Set in what is now Wroclaw, Poland, Death in Breslau takes place in 1934, when it was a German city near the border. Two women, a member of German nobility and her companion, are found on a train, eviscerated, scorpions found on and around the bodies. A conductor is found killed by three scorpion stings. Inspector Mock is sent to find the murderer. He quickly finds the obvious suspect, a Jewish epileptic pet store owner. Before he can bring the man in for questioning, the man is taken and tortured to death by the Gestapo, a group Mock has no control over. Still, the case is closed, until it becomes obvious that the pet store owner was not the murderer. Since Mock is now tainted by the incident, a police officer from Berlin, Herbert Anwaldt is sent to lead a new investigation.

Death in Breslau is one weird story. The odd murder weapons (scorpions) are the most straightforward part of this convoluted tale involving everything from the Crusades, to brothels, to the constant need to maneuver around the Gestapo and their allies. Mock may be a rotund, middle-aged man with a love of German cuisine, but he's far from simple, and his continuing survival in his position is largely due to how he manages to out-think and out-manipulate those around him. Anwaldt is an interesting character as well; an alcoholic being given one last chance to prove himself in the provinces, he's constantly haunted by his past as a fatherless boy making his way through orphanages and harsh Catholic schools. No one is entirely good, but there are plenty of people who are entirely evil. All in all, this was an odd, but rewarding book.