The Night of the Generals by Hans Hellmut Kirst (originally published 1962; later editions such as Cassell Military Paperbacks, 2002; ~284–288 pages) is a wartime thriller that blends crime fiction with historical events. The novel begins in Warsaw in 1942, when a Polish prostitute is murdered. Suspicion falls on three German generals, but the investigation is suppressed. A second murder in Paris in 1944 coincides with the coup against Hitler, again halting inquiries