The Sleepwalkers: A Mystery

By Paul Grossman

Berlin, 1932. In the final weeks of the Weimar Republic, as Hitler and his National Socialist party angle to assume control of Germany, beautiful girls are seen sleepwalking through the streets. Then, a young woman of mysterious origin, with her legs bizarrely deformed, is pulled dead from the Havel River. Willi Kraus, a high ranking detective in Berlin's police force, begins a murder investigation.

A decorated World War I hero and the nation's most famous detective, Willi also is a Jew. Despite his elite status in the criminal police, he is disturbed by the direction Germany is taking. Working urgently to identify the dead woman and solve the murder, Willi finds his superiors diverting him at every turn, and is forced to waste precious time on a politically-sensitive missing person case. Colleagues seem to avoid him; a man on a streetcar stops him from reading a newspaper over his shoulder; he is uncomfortably aware of being watched. But he persists, and soon enters the dangerous Berlin underworld of debauched nightclubs, prostitutes with secrets to hide, and a hypnotist with troubling connections.

As he moves through darkness closer to the truth, Willi begins to understand that much more than the solution to a murder is at stake. What he discovers will mean that his life, the lives of his friends and family, and Germany itself will never be the same

The Sleepwalkers is a powerful, dramatic debut thriller of a nation's unstoppable corruption, featuring a good man trapped between his duty to serve and his grave doubts about what, and who, he serves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Oct 12, 2010
• ISBN: 9781429949460

Paul Grossman

Paul Grossman is a long time teacher of writing and literature at Hunter College. He is the author of The Sleepwalkers and Children of Wrath.

Book preview

Book One

CITY OF NO TOMORROWS

One

BERLIN NOVEMBER 1932

Dietrich’s legs were magic wands, slim, hypnotic instruments of sorcery that mesmerized millions. Willi could unfortunately only imagine their charms beneath the mannish pantsuit she wore that afternoon to Fritz’s. Bored to tears by the political soothsaying that muscled into every conversation these days, Willi had to fight to keep his eyes open. Lucky for him the tubular Bauhaus chair he was sitting on was killing his ass.

And for you, Herr Inspektor-Detektiv?

He reached for another glass of champagne. Even though his brain was flying, this celebration was depressing. Where else would Marlene Dietrich have shown up but Fritz’s housewarming? Half of Berlin were best friends with his old war pal. And all of them seemed to have turned out to see his new palace in suburban Grunewald. Sleek, long panes of glass wrapped around a curvilinear living room filled with paintings by Klee and Modigliani. The house was another masterwork by Erich Mendelsohn, architect par excellence of the Weimar Republic, who bowed at the effusion of compliments.

So light. So free. Dietrich fingered a shimmering Brancusi statue. So moderne! As for the rest of the city, her face collapsed into a mask of tragedy—it stank. In the two years since she’d last been here, the great star declared, Berlin’s famously invigorating Luft had got truly rotten.

How you breathe here, I cannot understand. She flicked a gold cigarette case open, joining the others on the raw-silk couch. Everywhere, the stench of Brownshirts. Hulking like baboons in front of the department stores. Shaking those goddamn cans at you.

Because they’re hopelessly in debt. The general across from her placed a silver monocle in his eye. Dressed even for a casual afternoon in full uniform and a chestful of bronze medals, he had, if not the wisdom, certainly the position to ascertain his facts. Kurt von Schleicher was minister of war, commander of the army, and Berlin’s most infamous backstage schemer. The Nazis, he proclaimed, are on the verge of ruin, my dear. Financial and otherwise.

Willi’s eyes glazed over.

Just look at this month’s elections, von Schleicher chuckled. ‘Hitler Over Germany,’ indeed! The man flew to ten cities and lost twenty percent of his Reichstag seats.

And still the strongest party, Fritz’s ex-wife, Sylvie, dolefully reminded.

They have reached their zenith. The general pulled off his monocle. A year from now I assure you—you won’t remember Hitler’s name.

What a relief when Fritz’s butler leaned over and whispered there was a call for Herr Inspektor-Detektiv.

You may take it in the library if you would please, sir.

Pardon me, Willi excused himself, shaking his half-dead legs.

Limping down the long, white hallway, he arrived at a glass-enclosed room that looked more like a fish tank than a library. It was Gunther calling from the Alex.

Is she as beautiful as on screen? Sexy as Naughty Lola?

What are you calling about, Gunther?

Sorry to interrupt, Chief. But another floater’s turned up. A girl this time. Out in Spandau, under the citadel.

Willi’s throat constricted as he toyed with the black receiver. All right then, I’m on my way.

Yes, sir. I’ll let them know.

Oh, and, Gunther?

Yes, sir?

She is. Every goddamn inch of her. Even in men’s trousers.

I knew it! Thanks a million, Chief.

Returning the earpiece to the hook, Willi stood there. Bodies in rivers were hardly news in the chaos passing for Berlin these days. But he’d never heard of one surfacing in Old Spandau, that picture-postcard village far on the outskirts of town. A girl no less.

Back in the living room, they made a big fuss about his having to depart so abruptly. Off to catch another fiend? Sylvie leapt to escort him, slipping an arm through his own.

Quite a star you’ve become, eh, Kraus? Dietrich scrutinized him as she might a fine racehorse. Even in America they know of the great Detektiv who nabbed the monster Child Eater of Berlin. You ought to come to Hollywood. I bet they’d make a picture about you.

I don’t think they could find anyone quite boring enough to play me. He forced a little smile.

At this Fritz laughed much too loudly, the long, jagged dueling scar across his cheek turning bright red.

Willi took the new speedway out to Spandau. A racecourse in summer, the Avus was otherwise open to vehicular traffic and usually empty, one of the best-kept secrets in Berlin. The forest pines cast a baleful darkness as he picked up velocity. How Germans loved their forests, he thought, shifting into fourth. The deeper and darker the better. Personally he preferred the beach. Hard, bright sunshine. Open space. This road though was truly superb. A white streak through the wilderness. He was driving far faster than he should, he knew, after so much champagne. Yet the adrenaline rush was too exhilarating to forgo. This silver BMW sports coupe was the only luxury he allowed himself. He didn’t collect art. Didn’t travel. Didn’t keep women. He was boring. The 320’s six cylinders soared to 100 kph. Just boring enough to have become the most famous police inspector in Germany. The machine took the road as if it were barely moving at 110, leaving the forest pines a dim blur. What an ass Fritz could be when he was drunk. Willi floored it and rocketed past 120, seeming to hover over the highway.

Willi’d trust him with his life though.

In half an hour he was slowing to a crawl through the medieval streets of Old Spandau, one of the few parts of Berlin with real provenance. Narrow roads lined with half-timbered houses led toward the fifteenth-century citadel whose stalwart walls still rose where the River Spree joined the Havel. As he parked, he could see the sun beginning to set over the gray water. Down by the riverbank he spotted several uniformed officers in their leather-strapped greatcoats and shiny black-visored helmets.

Inspektor, they said, parting, instantly recognizing him.

Even in the street these days people recognized him, asking for his autograph. Taking their photo with him. The Great Kinderfresser Catcher. A mixture of awe and envy enveloped him as the cops grouped around. A lot of guys in the department didn’t care for his fame. He didn’t care for it either, frankly. What he cared for was being a Detektiv. Enforcing the law. Without the law, the weak were defenseless.

Be prepared for a mess, an officer named Schmidt addressed him.

Willi’d seen more than his share of corpses in the Homicide Commission of Kripo, Berlin’s Kriminal Polizei. Mutilated corpses. Decapitated corpses. Cooked-and-stuffed-into-sausages corpses. But this time his heart froze. Even in a city such as Weimar Berlin, maddened by years of war, defeat, revolution, hyperinflation, and now the Great Depression, nearly a million unemployed, its government paralyzed, the whole place topsy-turvy with depravity . . . sex maniacs, serial killers, red- and brown-shirted thugs battling for control of the streets . . . a city that had reached the end, of no tomorrows, teetering on the brink . . . of insanity . . . civil war . . . dictatorship . . . something . . . this was a portrait of horror.

Faceup on the water’s edge, a girl was cradled like Hamlet’s Ophelia in the mud and weeds. Girl. She was a beautiful young woman, maybe twenty-five. Her alabaster skin was bloated but not so much as to obliterate her features. Young. Fresh. Alive. Even in death. Her glassy eyes were wide open, warm, dark, Adriatic pools, reflecting the cold German sunset. A smile of tranquillity, triumph even, twisted across her lips. As he bent nearer, Willi sensed some long-encrusted lever in his heart shift, and he was seized by an urge to reach out and take the poor thing in his arms. Around her shoulder, like a toga, a thin, gray cotton smock half-torn away revealed her large, round breasts, the nipples already blackening. He noticed at once the dark hair was far too short . . . as if her head had been clean-shaven not long ago.

What really got him though, like a hammer blow, were the legs. Stretched out before her as if she were napping, they seemed almost supernaturally misshapen. He crouched toward the orange glare of the water, holding his breath against her stench. The feet were normal, but from the knees down all the way to the ankles, the bone structure appeared . . . backward. As if someone had taken giant pliers and turned the fibula around.

Like a mermaid, eh? Schmidt smirked.

That’s what we’ve been calling her, sir. Another cop made it clear the joke was not Schmidt’s. Fräulein Wassernixe.

Never mind that. Has the pathologist been sent for?

"Jawohl, Herr Inspektor-Detektiv. Schmidt saluted. He should be here momentarily."

I’ve never seen anything like it, Dr. Ernst Hoffnung declared minutes later, after Schmidt and the others had lifted the poor girl onto the back of the ambulance.

Willi watched the senior pathologist give the body a quick going over.

Suture marks, Hoffnung said with certainty. Somebody’s tampered with these legs. It’s extraordinary. From the feel of it . . . well, I don’t even want to say. I’ll have to open them up and look. Hoffnung’s gloved fingers pressed and poked the entire length of the corpse, ending with a quick tour inside the mouth. I’m not sure yet what the cause of death is, but I can tell you this. She’s almost certainly not German.

Willi had worked with Hoffnung enough times not to underestimate his talents, but this was magic. What tips you off?

Wisdom teeth all removed. Not one in a thousand German girls could afford it.

Any guesses where she’s from?

The only place they routinely work on teeth like that is America.

Willi looked across the wide, gray expanse of water where the two rivers converged. Rain was coming in from the west, making a silvery sheet as it moved across the dense network of islands and inlets on the opposite shore. Somewhere out there, he ruminated, feeling a dozen eyes upon him, this girl had breathed her last.

Who did you say called this in? He turned to Schmidt.

A Frau Geschlecht. Lives in that house, over there. Kroneburg Strasse seventeen.

He handed Willi a report. The handwriting was blurry. Or was it Willi’s eyes?

Unable to look at it, he glanced across the street.

The house was more like a compound, several old buildings behind a high, white wall. Squinting he could just make out a sign above the doorway: INSTITUTE FOR MODERN LIVING. A sudden pounding filled his skull. Thunder. The first drops of rain. Checking his watch, he saw it was after six. At seven he had a dinner appointment he couldn’t miss. He’d have to come back in the morning.

The rain caught up with him, and by the time he reached Kurfürstendamm, the Ku-damm as natives called it—Berlin’s Great White Way—his speedy little BMW was hopelessly stuck in traffic. When he was a kid, motor vehicles were a rarity even on the Ku-damm. Now, despite the traffic signals, between the autos, trucks, streetcars, motorbikes, and double-decker buses, it was faster to walk than drive the grand boulevard. On the buildings all the plaster decorations, the scrolls and shells and roses of the past, had been stripped away for streamlined glass and steel. A thousand neon advertisements flashed from the sleek façades, their blues and reds blurring in the rain, bleeding across puddles, mesmerizing him as he inched past sidewalks thronged with people pouring from movie palaces, overflowing cafés, eddying around blazing department-store windows. Crowds. Neon. Noise. Berlin carried on. Despite all reason.

His throat never failed to tighten up when he passed Joachimstaler Platz, where Vicki had been killed. A truck jumped the curb one morning and crashed into the café window where she’d been sitting. Glass slashed her carotid artery. Two years and the pain had just slightly eased. Only the thought of Stefan and Erich a few blocks farther cheered him on.

He was a good half an hour late when he entered Café Strauss, a colossal affair on Tauentzien Strasse with seemingly hundreds of white-gloved waiters. Even across the crowded dining hall, though, the boys spotted him and began shouting, "Vati! Vati! Over here!" Willi could see their maternal grandmother, Frau Gottman, in her black hat and fur-trimmed suit, frowning at them for such a display, drawing attention to themselves like pygmies. And then at him . . . for being late. Stefan, eight, and Erich, ten, however, never ones to be stifled by etiquette, jumped from their chairs, napkins still tucked to their collars, and flung themselves into his arms.

After Vicki had died, he and the Gottmans had agreed it was probably healthier if the boys came to Dahlem to stay with them. They had a big villa with a large garden, and Vicki’s younger sister, Ava, could care for them while completing university. Miraculously, the arrangement had worked. The boys were thriving. And the miracle worker was Ava. How she gleamed at the boys’ happiness, Willi saw as he hugged them. He had always thought she looked like Vicki, if a slightly more down-to-earth version. But her love of the children made her appear even more similar.

As Willi sat between the boys, their little arms hooked through his own, Frau Gottman adjusted her black feathered hat. A great beauty, once an actress on the Viennese stage, she possessed a skilled repertoire of subtle emotive abilities. You knew of course dinner was for seven. Guilt being one of her best.

Generally Sunday dinner was at their house, and every once in a while he was late. Okay. It was a far drive from town. They forgave him. But today the Gottmans had taken the boys into town, to see the Ishtar Gate. Ergo, no reasonable reason to Frau Gottman for Willi’s tardiness, since he lived a few minutes’ walk from the restaurant.

If you must know, he said with greater terseness than he intended, it was police work. A young lady’s body in the Havel.

His mother-in-law’s eyes widened. That he could say such a thing in front of the children! But his children weren’t the ones disturbed by his work, Willi knew. When she started fiddling with her pearls, he reached across the table and squeezed her hand, earning a slight smile. They’d both lost Vicki, after all. And they both lived in a Germany growing worse by the week for people like them.

To the Gottmans, to most German Jews—his own parents had they lived long enough—it was incomprehensible that he’d become a Detektiv. Centuries of oppression made careers in law enforcement anathema. Police were the enemy. The tools of tyrants. If he really was so interested in the law, why hadn’t he become a lawyer? But a cop he’d become. A famous one at that. And to a man rooted in practicalities like Max Gottman, founder of Gottman Lingerie, achievement was what mattered, not bourgeois sensitivities.

Goodness knows, Bettie—he shot his wife the severest of looks—it is the police alone keeping any stability in this country. The man is serving the republic, not the czar. He turned to Willi with a look of concern. How are you, my son? How was that terrible cold you had?

After the boys had recited a roster of school achievements—Erich the highest grade on a geography exam, Stefan a part in his elementary school’s winter festival, Willi asked Ava how things were at the university.

Willi. Don’t tell me you forgot. I graduated. A year and a half ago.

His face turned red. Yes, of course. How dumb of me. He examined his plate as if something were written on it. What are you doing now then? Besides raising the boys so superbly, I mean.

Sometimes he really found it hard to look at Ava, so similar was she to his lost wife. Same velvet skin. Same chestnut eyes. That long, sleek curve to her neck.

I’ve told you a dozen times. I have a part-time job.

Yes. Sorry. Doing what, again?

I’m a stringer, Willi. I send in reports about what’s going on at the university to one of the big Ullstein papers.

That’s fascinating. You know my old war pal Fritz—

Yes, I know, you goose. It’s Fritz I work for.

He noticed Ava’s bemused smirk. How you live in your own little world, it seemed to say.

Vicki’d had such a natural air of glamour about her. Ten times a day Willi had looked at her and thought they ought to put that pose on a billboard in Potsdamer Platz. It was so perfect, so full of unconscious grace. Ava, he’d always thought, belonged more behind the camera than in front of it. Not that she was any less lovely, just endowed with a different elegance: that of keen intellect and artistry. It pleased him to know she was pursuing her writing. What she was doing with Fritz was another matter.

"So then . . . how are things at the university?"

The chestnut in her eyes quickly darkened. "Positively awful. A year ago I’d never have believed it. The whole student body’s stampeded to the Nazis. Anti-Nazi faculty are being boycotted. Jewish teachers and students get hate mail telling them to get out. It’s no different in the high schools. Erich hasn’t complained about it yet, but I’m the one who picks him up at Volksschule. Every week more students show up in Hitler Youth gear. I don’t know how much longer things will stay tolerable for him there."

Willi felt like a man on an ocean liner who suddenly finds water around his feet. But . . . what are you suggesting, Ava?

I don’t know. She lifted one eyebrow just the way Vicki used to. Maybe we’ll have to send him back to Young Judea, with Stefan.

Erich. Willi looked at his oldest son. "Are you having trouble at the Volksschule because you’re Jewish?"

Erich turned white. He seemed about to say something, then stopped. He was not a child reticent with words.

To Willi this said more than enough. Can you finish the semester out? he asked, alarmed. It’s only, what . . . another two weeks?

Erich shook his head. "It’s not so bad, Vati. Really."

Then over recess we’ll assess the situation and take appropriate action. How does that sound?

Erich nodded.

Willi noticed him quickly rub away tears.

After the main course Grandpa ordered the boys to go have a look at the dessert counters. Take your time. Examine each one carefully before you choose, Max instructed, knowing that dozens of creamy tarts and intricately layered cakes were on display.

As soon as they were gone, the jovial smile dropped from his face. Willi, listen to me. His voice descended to a tremulous whisper. I know you’re not involved in politics, that you are merely an Inspektor-Detektiv with the police. But you do serve the government, and I know you have friends. So I’m asking you, begging you really, if you have or ever get even the least hint of information as to what is going to happen . . . you will promise to let me know, won’t you? It’s just that all our money is tied up in the business. If something were to happen, well . . . I’m thinking of the boys. Their future. If the time has come to pull out, I want to know, before it’s too late.

Pull out? What do you mean?

Sell the firm. Liquidate my assets. Transfer them abroad.

Why on earth would you do that? Willi’s throat constricted. Everyone’s in the same boat. England, France, even America, have all got just as many unemployed.

But they haven’t got Nazis. Max’s eyes widened. What if, God forbid, those maniacs manage to take over? The things they promise! How can one make rational choices in an atmosphere like this, never knowing what tomorrow will bring?

Willi respected his father-in-law greatly, but inside him an anger exploded that made him feel like grabbing the man’s lapels and shaking sense into him. Pull out? What was he talking about? Had fear overcome all logic? They still had a constitution, yes? An army. Laws. Had Max so little faith in Germany, in his fellow Germans, that he thought they’d sell themselves out to a gang of criminals? Had men like Willi fought and bled and died in the Great War, won an Iron Cross for bravery behind French lines, so that men like Max had to pack up and run?

Two

Alexanderplatz—or the Alex—was the great traffic hub of central Berlin, a sprawling plaza crisscrossed by streetcar lines, swarming with motor vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians, and framed by two of the city’s largest temples of mass consumption: the Wertheim and Tietz department stores. Beneath all this was the new U-Bahn station, a juncture of several of Berlin’s busiest subway lines, and overhead the S-Bahn station, which sent elevated trains hurtling to every far corner of the metropolis. The Alex was also home to the vast, old Police Presidium building, occupying one full corner on the southeastern side of the square, a soot-covered behemoth built in the 1880s, half a dozen stories tall with several churchlike cupolas. Coat and hat already in hand, Willi entered Entrance Six at precisely 8 a.m.

As an Inspektor-Detektiv he was head of one of numerous units in the Homicide Commission, with three Detektivs and a staff of fifteen working under him. As the only Jew in the commission, in the entire building practically, he felt it imperative to maintain an air of authoritarian distance with them all, except, that is, for his secretary, Ruta, and his junior apprentice, Gunther—both of whom he treated more like family than underlings.

What news, Ruta? he asked the sexy grandma of six, who despite the new longer skirts managed to show most of her leg. Years ago, she claimed, she’d been a Tiller Girl at the Wintergarten.

All quiet on the western front, boss, she replied, grinding away at her little wooden coffee mill. Every morning she made the most delicious fresh brew on the small gas stove Inspektor-Detektivs received. When she was in a good mood, they got hot Brötchen, too, from the Café Rippa downstairs. No casualties since Miss Mermaid.

Somehow, she always knew about things practically before they happened.

Oh, and Pathology called. Dr. Hoffnung wants you to drop by as soon as you can.

Excellent. Gunther in?

Not yet.

Send him down to Hoffnung’s when he comes.

The pathologist, smoking a pipe in his white smock, was staring out a window when Willi arrived. The moment Hoffnung turned around, Willi was struck by the dark disquiet in his eyes.

It’s an extraordinary thing I’ve seen. He motioned Willi to sit. Had you told me about it the day before, I wouldn’t have believed it possible. But there it is. Hoffnung relit his pipe.

Willi saw the pathologist’s hand was trembling. Really trembling.

Let’s begin with the externals. The smoke seemed to relax Hoffnung. That gray smock the girl was wearing is standard issue at Prussian state mental asylums. Numerous scratches on the scalp indicate her head had indeed been clean-shaven, a practice at several of those institutions. Other than that, there were neither major internal nor external injuries. She was very much alive when she went into that water. And didn’t drown. Managed to keep herself afloat fifteen or twenty minutes before she succumbed to hypothermia. Six, maybe seven hours before we pulled her out. I’d say she was one very determined young lady. Sure as hell wanted to live.

Those legs, Doctor—

"Well, as I said. I’d never have believed such a thing possible. In both cases the fibula, the bone that runs from knee to ankle, had been surgically removed and replanted in the opposite direction, grafted in place with some highly advanced techniques I am wholly unfamiliar with. For years doctors have been hypothesizing about the possibility of bone transplants, but as far as I know, none has ever been successfully performed. Until

Reviews for The Sleepwalkers

[readingover50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was a pleasure to read. You can really tell a difference between a book that is well written vs. other books. Even though I was not sure I wanted to read about the rise of the Nazi party, I found myself enthralled by the story of Willi Kraus, a Jewish detective trying to solve a murder amidst the growing anti-Jewish sentiment. The central mystery was intriguing, and we got to meet an eccentric cast of characters including a hypnotist, street children, prostitutes and aristocrats. All of the characters were well written and drew me into their stories.

As I read, I felt an increasing sense of sorrow and anxiety. Willi and his Jewish friends grow more worried about the Nazi agenda, while at the same time not believing that it could really be carried out. As a reader, I know how the story will turn out for millions of Jewish people, but Willi does not, and I wanted to scream at him to leave Germany before it is too late. The ending was very stressful for me to read, and I could not put it down until I was finished.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would recommend it to my friends.

I received this book for free through the goodreads first reads program.

[datrappert · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In the last days of the Weimar Republic, a Jewish detective investigates a series of mysterious disappearances involving a famous hypnotist and—surprise surprise—Nazis. Grossman’s book does a wonderful job of immersing us in the dark currents of the growing wave of anti-Semitism in Germany, the battles between Nazi SA Brownshirts and Communists, and the growing influence of the SS. There are cameo appearances from a Nazi Who’s Who, including Himmler, Goebbels, Ernst Roehm, and Hitler himself, along with other German notables including Marlene Dietrich and Albert Einstein. All of this seems a bit artificial at times, but nevertheless the novel succeeds in making the late 1932, early 1933 period of history come alive.The mystery plot however, suffers in comparison. Its weaknesses include cardboard characters who could have been pulled from a number of other books, a somewhat light tone that is inconsistent with the extremely dark nature of the story, far too much reliance on unlikely coincidences to drive the story forward, and a few scenes that are too long or borderline pointless such as a ridiculous chase through a department store.The novel does gain power, however, as it moves to its conclusion. Mr. Grossman is rather hemmed in by history here, but does a good job of fitting his story into actual events. When you are finished, you will definitely have a better appreciation for what brought the Nazis to power, but you may wish that the author had just written a work of nonfiction, since he obviously knows his subject matter extremely well.

[clerdly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Willi Kraus is a German Jew and hero or the first world war living in a changing Germany. He is a celebrated detective with the German police who refuses to acknowledge that the reputation that he built is not enough to save him from the advent of Nazi power. As he struggles with his altered reality he is given the dual tasks of locating a missing Bulgarian princess and solving the grotesque murder of a beautiful young woman found in the river with a grotesque deformity. I define a book as "good" if it can take me out of my head and into the world of the author. This book defiantly succeeded in that capacity. It provided not only an engrossing mystery but a spellbinding background to rely upon on the rare occasions that the plot slowed. I felt that I could picture vividly a pre-nazi Germany teetering on the brink of disaster.

[yogiabb_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The Sleepwalkers is a crime/suspense novel set in Berlin in the early 1930's when Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party were preparing to take over Germany. Berlin detective Willi Kraus is assigned to investigate the death of a drowned young woman who was pulled out of a river with bizarrely surgically altered legs. As Kraus pursues the investigation he starts to uncover a vast and deep conspiracy of evil.Willi Kraus is a sympathetic character and that is what kept me going. I didn't find the book very suspenseful. Kraus is supposed to feel hemmed in by the conspiracy but there was nothing that indicated that except the character saying it. Suspenseful scenes ended abruptly or had other unsatisfying ends. It was a frustrating book to read in some senses.I give it two stars out of five. I liked the characters, I loved the back story about Berlin in those times, but not the story too much.I feel like a traitor. St. Martin's Griffin the publisher gave me this copy to review. Sorry guys! I appreciate it though.

[elric17_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A great detective yarn and historical fiction novel. Klaus is a character one can get their teeth into, and the depiction of Nazi Berlin, truly captivating. Look forward to reading other books, by him.v

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book, set in late 1932 Weimar Germany, is one scary book. One reason I like dystopias so much is that the horrible people in them are just pretend. But the Nazis who came to power in early 1933 were not pretend, and they committed atrocious crimes. And this close-up look at Berlin just as the brownshirts were taking it over is frightening both for what is described and for what you know will be coming later.Inspektor-Detektiv Willi Kraus, 35, is a respected Berlin homicide cop who received the Iron Cross for his heroism in World War I, and additionally is a local hero for solving a child-killer crime not long ago. His wife Vicki died two years earlier in a freak accident, and her sister now raises his two young sons, Stefan and Erich.Now Kraus has two new cases. Washed up in the river on the west side of Berlin near Spandau, the body of a woman has been found with mutilated legs – her fibulae have been surgically removed and replanted in the opposite direction. Kraus also is charged with finding a missing Bulgarian princess. While missing persons are not within his ordinary purview, this situation could cause a diplomatic crisis. Both cases turn out to be connected, however. In fact, a number of women have gone missing over the past nine months, all of whom were thought to be under a hypnotic trance when they abruptly left their homes and took the train out to Spandau, from which they never returned.What Kraus discovers is a horrific preview of barbarity to come. And yet he, like so many other Jews at that time, still thinks that reason will prevail, and resists the idea of leaving Germany. At one point he muses:"Sylvie was the third person this week who’d told him to get out of Germany. It was getting annoying. His family had been here what, since the time of Charlemagne? Why would anyone think he’d just pack up and run? And yet…he couldn’t keep himself from wondering if he ever really did have to leave…where would he go?”But increasingly, his ability to do his job is stymied by anti-Semitism. As more and more non-Jews are hypnotized by facism, more and more Jews sleepwalk to their deaths. At the end of the book, you find yourself racing through to see if Kraus will escape in time.Discussion: For me, there were some problems with the book. The intermittent insertion of German phrases is bizarre – the characters presumably all speak German, not English. It just didn’t make sense. The tropes of hypnotism and sleepwalking are clever but at the same time too obviously trying to convey a message about pre-War Germany. And while I accept that the author messed around with the dates of some historical events for plot reasons (which he explains in the afterward), the addition of dialogue from some of the many historical figures of the era just felt like unnecessary “name-dropping.”Evaluation: This is a definite page-turner with an interesting premise – a Jewish cop trying to solve a crime in the early days of the Nazis. There is an eclectic, interesting cast of characters, and by the end, you can’t put it down until you know what will happen.

[maureen61_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very compelling read! Thoroughtly enjoyable and engrossing tale of Nazi atrocities as Hitler's reign begins. Medical experimentation, torture of Jews and general German upheaval. Very well presented with good character development and story line. I couldn't put it down.

[leonardingram · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very good fictional account of life in pre-Nazi Germany, told from the POV of a Jewish homicide detective. The book gets across the point that the average people were "sleepwalking" their way towards a Hitler-ruled country and World War II.As much as I like the main character, Willi Kraus, the setting is the star of this story. The author built the book around the life in pre-war Berlin. In some ways, Berlin itself is the main character of the book.I hope to see more along this line by Paul Grossman.

[ryan1adams · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a interesting look at the interwar period in Germany. I enjoyed the historical aspects of it, especially in how they got woven into a compelling story. Near the end of a story a certain location played a central role, and it was clear what historical event was going to happen. However, I'm not sure that categorizing it as a mystery makes sense, as there didn't really seem to be much of one.Still, a good read.

[gma2lana · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I won this book from librarything.com Early Reviewer program.I just finished it. It was a mystery, historical book. I didn't know a lot of the german phrase words, so that confused me a bit with the sayings. The storyline was good. I think the ending was abrupt. I would however probably read more books by this author.

[mohitgoel_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I got this book as part of the EarlyReviewers giveaway.I have always been interested in fiction set around the WWI/II period. This book is pretty fast paced and didn't disappoint. looking forward to more work from the author.

[marta88_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mr. Grossman is exceptionally gifted at storytelling. I felt a part of the story, as if I were actually in Berlin. I had a sense of what it might have been like to be a German Jew in the weeks leading up to Hitler's assumption of power. This was not the main point of the story, however, but the rich back-drop behind the murder mystery. The two were beautifully intertwined. (It was not politically preachy, which would have ruined it for me.) The characters had depth; I had a sense of who they were as people. It was historically accurate with a few exceptions, so I learned quite a bit. I was immersed in the story and couldn't put it down. I'll probably read his next book.

[sprocto · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys well written thrillers. Set in Germany as it teeters on the brink of Hitler's reign - with just the first hints of the atrocities yet to unfold. The descriptions are realistic enough to put you in the story; the plot is tense in spite of history having written the outcome. I look forward to Paul Grossman's next novel.

[cvjacobs · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Paul Grossman’s The Sleepwalkers mesmerizes the reader with its accurate depiction of Berlin in 1932. From Marlene Dietrich and the rise to the Nazis to the decadent caberet culture, Grossman places his protagonist, Willi Kraus, right in the middle of the action.Willi Kraus captivates the reader. He is an Inspektor-Detekiv with the Berlin police and a Jew. His superiors assign him to two prominent cases. One, the disappearance of a Bulgarian princess, has von Hindenburg’s attention. Willi knows that his job (and perhaps his life) is on the line if he can’t solve the mystery of the missing princess. Yet, the mutilated corpse of a young woman found floating the river consumes his attention at the expense of the political case.Calling this book a page-turner is an understatement. The Sleepwalkers propels the reader through the novel at break-neck speed, but not at the expense of characterization. Willi, his girlfriend Paula, his friends and colleagues and even some Nazi names we know only too well leap from the pages to engage or terrify. The atmosphere is both revolting and intriguing. The plot is intricate and has as many twists, turns and drops as a roller coaster. Run out and buy this one—hang on tight for an exhilarating ride!

[kltmd_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Willi Kraus was a WWI hero and a an honest cop, a life long Berliner, who had only one real problem as he began one of the most puzzling cases of his career - he was Jewish in 1932 Germany. Paul Grossman, the first time author of this cleverly plotted mystery has another problem - he believes it necessary to have Willi know every famous or infamous German of the day personally. Rather than making the era familiar, it is an annoying ploy, as if the author is name dropping to show how much history he knows. The plot involving missing and seemingly hypnotized young women who later turn dead and tortured speaks of the depravity we later learned passed for German science. Willi has a chance to prove it is happening and expose the degeneracy inherent in the Nazi movement. He is blind as to the strength of the Nazis even as he unravels the corruption of the movement. The denouement of the story is not very satisfying, almost glib in its superficiality, after the reader has ridden with him in his BMW. Did the author knows how to end the story or was he disappointed not being able to drop a few more names.

[paulco_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Maybe I shouldn't have read this book immediately after finishing one of Robert Wilson's excellent World War II spy novels, but I found it a bit lighter weight than Wilson. I will say that it was a quick read, and once I got started, finished it in just a couple of days. I felt there was a major attempt to do name-dropping of all the major Nazi figures of the war to add interest and scope, but I believe it could have been done as well with just a couple of them and a ficticious Nazi as principal. History was twisted considerably iin this book, so why not the characters as well?In any event, it was a readable book, and I will lend it to a couple of friends with similar interests. I'd consider it better than average.

[ian02054 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Paul Grossman has written a very intriguing book based in the early days of Hitlers rise to power. It was a book that made you want to keep reading and see where Inspektor Willi Kraus was going to end up next. Intertwining historical Nazi figures into the background of 1930's Berlin, some liberties were taken with the timelines, but that didn't really distract from a good decetive novel. My only negative comment is around the epilogue, which just seemed a bit of a throw away, and didn't really wrap the story up any better than the end of the final chapter.A good read, with a plausible story based on the sort of medical experimentation that could have been carried out by the nazis at that time.

[sophroniaborgia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Willi Kraus, a detective revered by the public for his capture of a child-killing maniac, discovers that people have gone missing all over Weimar Berlin after apparently sleepwalking into oblivion. Trying to find them leads him deep into what appears to be a conspiracy involving the increasingly visible and violent Nazi party. And Willi has more reason to be suspicious and concerned than most -- he's Jewish.Paul Grossman's book is a good addition to the large number of thrillers detailing this period. Although he has taken some liberties with the timeline of historical events, the plot hangs together well. It takes some time to get going and the timeline is a bit jumpy, but the suspense scenes are involving. Grossman manages to capture a bit of the doomed beauty and sophistication of the Weimar period and the desperation of a man who slowly realizes that he is no longer welcome in his own country.I wondered, after reading this book, if the author had planned to write the story of the child-killer case that brought Willi to fame and someone decided that a book about the Nazis coming to power would sell better. There are quick references to the backstory of Willi's life but they are not developed. Very little explanation is given for some of Willi's relationships, such as his sister-in-law, the former wife of his best friend, and the young street hustler. There are a few rather sloppy mistakes, such as misheard words that are similar in English but not in German, and an attempt to phonetically render the speech of a Serbian, when none of the characters would have been speaking English anyway. And yes, the warthog is a big error -- I think the author probably meant a wild boar.All in all, a diverting read for those who like historical thrillers and can suspend their disbelief enough to enjoy a somewhat far-fetched story.

[thosgpetri · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

1932-33, can a Jewish cop bring members of the rising Nazi movement to justice? This is the basic theme of this debut novel, the first in an apparrent series. Well handled and fast paced. The story background seems true to history. As the story moves along, Willi, the cop, must move more and more cautiously as his being Jewish clashes with the rising Nazi movement. And Nazis are his prime(only) suspects.

[jok_44 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Browsing over the fifty-odd reviews that precede mine, it is clear that there are a wide range of opinions on this book. One claims that the story requires too much 'suspension of disbelief', and criticizes historical liberties taken by the author. Another finds the main character's name - Willi - unsatisfactory. To these, and others like them, I'll say you're missing the Tiergarten for the trees.Fiction is meant to transport us, show us vistas we haven't seen, and stoke our imagination. Sure, some provide a higher degree of historical accuracy, but fiction asks that we come without baggage so that we can enter the author's world without predisposition. Many detractors of this novel seem to have approached it with unjustified expectations.Grossman does a remarkable job of transporting us to an era we'll never know - and one that's completely different than the grainy newsreels through which many of us owe our only acquaintance with it. The Berlin of 1932-33 the author introduces to is vibrant: by turns a city of hedonism and austerity, of excess and poverty, of promise and claustrophobia - all already beginning to unravel at the seams of class, politics, and race. The transformation from a diverse community to a eugenic police state rapidly occurs in a few short months, and the reader feels acutely the anxiety of Berlin.Astride this masterful background, Grossman presents an engaging thriller. The characterizations are workmanlike, except in the case of Willi, the protagonist, his source Kai, and the boot girl, Paula. All three represent communities to be expunged from Germany, despite their best efforts, and the reader holds out hope for each of them.There are plenty of reviews here that provide a synopsis of the plot. I'd merely contribute that this novel is worthwhile as a window to fleeting Germany, and as a brief hope that things might have been different. We know the end. Grossman cannot change the outcome. But as a visitation to the past, the novel is excellent.

[sundance41 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a gripping read. Set in pre-WWII Germany, it parallels the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany with the efforts of a decorated german detective to solve a mystery. It kept my interest, learning about the actual events that was associated with the rise of Hitler. The story line was good albeit a bit pedantic. While people were getting killed and rounded up, the detective was able to proceed in his investigation, being chased and hunted, always managing to elude capture. Despite the shallowness I would still highly recommend the book for its ability to transfer you back to the time and the race that can seemingly thwart the Nazi's rise to power.

[tulikangaroo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Sleepwalkers is two stories in one: a mystery, where (Jewish) Inspektor-Detektiv Willi Kraus seeks to solve a rash of disappearances of beautiful young women; and Willi's personal struggle against the growing power of Hitler and his Nazis in early 1930s Berlin. While both stories are interesting, the result is a split-personality novel - it starts as one thing but ends as something completely different. I felt that one of the main characters, Paula, disappeared rather suddenly - technically, it wasn't a surprise, but the author's handling of it was unusual.Certainly interesting (and horrifying) from a historical perspective, however - most details are accurate, though some liberties were taken.

[mldavis2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Set in early Nazi Germany, this historical novel, while fictional, uses very plausible situations to generate its story line. It is written in an easy narrative style, with a fairly simple plot. The flow is constant and there are no dead spots to spoil the reader's interest. Grossman has recreated the fear and intensity of the advance of Hitler's SS troops as the protagonist, a Jewish detective, tries to unravel the suspicious death of a mutilated body found floating in the river as his own support network unravels. I can overlook some of the implausible celebrity contacts as a high-profile detective might well be known among other Jews. Though somewhat straightforward, this is certainly a worthwhile read as the mystery shares the light with the description of German atrocities.This book was submitted for review.

[belgrade18 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A well written and researched mystery novel set in Berlin in the waning months of the Weimar Republic and the first moments of the Nazi regime. The attention to historical detail was impressive- restaurants, hotels, cafes, platzes- and great ambiance and characters. My only problem- and it's somewhat significant- is that the basis of the mystery is a rather ignorant use of hypnotism and post-hypnotic suggestion as a major plot vehicle. People cannot be hypnotised against their wills and post hypnotic suggestion just doesn't cause people to become sleepwalkers. I was able to overlook this in much of the second half of the book, as it is not touched on too much, but it irked me nonetheless. With all the historical accuracy and great character development, I think the author could have come up with a more realistic modus operandi for the bad guys.

[momweaver · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The historical setting in Berlin just as the Nazis came to power was very intriguing. The inspector being Jewish gave the story yet another dimension. I look forward to reading subsequent books in the series.

[barbn_15 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Received courtesy of Librarything early reviewers. Warning: review has spoilers.Bit of a split decision on this book. Grossman does an excellent job of capturing what I imagine would have been the creepy atmosphere, just before Hitler's assuming power, and the pervasive fear of the Jewish and non-Aryan peoples of Germany, coupled with a reluctance to believe that civil and moral influences could so thoroughly breakdown in the face of economic pressure and propaganda. Perhaps a useful object lesson for the times we seem to be living in today. I never warmed up much to any of Grossman's characters, however, and found much of the sex and action scenes contrived as though the author was consciously plannning a movie version. It felt like the book outline was laid out according to one of those guides that tells the author when sex and violence needed to be introduced to hold the attention of the reader. E.g., Chapters 1 and 2 setting, chapter 3 sex, chapter 4 chase scene, etc. It wasn't really that bad, but the story lacked the intrinsic coherence in the context of free association that the best of writers, to my mind anyway, bring to their works.The actual mystery in the story of women being hypnotized and led to an evil fate is subordinated to descriptions of joyless decadence and perversity, with the somewhat gratuitous additions of a morphine-addicted boot girl dominatrix, and a hyponosis-induced endless series of orgasms as a stage show. The mystery element is lost fairly early on in the book, actually. The repititous degrading of (mostly) women in the story was neither particularly erotic nor sensual, but rather distracting. It seemed like the author did not approve of his hero participating, even in the consensual relationship with the boot girl; it was no surprise to me when she died to leave the hero free for a "virtuous" woman in the future. The chase scenes felt obligatory and the various rescues of the hero unrealistic. I don't want to give the impression that my reaction to the book was totally negative. I think Grossman has the potential to develop into a good writer, if he throws out his notions (or his editors') about what makes a book salable, and stays more true to himself. He has a good eye for detail, color and atmosphere, and I think he merits further reading.

[meacoleman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was not sleepwalking while reading "The Sleepwalkers": this book kept me reading far past my bedtime!During the final days of the Weimar Republic, Inspektor-Detektiv Willi Kraus is tasked with investigating the circumstances behind a young woman with deformed legs who washes up dead along the river. I love reading historical fiction, especially when the setting is meticulously researched, with engaging prose and witty dialogue. I enjoyed joining Willi's world each evening, even as the Nazi party inevitably rose to power. If you like history-mysteries, pick up a copy and prepare yourself for several sleepless nights.

[elleayess-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Wasn't quite sure what to think about this book. To be honest, I only read half the book. I just couldn't finish it. It just wasn't what I expected.

[randalrh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Placing a Jewish detective in Berlin in the early thirties is really just borrowing a lot of trouble. The reader can't help but agree with the numerous characters who warn Willi Kraus to get out before it's too late. Grossman picked his specific days and months well, however, and doesn't try to stick too much to historical fact. The end result is that, while the reader agrees with the warnings to get out, we can also understand why Willi doesn't. The mystery itself is a little overblown, but in the setting, when so many events turned on so few, that's understandable.

[zmagic69 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Outstanding. hard to believe this is the author's first book. At times I had to remind myself that the main characters in the story were fictional. the authors knowledge of history is outstanding. This was a book that I thought I knew how it would end, but the author continued to surprise.I can't wait to read this author's next book