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Winter Work

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Soon Emil is connected with CIA agent Claire Saylor who is on the ground in Berlin to collect what she can of the valuable intelligence that has been freed up because of the chaotic government transition to unify Germany. In the events that unfold in subsequent months, we learn that Emil’s interest in learning why Lothar was murdered is a very personal matter.

Winter Work by Dan Fesperman | Goodreads Winter Work by Dan Fesperman | Goodreads

Its focus on a pivotal moment in world history makes this a great selection for anyone interested in the time period, and its complex plot will appeal to readers who enjoy espionage thrillers. Emil in particular is drawn with nuance, establishing a fine balance between the man who's lost a friend and the man who's a ruthless, calculating spymaster.So, hang in there through the deliberate plod of all those meetings, talks, bedside chats and such, because it WILL deliver in an exciting, stunning finale. Fesperman accurately depicts the corrosive effect of life under a surveillance society, debasing both the watchers and the watched…. Emil Grimm, his partner in an effort to exchange critical information – “the identities of more than a thousand foreign agents of the HVA, the East German intelligence service by the Ministry for State Security, or Stasi” (p.

WINTER WORK | Kirkus Reviews WINTER WORK | Kirkus Reviews

At the same time, an American agent, her semi-retired back-up, and a host of scary Russian thugs all seem to be closing in on the spy score of a lifetime.Grimm is able to make contact with her through interesting and effective spycraft, and a race ensues to be first to provide the list, which is in three separate interlocking files, to the Americans. But the biggest problem is that this narrative is framed as a mystery without delivering the pleasures of a mystery. On a walk one morning, he discovers the body of a fellow intelligence officer with whom he was involved in a clandestine mission.

Winter Work,’ by Dan Fesperman - The New York Times Review: ‘Winter Work,’ by Dan Fesperman - The New York Times

Winter Work is an excellent addition to Fesperman's body of work and a must-read for fans of the spy thriller genre. I tackled this novel again after failing to finish it last year, mainly because I felt the book had gotten off to a slow start. Germany was split into two countries, with the western half becoming the democratic Federal Republic of Germany (FDR or West Germany) and the eastern section the socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany).

Fesperman was a reporter in Berlin at the time, which adds verisimilitude to plot and location, but there's always something missing for me in his fiction. The CIA saw this as an opportunity to contact former Stasi members and offer rewards for their cooperation. That means she is in favor of dumping Emil for a more powerful but deadly KGB agent—the person responsible for the brutal murder of Emil’s friend who first offered the CIA the names of East German spies in the West (including a mole at CIA HQ). In the chaos following the historic event, intelligence is up for grabs, pitting Russians against Americans against Germans for the names of thousands of agents in the field. More reminiscent of John Le Carré than Robert Ludlum or Ian Fleming, “Winter Work” is a good, solid novel suitable for Cold War espionage enthusiasts willing to be patient.

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