall” by Volker Kutscher © 2007, 2008 Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch GmbH & Co.KG, Cologne/ Germany © 2007, 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 2016

The publisher acknowledges support from Creative Scotland towards publication of this volume.

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

Sandstone Press [Ltd] acknowledges financial assistance from XPONorth (Writing & Publishing) in the publication of this book.

ISBN: 978-1-910124-97-0

ISBNe: 978-1-910124-98-7

Cover design by Mark Swann

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