The Good German is a murder mystery that imagines life in Berlin at the end of World War II. Through the eyes of an American newsman, we get a bitter taste of how grim those days must have been.

Jake Geismar's visit to the city has two purposes: to cover the Potsdam conference for Collier’s magazine, and to search for his former mistress, Lena Brandt, wife of a German scientist. A third mission develops when the body of an American army officer, his pockets bulging with money, washes up on a lakeshore.

Joseph Kanon skillfully blends the mystery with history’s other well-documented activities in post-war Germany: the frantic efforts by American and Russian forces to recruit German scientists; the search for Hitler subordinates and other Nazis responsible for the war; and trials of Jewish collaborators who betrayed their own people to save themselves.

Pervading the story are the fraying alliance between the occupying forces, and the desperate living conditions of Berlin’s survivors. The once great city is a pile of rubble, its people scrounging for food and chopping down forests for firewood to survive the coming winter. Prostitution and drunkenness are rampant, and soldiers on both sides exploit the people’s misery for profit.

Traumatized by it all, Jake and Lena renew their romance, but circumstances put them in constant danger. The Russians are searching for her husband, and Jake is a target because of his investigation into the officer’s death. It’s a complex entanglement of torrid emotions, shattered hopes, and despair.

I had a hard time deciding how to rate this book. I have limited it to three stars because of pervasive foul language, and two explicit sex scenes. Call me a prude, but I believe a talented writer like Joseph Kanon could have pulled off this brilliant novel easily without offending his audience.

Chevron Ross's novels include Weapons of Remorse, The Seven-Day Resurrection, and The Samaritan's Patient. Click here for more information.