Crime Fiction as Historical Warning: A Review of Simon Scarrow's "A Death in Berlin"

Simon Scarrow's A Death in Berlin, the third installment in his Berlin Wartime Thrillers series featuring Inspector Horst Schenke, immerses readers in Nazi Germany at a crucial point in history. Set in May 1940, with Poland already overpowered and Hitler's formidable war machine tensed to unleash its westward offensive, the novel weaves historical authenticity through every thread of its narrative fabric.

Scarrow, Simon. A Death in Berlin. Headline, 2025.

Berlin is a city under blackout restrictions where criminal activity flourishes in the darkness, where rationing has created black markets, and ideological "education" sessions are mandatory. Casual references to propaganda films and the "lesser races" have become normalized in everyday conversation.

The plot ignites with a high-profile murder in Berlin's criminal underworld that draws Inspector Schenke into investigating both the killing and a potentially linked forgery operation. What begins as an apparently straightforward case gradually unravels to reveal intricate layers of complexity.

As Schenke probes deeper, he uncovers connections suggesting the boundaries between Berlin's underworld and the Nazi power structure are considerably more intertwined than officially acknowledged. His investigation compels him to question not merely the killer's identity but how justice itself functions within a system thoroughly corrupted by extremist ideology and the ruthless pursuit of power.

The novel's characters embody the moral compromises essential for survival under totalitarianism. Inspector Horst Schenke is a nuanced protagonist—methodical and intelligent yet harboring a potentially fatal secret: his relationship with Ruth Frankel, a Jewish woman, constitutes a serious criminal offense under the Reich's racial laws.

This forbidden relationship forces Schenke to confront the regime's ideology on a profoundly personal level rather than maintaining professional detachment. When his secret becomes vulnerable to exposure, Schenke faces impossible choices that test both his professional ethics and personal loyalties.

The supporting characters receive similarly thoughtful treatment. Schenke's team includes the precise, socially awkward Liebwitz with his remarkable memory and the more cynical Sergeant Hauser, whose sardonic remarks offer a brief respite from the pervasive darkness. The criminals themselves are, for the most part, portrayed with psychological complexity rather than as stock villains.

A Death in Berlin transcends conventional crime fiction by weaving broader sociopolitical themes throughout its historical setting. The narrative draws explicit parallels between the Nazi power structure and criminal organizations, revealing how both entities maintain their dominance through similar mechanisms of intimidation, loyalty demands, and systematic violence.

The novel also examines how totalitarianism erodes individual morality, creating an atmosphere where survival often necessitates compromise and complicity. Characters retreat into "secret inner worlds," carefully monitoring their speech even in private settings.

Though set over eighty years ago, A Death in Berlin addresses issues with striking relevance today. The gradual normalization of extremist ideology depicted in the novel serves as a warning about how societies can incrementally accept the unacceptable. Scarrow shows how language itself becomes weaponized, with terms like "un-German" and "lesser races" functioning to dehumanize targeted groups, a mechanism recognizable in contemporary political discourse.

The novel's exploration of institutional corruption, where law enforcement becomes entangled with the very criminality it purports to fight, speaks to ongoing debates about accountability and the abuse of power. Particularly effective is how Scarrow presents the personal cost of resistance. Schenke's internal struggle between professional duty and moral conscience reflects the universal question of how individuals should respond when legal frameworks become instruments of injustice.

Perhaps most compelling is Scarrow's examination of information control. Characters navigate a treacherous divide between official propaganda and observable reality, where questioning the sanctioned narrative carries severe consequences. This exploration resonates powerfully in our contemporary information landscape, with its parallel challenges of misinformation, censorship, and the fortitude required to preserve independent thought amid social pressure.

Scarrow's prose strikes a balance between clarity and atmospheric detail. His descriptions of locations, from the shabby glamour of Berlin nightclubs to the clinical sterility of police headquarters, immerse readers in 1940s Berlin. Although there are occasional lighthearted moments of dry wit, A Death in Berlin is very much a serious novel, as is appropriate given its subject matter.

The dialogue feels natural as it reveals character, advances the plot, and reflects the politically charged environment. Characters speak in ways that reflect their positions and personalities, from police detectives' precise questioning to the ideologically loaded rhetoric of Nazi officials.

A Death in Berlin succeeds as an engaging murder mystery and as an exploration of life under totalitarianism. Scarrow integrates the political context into the fundamental nature of crime, justice, and individual moral choices during this period. The novel powerfully illuminates the corrosive psychological effects of surviving under a regime that systematically criminalizes basic human connections while normalizing atrocity as a patriotic duty. For readers drawn to historical crime fiction that unflinchingly confronts the darkest corners of human nature, A Death in Berlin delivers a gripping journey into one of history's most morally complex and disturbing periods.

---

This review is of an advance reader copy provided by NetGalley and Headline. It is scheduled for release on March 13, 2025.

---