Children Of Wrath ~ Paul Grossman

In his successful The Sleepwalkers, Paul Grossman's protagonist is heralded as the man who had put an end to Der Kinderfresser while attempting to solve another case. This book is the prequel that tells the story of why how he succeeded in closing the Der Kinderfresser case.



Willi Kraus is a Jewish detective in inter-war Berlin. Solving cases in for a police force increasingly supportive of the Nazis is a dangerous place for a man such as Kraus who must straddle between professionalism and fearing the anti-semetic onslaught. Tensions are also visible on the home-front, when Kraus prioritises the safety of Berlin's children over his own family's security. However, this book also serves as a means of understanding some of the oddities that appear in the first novel. It's as though Grossman was not on as solid footing with his first project. Perhaps, the storyline for this one got in the way of the first, causing some questionable acts by the protagonist. Either way, between the two books all is revealed.

I'm not certain if there's a third instalment in the works, but I would certainly read it, as I've become attached to Willi Kraus and his antics.

Review originally appeared at the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.