War-games champion Udo Berger is finally on holiday.

Travelling to the Costa Brava with his long-ignored girlfriend, Ingeborg, there they meet another vacationing German couple, Charly and Hanna, and a band of shady locals. They have fun, see the sights, relax. Then, late one night, Charly disappears without a trace.

Desperate to solve the mystery, Udo refuses to leave, even after Ingeborg returns home. Increasingly frightened, the situation slips beyond his grasp and Udo suddenly realizes that the consequences of this game are much more serious than he ever imagined.

TRANSLATED BY NATASHA WIMMER

Capering, weird, rascally and short... The Third Reich is giddily funny, but it is also prickly and bizarre enough to count among Bolanos first-rate efforts The Economist

A mesmerizing tale: sleek, linear, easily digested, beautifully translated Classic Bolano Washington Post