Blackout: A Gripping WW2 Thriller

by Simon Scarrow

Overview

#1 Sunday Times bestselling author

“Atmosphere, sharp intrigue, and a host of fascinating characters all combine to make this one the next addition to your keeper shelf." —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author

Fans of Philip Kerr’s Berlin Trilogy, Howard Linskey, James D. Shipman, Robert Ludlum, Andrew Gross, and William Christie can buckle down for an intense plunge into the darkest heart of war in #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Scarrow’s blistering new World War II thriller.

As the Nazis tighten their chokehold on the capital, panic and paranoia fester as blackout is rigidly enforced. Every night the city is plunged into an oppressive, suffocating darkness—pitch-perfect conditions for unspeakable acts.

When a young woman is found brutally murdered, it’s up to Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke to solve the case quickly. His reputation is already on the line for his failure to join the Nazi Party. If he doesn’t solve the case, the consequences could be fatal.

Schenke's worst fears are confirmed when a second victim is found. As the investigation takes him deeper into the regime’s darkest corridors, Schenke realises danger lurks behind every corner—and that the warring factions of the Reich can be as deadly as a killer stalking the streets . . .

“Mesmerising. Nail-biting. Unputdownable. Utterly authentic and beautifully written.” —Damien Lewis

“Taut and chilling—I was completely gripped.” —Anthony Horowitz, bestselling author of the Alex Rider and Susan Ryeland series

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496739735
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	03/29/2022
Series:	A Berlin Wartime Thriller , #1
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	483,806
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Simon Scarrow is a #1 Sunday Times bestselling author whose historical fiction and thrillers have been translated into more than twenty languages with millions of copies sold. A former history teacher and lecturer, he is the author of the long-running Eagles of the Empire military fiction series set in Ancient Rome as well as a quartet of novels about the lives of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte, among other novels. For more, please visit simonscarrow.co.uk, and follow him on Twitter @SimonScarrow or like his author page on Facebook/OfficialSimonScarrow.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/24/2022

Horst Schenke, the protagonist of this exceptional mystery set in 1939 Berlin from British author Scarrow (the Eagles of the Empire series), became a respected Kriminalpolizei inspector after a near-fatal accident six years earlier ended his career as a racing driver. His decision not to join the Nazi party has stymied any hopes for advancement, but his distance from the party leads to his being tapped to investigate a high-profile homicide. Once-prominent film star Gerda Korzeny, ex-mistress of Josef Goebbels and wife of the Nazi attorney “who rewrites certain laws to make the party’s actions legal,” was found near some railroad tracks, her skull crushed by a single blow. Korzeny’s possessions were undisturbed, and her state of undress suggests she was resisting a sexual assault. Schenke’s role is to reduce the prospects of friction between Nazi factions and to serve as a scapegoat if things go south. Scarrow plausibly conveys the complexities of his hero’s efforts to do an honest job of seeking justice while serving under a corrupt and criminal regime. Fans of Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther will hope for a sequel. Agent: Luigi Bonomi, LBA Books (U.K.). (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Dead of Night

“Gripping. . . . Scarrow keeps the pages turning with brisk action, well-drawn characters, and a gift for historical detail. Bernie Gunther fans looking for a new series to sink their teeth into should check this out.” —Publishers Weekly

Praise for Blackout

"(An) exceptional mystery. . . . Scarrow plausibly conveys the complexities of his hero's efforts to do an honest job of seeking justice while serving under a corrupt and criminal regime. Fans of Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther will hope for a sequel." —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
 
“There have been several fine thrillers about serial killers stalking London's darkened streets during the Blitz, but fewer about the parallel phenomenon in Berlin. Scarrow changes that with this crisp thriller set in 1939 at the beginning of the war. Scarrow builds tension both from the crimes at hand and from his hero's internal struggle, knowing that eventually his determination to keep policing separate from politics is doomed to failure. . . . Scarrow makes the most of the blackout as a breeding ground for mayhem.” —Booklist

“Blackout is a taut, tense World War II historical thriller by best-selling author Simon Scarrow. Blackout is first-class historical fiction. The climax is a crescendo of tension that doesn’t end with the true murderer’s identification and apprehension.” —USA Today Network

“Superb. . . . Blackout is a historical thriller extraordinaire penned by an author in complete command of history and subject matter. Not since David Morrell’s incredible trilogy featuring Thomas de Quincey has a book like this featured such a mastery of time and place with deep-seated echoes of America’s own divisions today.” —The Providence Journal

“That line between right and wrong gets pretty smudged in this gem of a story. Atmosphere, sharp intrigue, and a host of fascinating characters all combine to make this one the next addition to your keeper shelf." —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author
 
“Taut and chilling—I was completely gripped!” —Anthony Horowitz, bestselling author of the Alex Ryder and Susan Ryeland series
 
“A gripping thriller.” —The Sunday Times
 
“Blackout crackles with tension from the first page as the inspector digs through layers of intrigue not knowing whether he’s nearing the truth or digging his own grave. Simon Scarrow launches us on a breakneck ride through a wicked city in a desperate time. What a pleasure.” —James Thayer, author of House of Eight Orchids
 
“Mesmerising. Nail-biting. Unputdownable. Utterly authentic and beautifully written. . . . The perfect way to bring the past alive.” —Damien Lewis, internationally bestselling author
 
“Scarrow's deep knowledge of the Third Reich gives a chilling authenticity to this tense thriller—loosely based on a true story. Thrust into the hunt for a serial killer, Inspector Schenke is a particularly sympathetic hero who must use all his wits to survive the Gestapo. . . . A terrific read.” —Julia Boyd, author of Travellers in the Third Reich

“Simon Scarrow is a master storyteller. Blackout twists and weaves through wartime Berlin in a riveting take on history. A must read!” —James D. Shipman, author of Task Force Baum and Irena’s War
 
“A master of historical fiction at his finest, Simon Scarrow turns his expert eye on the Third Reich. Blackout is an authentic and compelling story and Horst Schenke the natural heir to Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther.” —Howard Linskey, author of Ungentlemanly Warfare and Hunting the Hangman
 
“The evocation of pre-war Berlin and the atmosphere is so tangible. The finely drawn characters, that mix of glamour and dread, the simmering undercurrent of fear, is finely drawn. Clever, intimate, and full of intrigue.” —David Gilman
 
“Scarrow is a genius and I love everything he writes, but Blackout takes things to a whole new level. It's by far the best book I've read this year.” —Tom Marcus

“A wonderfully compelling thriller, reeking of authenticity, and a terrific depiction of the human world within the chilling world of the Third Reich.” —Peter James
 
“Superb. . . . Blackout is a gripping, terrifying read, as well as being a thumping good page-turner. This is historical crime fiction at its finest from a much-loved writer at the very top of his game.” —David Young
 
“A perilous world where high society, low desire, and suspected espionage intersect with infighting among the Hitler regime's power-hungry elite. . . . A genuine page-turner.” —Frederick Taylor

“Hugely compelling and brimming with menace. . . . The underlying atmosphere of a city held in the thrall of a killer and of a regime that thrives on fear and distrust is thoroughly authentic and gripping.” —Chris Lloyd
 
“Loved Blackout. The Berlin of the very early days of the war is vividly drawn and already irredeemably corrupt, the rivalries between the Gestapo, the Kriminalpolizei, Goebbels in Propaganda and Canaris at Intelligence ring all too real, and I fear for Criminal Inspector Schenke's safety in future books given his refusal to join the Nazi Party, his insistence on following the evidence, and his reluctance to compromise the truth.” —Jack Grimwood

From the Publisher