Thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I know I am not alone in being a huge admirer of the late, great, Philip Kerr's legendary Bernie Gunther series of books. If you haven't read them, I would urge you to do so NOW. Kerr was unparalleled in his ability to give his thrillers a certain cerebral edge - recasting your typical thriller in new and innovative ways. It was his impeccable sense of time and place - the 'historicization' of the mystery genre, where he displayed his talents most emphatically. That certain blending of fact and fiction' - or 'faction' as we now call it, was Kerr's uncontested territory. In the Bernie Gunther series of novels we see our anti-hero rubbing shoulders with the likes of Joseph Goebbels, Arthur Nebe, and more frequently, his bête noire, Reinhard Heydrich. I was hesitant about reading 'The Shot' in the expectation that I would not find them the least comparable, in terms of quality, with this series. I shouldn't have worried, 'The Shot' displays all the ingenuity, verve and style, I would expect from Kerr. In this book we are transported to the events of 1960/1961, and the escalating tensions between Soviet-backed Cuba and the USA. Historians of this period will be familiar with the 'true' outcome of The Bay of Pigs invasion that provides much of the context for this book, but in Kerr's hands history does not necessary follow in an unambiguous, linear fashion. There is an element of what-if? about this book, and the result is exquisite. The cast of characters are familiar, but the intrusion of a fictional character - assassin Tom Jefferson , unbinds history from its traditional moorings. He was supposed to have Fidel Castro literally in his sights, but the killing of the Cuban leader is averted by Jefferson's choice of a preferred target. Who? Why? I'll let you find out for yourself.
Tautly-plotted, stunningly realised and unique. An apt exemplar of the late Philip Kerr's prodigious talent.
