Date wise this series is all over the place as it tells the story of Bernie Gunther. The last book ended in 1954, but covered events going back to the 1930's. This book is set mostly in 1941 with an ending in 1942.

Bernie is back working as a homicide detective in Berlin, waiting for his next summons from Reinhard Heydrich, with little to investigate as his bosses don't want him to do his job as diligent as he would like. While looking into the death of a rail worker he is summonsed to Prague by Heydrich where he is offered the job of being his private detective. But before he can decide, there is a murder in Heydrich's house, which at the time is full of SS brass, all of whom become suspects as Bernie is asked to investigate. Heydrich is the new Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia and gives Bernie a free hand to carry out the investigate, something he takes advantage of in being able to give his superiors a hard time.

A really enjoyable and informative read. I spent so much time checking up to find out if so-and-so was real and what happened to them after the war. Most of them died either at the end of a rope or up against a wall. They were not a nice bunch of people, as this book exposes. This is a murder mystery at it's heart, with a strong theme of spies running through it. Well worth the read.