What do You think about Death In Berlin (2000)?
This is my 3rd mystery by M. M. Kaye, and the dialogs, scenes and even the characters are getting very predictable. The lead is always a lady, always determined to be a spinster, always abysmally young. This story took forever to start, the female lead was annoying or saying and doing things that were annoying, and in the end the criminal wasn't even convincing, that is, the reason for the crime was quite uninspiring. Zero chemistry between the lead protagonists. Having said all that, it was a picturesque read into post WWII Germany, the angle of Wally was nice, and even the annoying female lead was not annoying when in company of Wally. I liked Death in Zanzibar & Death in Cyprus more. (Or was it just because I read them before and wasn't as yet jaded by the sameness of the characters?)
—Shobha
Many of my complaints about Death in Kashmir could be applied to Berlin as well... and I could add a few more. Something about a helpless heroine, a massive coincidence, and a cast of underdeveloped characters, perhaps. But even so, I genuinely liked the novel. Miss Miranda Brand is visiting her cousin and his wife, stationed in Berlin just after WWII. But on the train over, she wanders into the wrong compartment and comes out with blood on her hands and her slippers. The man in charge - a vague equivalent to a police detective - seems to believe her story... but she's not sure. And then when other people start dying she wonders just how likely it is for an innocent person to be convicted. It all has something to do with the story the murdered man told that evening at dinner just before he died... a story of mystery, murder, and a fortune in diamonds. A story that involved a little refugee girl with treasure inside her doll... a girl who is all grown up now. It's a fun mystery... reminicent of some of Agatha Christie's work. While our heroine is lamentably helpless, I rather enjoy a decent male character with rescuer tendencies. =)
—Jenny
Buddy read with Jeannette and HannahAnother really good mystery by MM Kaye. This one set in Berlin, Germany in 1953. Kaye did a very good job of describing the bombed out buildings, the piles of rubble that had already been grassed over into ski hills, bullet riddled statues and the different sectors. She was living there at the time so her descriptions have that ring of authenticity.There is a large cast of suspects and more than one mystery to be solved. I certainly didn't figure everything out. Miranda Brand joins some friends as they move to a new post in Berlin. She is going for a month long vacation. War-torn Berlin doesn't exactly sound like a great vacation spot to me but there is a connection to her past so that is probably why she was drawn there. The book starts with a very good prologue and then we are off on a train ride where things do go "bump in the night." There is also a fortune in diamonds stolen by Nazis that was never recovered. As usual the action really picks up in the last few chapters and I didn't want to put the book down.
—Diane Lynn
