What are the motifs in Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr?

Atonement is generally defined as the act of making amends for a wrong committed. Individuals may atone for their own mistakes or sins by correcting what they have done to other individuals or by "paying the price" in the form of punishment. True atonement, however, has, at its core, a genuine contriteness, or sincerity of sorrow, for what one has done.