The Last Man in Berlin [Hardcover]

Gaylord Dold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

This page-turning thriller evocatively depicts a corrupt and desolate Berlin at that turning point in history when Hitler is on the cusp of taking power. It is the story of Detective Harry Wulff, a member of an elite police force, who is assigned to solve the murders of two transvestites whose deaths are connected to the Nazis' rise to power.

The Last Man in Berlin is peopled with unforgettable characters, including Wulff and his father, a revered Prussian officer who served during the Great War; Harry's lover, Johanna, a Jewish psychoanalyst filled with insight, passion and terror; a trooper in charge of Nazi hooligans determined to overthrow the Republic; and a maniacal killer who maintains chilling ties to those who will soon rule Germany.

As Wulff's search unfolds, he must enter the Berlin underworld of cross-dressing and prostitution, where he learns how these strange deaths are tied to the inner core of the Third Reich. In the end, Wulff and his father, the last good Germans, must ultimately stand fast against the terror of that time. The Last Man in Berlin is a novel so memorable that you will shake as you compulsively turn the pages.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

WWII-era suspense novels (as opposed to espionage thrillers) have been steadily gaining ground thanks to the likes of J. Robert Janes and Joseph Kanon. Veteran mystery writer Dold (Six White Horses, etc.) makes a foray into the subgenre with his latest novel, set in a 1930s Berlin riven by street battles between the Communists and the rising Nazi Party. In this fraught climate, Det. Insp. Harry Wulff has three strikes against him: he is pro-Republic; his lover is a Jew, an early psychoanalyst named Johanna Davidov; and he has been detailed to Bernhard Weiss, a ranking Jewish officer working to expose the crimes of the Nazi Party. Meanwhile, the discovery of the strangled corpse of a transvestite prostitute in an alley puts Wulff on a collision course with a crazed killer who steals the identities of his victims. By juxtaposing the killer's psychosexual pathology with the corruption of the Nazis he eventually works for, Dold fosters an atmosphere of sordid menace. The plot weaves between the Nazis, the losing team of Wulff and Weiss, and a host of Weimar underworld types, leading inevitably to a three-way showdown between Wulff, the killer and a scheming SA leader, Dieter Rom. Dold's characters (particularly the wasted Johanna) could use a bit more depth, and the application of period detail is uneven. But Wulff is a dependable protagonist, and as Dold halts his tale with time to spare (following Hitler's ascension in 1933), there is potential here for a sequel.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Gaylord Dold has been writing for twenty years, and in addition to the fourteen novels he has written, mostly mystery stories, three of which received starred PW's, he also became a publisher-his first book appeared on the Avon list-and he helped found the Watermark Press, a literary publisher that was the offspring of Watermark Books, a bookstore established in Wichita, Kansas. Gaylord was born in Kansas, and lives in Wichita. He started out as a storefront lawyer, and taught law at a college in Florida, and eventually became a criminal defense attorney, defending drug dealers, bank robbers, and other thugs of the Federal justice system. He is the author of fourteen novels, the newest one, SIX WHITE HORSES, was published in October 2002.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; 1 edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402201249
• ISBN-13: 978-1402201240
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,544,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars The devil is in the details, June 13, 2008

By 

James L. Settle "Steelburner" (San Antonio, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Man in Berlin (Hardcover)

This book, by the prolific author Gaylord Dold, promised to be an exciting, informative, and insightful chronicle of a turbulent time in Germany's history; a time which would eventually give rise to some of mankind's greatest crimes. But poor editing (or writing -- it's hard to tell who made the errors) jarred me from beginning to end, starting with the first page.

What jarred me? Firstly, a poor technical knowledge; i.e., a Pistole '08, called a P-'08 in the book, is a Luger semi-automatic pistol. Dold called it a 'revolver,' which is not a generic word for a handgun.

Secondly, a poor choice of words; the author or editor apparently doesn't know the difference between 'critical' and 'crucial.' Believe me, there IS a difference. Likewise, he doesn't know the difference between 'poured' and 'pored' when used in the context of intense study of documents, or of 'tick' and 'tic' when writing of involuntary nervous movements.

Lastly, there was too much gratuitous sex. WAY too much, described in unnecessary detail in an obvious attempt to make the book appeal to a mass market.

Those things spoiled a good story for me.

4.0 out of 5 stars Sex. Drugs. Rock 'n Roll. Hitler, April 11, 2004

By 

Larry Scantlebury (Ypsilanti, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Man in Berlin (Hardcover)

This is a very good mystery-thriller, painted on the canvas of the doomed Berlin, and subsequently, doomed mid-twentieth century Europe. It carries with it some of the sadness of the wonderful Alan Furst novels, true to the time and the despair of the Armageddon our forefathers were powerless or impotent or too ignorant to avoid.

Harry Wulff, the last man standing, is a successful detective wanting only to protect the people, the Berliners, from lawbreakers. Of course behind Wulff are the raging battles of the Nazi Party, the communists, as well as the criminals. This is Berlin in 1931 and 1932. Hitler is not Chancellor yet and the Reichstag has yet to be burned.

His love of his partner Johanna, who won't marry him because she is Jewish, his loyalty to his friend Barlach, and his devotion to his father is touching and grounds him. We are dealing with an honorable man in dishonorable surroundings.

Hot on the trail of a psychopath he seeks the advice of Johanna, much like Spenser seeks the advice of Susan Silvermann. But Spenser survives and Harry is left almost on the brink of madness himself.

There was for me almost too much sex and a great deal of it was lurid and uncomfortable. The pschopath kills tranvestites; there is more than a hint of his incestuous upbringing; the Nazis use prostitutes with special skills.

Yet Dold writes a compelling novel and I will read him again, and probably again. 4 stars. Larry Scantlebury

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As Hitler rises to power, February 23, 2004

By 

Domer1956 (Mount Dora, FL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Last Man in Berlin (Hardcover)

An interesting perspective of Berlin in the era as Hitler was about to take power interwoven with a thrilling search for a murderer. Well written and hard to put down.