Pale Horse Riding

by Chris Petit

'One of Britain's most visionary writers' DAVID PEACE
From the author of the highly acclaimed The Butchers of Berlin comes a devastating, haunting and brilliant follow up. . .

By 1943 Auschwitz is the biggest black market in Europe. The garrison has grown epically corrupt on the back of the transportations and goods confiscated, and this is considered even more of a secret than the one surrounding the mass extermination.

Everything is done to resist penetration until August Schlegel and SS officer Morgen , after solving the case of the butchers of Berlin, are sent in disguised as post office officials to investigate an instance of stolen gold being sent through the mail. Their chances of getting out of Auschwitz alive are almost nil, unless Schlegel and Morgen accept that the nature of the beast they are fighting means they too must become as corrupt as the corruption they are desperate to expose.

Even if they survive, will it be at the cost of losing their souls?      
 
Praise for Chris

'Powerful evocation of a city living in terror' Sunday Times Crime Club

'Ambitious, darkly atmospheric' The Times

'Hugely impressive and highly readable; in the tradition of Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs' Financial Times

'Ferocious invention marks this novel out as special' The Edge

'Ambitious and intelligent'  Times

'Puts Petit in the first rank' Metro

'A zigzagging narrative as byzantine an blackly pessemistic as late James Ellroy' Independent on Sunday

'An example of the genre near its best. Gorky Park with something to spare; well worth anyone's weekend' Guardian for The Psalm Killer

Audiobook

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

English novelist and filmmaker.

Reviews

[RG · Rating 2 out of 5]

A friend chose this book as his choice for book club, the same friend who reccomended the 1st one in the series which I wasnt fond of. More of the same, never really felt invested. I cant tell what it is, not sure if its the writing style which isn't for me, but just felt a little bored whilst reading. Obviously my friend is a fan, so it must have its readers. Just a case of not for me with this one.

[Dr G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an unusual novel, quite difficult to classify. I had previously read Petit’s Ghost Country which was a more conventional story about a national spying agency and its functionaries involved in investigating the homicide of a cabinet minister. In that work, there were assorted levels of corruption, extra-judicial activities and national political issues which had international ramifications.
Pale Horse Riding includes pretty much all of those elements, but with the addition of 1940s Auschwitz as a setting. It apparently follows on from Petit’s The Butchers of Berlin ; I think the second is intended to be stand alone but I would recommend reading Butchers first – although I did not do so.
These days, I am inclined to be wary of taking up new reading on the Holocaust, either fiction or non-fiction. I rather feel I know enough already to be aware of the horrors and to recognize the moral wickedness. Reading more would be unlikely to add to my intellectual or ethical understanding.
However, Petit takes a somewhat unexpected approach in that his protagonists, August Schlegel, a policeman whose speciality is financial crime, and prosecuting judge, Morgen, begin the book without any real knowledge of what would become known as the Holocaust. They are called in to investigate suspected corrupt practices within the management of the camp. This means that the reader knows more about what was happening in Auschwitz than the protagonists do.
There is some level of mystery over how they come to be involved together: “Why Morgen had been transferred to Schlegel’s department in the first place still no one was sure, unless it was to rattle their cage. Despite an up-and-down career, including six months’ penal detention and another six fighting on the Russian front, Morgen – to his own professed astonishment, as much as anyone’s – remained a prosecuting investigator, one of those shadowy, feared inquisitors who could be after anyone, including Schlegel and his colleagues.”
It is uncertain to whom Dr Kammler, the man who has arranged their involvement, is loyal. He is the 2 I.C. to Pohl and ‘All his (Pohl’s) camps have orders to refuse me admission, however much the subject warrants investigation. In Buchenwald the corruption was so blatant that the commandant and his wife were moved on before I turned up.’ ‘Your conclusion?’ ‘It reflects badly on Pohl; either way.’ ‘If he doesn’t know what is going on he is incompetent.’ ‘Yes, and if he does then he deliberately covered it up.’
Morgen and Schlegel arrive at Auschwitz with false names; “‘You mean we go in undercover?’ ‘To get you in.’ ‘And we have a roving brief until we get thrown out?’ ‘Fair summary.’” At various stages we learn more about them: “Has either of you served a term before?’ Morgen said six months in detention. The commandant asked what for. ‘Insubordination,’ said Morgen.” / “‘Did you go to college?’ the commandant asked. Schlegel said he had done compulsory labour instead. For the first time the commandant looked interested. ‘Tell.’ A troubled youth, he said, caught shoplifting.”
More significantly: “Schlegel had been responsible for processing operation reports and it wasn’t until he had gone into the field as an observer that he learned that such duties were a euphemism for the roundup and elimination of whole villages. Once he had ended up in a ditch, knee-deep in bodies, administering the coup de grace to the poor devils whose shooting had been botched.”
The early days of their presence at Auschwitz are indicative of widespread depravity. “Erich Groenke did not look like a convicted rapist, though the garrison doctor had no idea what one should look like
…He was considered one of the camp’s success stories, the reformed lag”. And the newly instated psychiatrist follows the camp commandant who goes out riding, stops at a secluded spot and masturbates.
There was Fegelein, already under suspicion for large-scale graft; Sepp and Baumgarten who found their services in demand because of the shortage of experienced butchers. And Bock the dentist, whose sideline of removing gold fillings from corpses and selling the gold on, was originally the reason Morgen and Schlegel were called in.
As they investigated this matter, they were confronted with increasing numbers of corpses, some known, some unknown, and some of them despatched with a quick injection of phenol when it looked as though they might be about to reveal secrets.
As the pair came closer to understanding the remarkable level of violence and degeneracy, characteristics which impacted on Schlegel, they also became aware of the pervasive turpitude, and gradually this led to some recognition of the camp’s official business; they also became aware that everything had been organised to render a complete vacuum of any form of authorization for anything. The one principle cited was the need for efficiency.
Since the book is really not about solving any murders or the other crimes, what is it about? I think it is partly just a story about a definitively grunge environment, designed to depress the reader’s spirit or to confirm the reader’s miserableness and hatred of the world. The other part, however, is, I think intended to make the reader think about how the Holocaust’s evils could have occurred amongst human beings, and what impact they might have had on the perpetrators, at all levels.
It succeeded in doing that for me, and it successfully depressed my spirit.

[Mark Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was a bit convoluted.
Indicates that there was a lot of confusion and self interest involved in the war.

[Cold War Conversations Podcast · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish this - just found it too slow.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

From time to time I am drawn to books about world war two. Be it fiction or fact When I saw this upcoming realise I was intrigued. Most of the fiction books about Auschwitz focus on the countless people who died within its infamous walls. But here was a book looking in to those who ran it. The blurb on the back sounded like a new light being cast over a topic that many have covered before. How could a book in which every character was a Nazi stack up. Would any one come out of this with out my disdain at the very things the believed in.

Going into this I was unaware that this is actually the second book in a burdening series. With August and Morgen already establish characters a little catch up was need on my part before I got a handle on them. These are two people trying to do there best in a very bad situation. The author presents our hero's with a difficult task being sent to a place that is so well known the world over. From there point of very this is simply another prison camp. Hindsight can be a tricky thing. August is a strong an capable investigator but is conflicted with certain core beliefs at the heart of the Nazi regime. Morgen is more focused on the task at hand trying to solve the case they have been assigned. The two play well of each other while they may not always be the friendliest of colleges they do care for each other as friends do. They both taken to the limit of what there minds are capable of taking. The more time we spend with them and in turn the place they have been sent the more its corrupting influence bores down to there bones. I cant being to imagine what it must have been like to walk around Auschwitz at the height of its operation. The people the come into contact with all seemed to be trying to find any diversions away from the acts that are being cared out there. This Includes the very people doing some of the most heinous crimes committed within its walls. The more time I spent with them the more surreal it all seamed. They seem to share a collective craziness that guides there actions. From drink to sex they all indulge as much as there bodies can take. All the while for most of the people our hero's come into contact with express no wrong doing in every step they take.

Petit Has written a very interesting novel with a new take in the fiction category about a place so well known. He style has a way of drawing you in and dealing with topics in a way as to not completely overwhelm you. For most of the book he shows us people and places I only found a complete lack of empathy for. Lets be honest how could you not. There is always a worry that this could detract from my involvement with the book. He manages to offset all this with our hero's who as they delve deep into the secrets of there assignment and learn the true horrors of what is happening decided to try and do something about it. This adds another level to investigation of gold smuggling they where originally sent there to tackle. The author has managed to show with great realism the effects of having absolute power over another group of people. How that even if some of these people entered with better intentions than others. This place left its stain on them and for some turned them into monsters they didn't think possible. For others it seems like it just aloud them to show the world there true faces. I found it hard to get my mind around there thinking. And for that I'm glad I fear if you could truly understand their actions you might come to see the world for there very skewed perspective. The plot for the most part is fast paced and kept me with our two leads to the end. At times I found my self wondering if they would ever escape the madhouse in which they where locked. Through out the book he manages to raise some interesting questions that at times made me stop and think. While I have my doubts as to whether two real SS investigators would have question the events they saw so much this is fiction.

This is a good book and I think achieves what it set out to do. It has to walk a fine line when it comes to dealing with a place that actually existed. At no point did it feel like it was disrespecting those who never left. The story is more about the corruption of every part of the place from the top down. And how its claws dug there way in to those who worked there. At the same time it deliver a decent mystery story and a tale of escape for two people who walked through the gates of there own free will.

[Elite Group · Rating 4 out of 5]

“No cruelty, only utter indifference”

Although not strictly a sequel to Chris Petit’s The Butchers of Berlin, this historical crime novel features the same two main characters and quite a few others as well. The author makes reference to his earlier book on several occasions and at times I rather felt like a new boy, not having any knowledge of what occurred previously. As this is a worthwhile, entertaining and interesting read I would, therefore, recommend that anyone first read The Butchers if this era in any way appeals.

SS officer investigator, Eiko Morgen, and finance detective, August Schlegel, are dispatched to Auschwitz in 1943 posing as Post Office officials, on the face of it, to investigate the smuggling of gold. Their real objective is to uncover the illegal activities which are rife within the camp.

The internees are hardly given a mention and are almost incidental to the story. However, that is not to say that they are dismissed as of little consequence. It’s more than the author focuses on the people who run the camp, which is most unusual as most books, whether fiction or non-fiction deal with the indescribable conditions within the camp and the inhuman actions of their gaolers.

Sometimes I had to remind myself that this was a work of fiction as the writing had such a persuasive ring of truth. The vastness of this evil enterprise struck me forcibly as never before. Individuals who were obviously known to each other in The Butchers of Berlin were unaware that they had both ended up at Auschwitz, which on occasions hampered our duo’s investigations. I felt that although this was the case on the one hand, on the other, characters who were very well known to Schlegel, for instance, turned up and made contact early in the story. This smacked too much of convenient coincidence and spoiled for me, a little, the development of the story in its early stages.

Despite my minor criticism, the feeling of total anarchy and buck-passing radiated from every page. Everyone, from lowly supervisors to the very highest-ranking officers based at Hitler’s Chancellery, had their story well-honed and polished as to why they were not responsible for any particular incident. One almost felt sorry for the Commandant who had to run a huge area with reducing resources and orders which were difficult to interpret. Factions fought with factions. It’s the law of the jungle where only the fit will survive and prosper.

The final question is whether the two main protagonists have the guts and wits to play the game and come out at the end with either their reputations or even their lives intact.

mr zorg

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

[jeff popple · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgallery and Simon @ Schuster for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Pale Horse Riding follows on from Petit’s well-received previous novel, The Butchers of Berlin. It once more features August Schlegel, a Berlin financial crimes detective, and SS Prosecuting Investigator Eiko Morgen. Set in late 1943, Schlegel and Morgen are sent to Auschwitz, disguised as post office officials, to apparently investigate an instance of stolen gold being sent through the post. More significantly they are charged with looking into the wide-spread corruption and black-market activity that has blossomed at Auschwitz on the back of the mass transportations and the confiscation of goods from those sent to the camp. Auschwitz is a horrible place and soon Morgen and Schlegel suspect that they are not meant to leave there alive.

This is a very dark and confronting novel that tackles an overlooked aspect of the horrors of the concentration camps. Petit effectively recreates the nightmare world of Auschwitz, outside of the actual camps, and readers will look in vain for any engaging or appealing characters. Petit’s central premise seems to be about the corrupting influence of the concentration camps and his book takes the reader down some very gruesome and unpleasant paths.

Petit invests heavily in creating the historical detail and atmosphere of the time and the pacing of the book suffers as a result. Some readers will also be distracted by Petit’s dreamlike sequences and the book will not be to everyone’s taste. Nevertheless, it is a very well written and compelling novel with an intricate plot that builds to tense climax. It will once more cement Petit’s standing as one of the more original and daring writers currently gracing the realm of the crime novel.

[Mike White · Rating 4 out of 5]

“He wandered around on his own, not bothering to talk to anyone. The commandant was dancing with a woman on the patio, desperate to keep everything jollied along. Several couples were in the bushes. A man lay on the lawn, asleep or passed out. A voice in Schlegel’s ear said, ‘The background stink of shit and burning bodies and disease and the pall of smoke and the ashes that fall like the finest snow on the roses in this, the commandants garden, how does the newcomer get used to that?’”
1943. Schlegel and Morgen are two policemen sent to investigate corruption among troops and civilian staff at Auschwitz.
This is Bernie Gunther (Philip Kerr) territory but the protagonists are not so engaging. They encounter bureaucracy and secrecy. There’s plenty of corruption, too, but it’s difficult to determine who can safely be charged. Casual violence, drunkenness and sex are used as antidotes to the horror of what is happening next door.
There’s jeopardy and confusion and the ending is unsatisfying, as I suppose it was bound to be. This is the second in a series of novels with the same protagonists but I won’t be seeking out the others.

[John Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book from a goodreads giveaway.

I struggled with this one. I went into it with interest and high hopes but was let down early on. The writing style is not for me and at times comes across as being all over the place. At times it seems to mention things it expects you to know about from the previous book, which if you haven’t read it just seems confusing in this one. Nothing really happened until around 100 pages in, which is a quarter of the book. Up until then it was a slow fairly uninteresting build up... into nothing. The whole way through it felt as if it was trying to build up to something but that something never came.

Halfway through I found myself losing interest, and by the last third I was fairly uninterested and only continued because I don’t like to leave a book unfinished. The characters were forgettable in both personality and otherwise as I found myself having to think about who was who even towards the end.

It’s a shame the book wasn’t as good as I hoped, an interesting premise with a somewhat poor execution.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dark, gripping story which centres around the black market activities within Auschwitz. Schlegel and Morgen go in undercover, disguised to investigate the corruption.
This book is well researched. The story is well crafted and the characters believable. Dark Horse Riding follows on from Petit's The Butchers of Berlin, but it is not a sequel, although Schlegel and Morgan feature in both books.
I enjoyed this book and now wish to read The Butchers of Berlin, but I suspect I should probably have read these books in reverse order.

[Guy Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary novel and sequel to Butchers of Berlin, two investigators with conflicting moral dilemmas investigate corruption in Aushwitz. The various competing characters are historical figures, be it Martin Boorman,Himmler or Pohl and various intrigues create a quagmire of ambiguity .
It is a disturbing critique of human behaviour .
There are comparisons with Phillip Kerr's wonderful series of Bernie Gunther, but Chris Pete has written a book that raises many questions as to the humanity or lack of it in in the darkest landscape.

[Greville Waterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another in a series, this features Petit's established pair of detectives infiltrating Auschwitz to investigate a smuggling racket.

Beautifully researched and well written this is a gritty and sometimes upsetting and disturbing read given the nature of where most of the action takes place.

I would recommend sticking with it as this is a fascinating read.

[Stuart Hargreaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a follow on from Petit's novel Butchers of Berlin, I did enjoy that read and I enjoyed this one. Yes, it's about Auschwitz but it can be described as a historical crime novel . It is basically about gold being stolen and smuggled out of Auschwitz as well as corruption and the blacl market, by the Nzis ans the SS. Give it a go you should enjoy.

[Carol Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sinister story set in the garrison that runs the Auschwitz camp and an investigation into the corruption there. It offers a fascinating insight into the immorality among everyone who was involved reaching right to the top and including the investigators who must survive by becoming corrupt themselves.
Not an easy read and I was relieved to get to the end.

[Matthew Cobb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, but not perhaps in the angle you would suspect. I must admit to finding it a little hard going in the middle but a good tense ending made up for it. The seedy quagmire of the garrison is very well depicted and you can feel dragged down yourself at times.

[Paul Vernon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it's quite an unusual style, bordering on fairy tale sometimes. I enjoyed the characters but found the actual story a little difficult to follow although maybe it wasn't as complicated as I thought whilst reading it.

[Mark Shurville · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book, sadly they were misplaced. The subject matter could be highly interesting, but the slow, meandering nature of the text, most of the time leading to no definite destination made reading it frankly a chore.

[Dawn Garrett · Rating 1 out of 5]

I haven’t finished it. I don’t have the energy. How you can take such an emotive and world-changing story and make it so dull is beyond me.
I understand the concept that horror has become almost mundane to these people, but that it should somehow make ME feel like that is not acceptable.

[Marcel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting setting. I understand that the author wanted to create a feeling of mistrust and corruption in such a place. But the mass of characters and twisted everchanging investigation made it hard to follow.

[Jennifer Moville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual and intriguing. I read this on a long journey and loved every mjnute-couldnt wait for the journey back to finish it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dark but gripping read that sucks you in and makes you feel how humanity can stoop so low.

[Sallie Burrows · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was not really what I would usually read.I found it peculiar.

[Carey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started it with high hopes. Liked the characters, situation and writing. Just got bogged down, bored and frankly confused. And what a depressing ending.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 2 out of 5]

An investigation into fraud at a death camp.

The beginning was good, but this book quickly went off track.

Reading time around five hours

[Christa Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the Butchers of Berlin, found this one to be long winded, too many characters and I lost the plot in the middle, started at the beginning again and perservered. Very very long read.

[Ravenclaw Library Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though this book wasn't for me I cannot deny that it was well written.

#PaleHorseRiding #NetGalley

[Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthy sequel to The Butchers of Berlin, and a very different way to delve into the horrors of the holocaust. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first novel in this series.

[Ashley Schellingerhout · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very slow paced and hard to follow, I struggled to finish it.

[Dee Buck]

I didn't like the way it was written, the content, the characters. I only got as far as two chapters, it was a relief to call it a day, not something I would usually do.