When A Trace of Smoke arrived in the Green Man mailroom, I grabbed it right away. I had a feeling I was going to love every page of it, and indeed I did!
At first I thought it was a murder mystery, and it’s true that the plot revolves in part around a mysterious murder that the protagonist and narrator, Hannah Vogel, determines to unravel. The story takes place in Berlin in 1931, during the latter days of the Weimar Republic. So it’s a historical murder mystery. I would further characterize A Trace of Smoke as belonging to the noir subgenre in terms of its grittiness. However, the rest of this review should make clear, it also contains elements of suspense and romance, a very appealing mix for my taste.
Hannah is a crime reporter who writes under the pseudonym Peter Weill for the newspaper Tageblatt (which really existed as a challenge to the oppressive practices of National Socialism). During her weekly visit to the Alexanderplatz (the Berlin police headquarters, named after the square on which it was located) in search of background for her reportage, Hannah chances upon a photograph of her younger brother Ernst in the Hall of the Unnamed Dead. Ernst was a cross-dresser who worked as a singer at the El Dorado, a nightclub frequented by homosexuals. He drowned in the Spree, the river that runs through Berlin.
Hannah immediately suspects foul play; however, she wishes to avoid calling too much attention to the death and to the identity of the decedent because her own identity papers (along with Ernst’s) are in illegal use, providing safe passage to a Jewish activist and her son who left for New York. As a consequence, she does not discuss the case with Fritz Waldheim, an inspector in the Criminal Investigation Division who happens to be married to her childhood friend Bettina.
As Hannah gets entangled in her very private investigation of Ernst’s death, her narrative reveals a great deal of information about her family history, which helps to explain why she is so concerned about the unfortunate fate of her beautiful and talented brother. Her story is further complicated when she meets the handsome and wealthy banker Boris Krause and his daughter Trudi at the trial of a rapist who victimized Trudi. Although at first she doesn’t trust Boris with her story, she eventually comes to rely on his assistance and support.
Hannah’s life and story are also dramatically changed by the arrival on her doorstep of a small grimy child named Anton, who claims to be her son, and even produces a birth certificate attesting to this fact. Anton is a devoted fan of the Karl May novels and carries with him a stuffed bear called Winnetou, after the hero of that popular German Western series. Against her own better judgment, Hannah finds herself loving this child, although she know he’s not hers at all. She suspects that brother Ernst is his father.
Hannah is an immensely sympathetic character. The plot is chock full of twists and surprises, danger and delight. I’ve read a great deal of fiction and non-fiction set in Berlin, and Cantrell does a most creditable job of depicting the city during this period in history. I am certain it helps that she lived and studied in Germany for many years, and so is well-versed in German history and culture.
A sequel, A Night of Long Knives, is due out in May 2010. I have no idea how Cantrell will develop the character and saga of this intrepid heroine, but I look forward to finding out!
(Forge, 2009)
