This story is about a fish-out-of-water novice spy, Alex Meier, reentering East Berlin during the Berlin airlift when the Soviets and the West’s spies are trying to outdo one another and no one can truly trust anyone. Alex is made to do this job for the CIA or else face jail or deportation from the USA. To say more on the subject would be taking away from the enjoyment of the plot for other readers. Yet, it should be understood that intricate wheeling and dealings, fast action, and a hint of a romance make up the plot.

The writing is exquisite as to the word choices, use of the language, and storytelling. The dialog is stark and realistic. The ending could be made clearer, however. I wasn’t sure I understood the ending well and found out that a few other people didn’t quite get it, either, as their questions on Goodreads showed. Only after reading other readers’ explanations, I was happy to discover that I had understood the actions and the characters’ deceit and cunning correctly.

Then, to give credence to the story, Berthold Brecht is pushed inside a few scenes as a famous character who is, in essence, unimportant to the plot, but I am not quite sure the way he is mentioned does right by him.

On the other hand, the depiction of the cold-war Berlin is excellent. The city itself is shown like another character in the story.

This thriller has a good substance and suspense, and the tension its author creates is masterful.

having a good time reading a thriller and getting to know Berlin during the Cold War.

is Joseph Kanon, who wrote the Edgar Award-winning Istanbul Passage.

The writing is very good and, as an espionage story, the book is hard to put down.

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Created Jan 28, 2018 at 7:41pm • Submit your own review...