Bad Cop is the second book in Peter Sarda’s hardboiled crime thriller series, Hamburg Noir , which Publishers Weekly recommends for fans of Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, Philip Kerr, Jakob Arjouni, and Simone Buchholz. “A strong sequel and a pitch-dark noir pulsing with action in its own right, Bad Cop will keep thriller readers engaged and eager for more.” — Publishers Weekly (Editor’s Pick) “With two classic noir protagonists, sharp dialogue, and a sinister edge of vigilante justice on the gritty streets of Hamburg, Sarda’s latest installment is a solid and satisfying work of crime fiction that improves on its predecessor.” — SPR “A brisk thriller that features vivid storytelling, committed heroes, and modern political intrigue.” — Kirkus Reviews After putting away the head of the Albanian mafia in Hamburg, Homicide Detectives Thomas Ritter and Motz Beck are confronted with a bloody war to control the local drug trade in the mobster’s absence. First an Albanian courier is shotgunned to death at the edge of Hamburg Harbor. Then a Hells Angel gets the same treatment on the Alster River. As the bodies pile up, Ritter and Beck are forced to work with an organized crime expert, a burned-out narcotics agent with his own drug issues. Before long, they suspect that their new partner is working for one of the rival gangs. "A strong sequel and a pitch-dark noir pulsing with action in its own right, Bad Cop will keep thriller readers engaged and eager for more." -- Publishers Weekly (Editor's Pick) "With two classic noir protagonists, sharp dialogue, and a sinister edge of vigilante justice on the gritty streets of Hamburg, Sarda's latest installment is a solid and satisfying work of crime fiction that improves on its predecessor." -- SPR (★★★★½) "A brisk thriller that features vivid storytelling, committed heroes, and modern political intrigue." -- Kirkus Reviews Peter Sarda is a third-generation Californian living and working in Hamburg, Germany. His crime thriller series, "Hamburg Noir," is set in his adoptive home, a rugged harbor town with lots of old trading money, a "sinful mile" devoted to the world's oldest profession, and a robust and colorful criminal underworld. In the first book of the series, One-Way Ticket (2020), a new homicide detective with a troubled past steps into the biggest police scandal in Hamburg history. In the second book, Bad Cop (2022), a burned-out narcotics agent with his own drug issues goes very, very bad. In the third book, Edda Green (2024), a former explosives expert in Afghanistan loses her blood brother to brutal killers back home and finds "closure" through scorched earth. Peter Sarda is a third-generation Californian living and working in Hamburg, Germany. His crime thriller series, Hamburg Noir , is set in his adoptive home, a rugged harbor town with lots of old trading money, a "sinful mile" devoted to the world's oldest profession, and a robust and colorful criminal underworld.