It is a well-crafted novel that manages to balance historical accuracy with heart-pumping action, resulting in a book that is both educational and entertaining. The Stasi officer doesn't show up to his meeting, but a brutal squad of Russians do, and Claire barely manages to escape.

Winter Work by Dan Fesperman: Summary and reviews - BookBrowse Winter Work by Dan Fesperman: Summary and reviews - BookBrowse

Emil observed the confrontation from a distance and decided on an approach to Claire that would trigger his plan. The main characters are 30-something CIA officer Claire Saylor and 50-something Stasi Colonel Emil Grimm, both of whom are out of their depth but succeed despite the odds. Though he may be a member of the notorious Stasi, Grimm is a surprisingly sympathetic character who is trying to secure his place in the West.Emil Grimm is one of those, but he comes off as a good guy (if such a thing can be said about a Stasi agent), and he wants to secure a future in the West.

WINTER WORK | Kirkus Reviews WINTER WORK | Kirkus Reviews

If you're looking for at intelligent, cerebral, atmospheric, authentic, gripping spy novel, look elsewhere. Fesperman reveals suspense-filled spy novel drawing richly from real life characters and events and utilising authentic spy tradecraft, a favourite feature among spy fans. Berlin—’spying’s most storied theme park’—is vividly rendered, as is a time of convulsive change and the hopes, anxieties, and machinations of those caught up in the chaos. When a recently retired spy named Clark Baucom says to Claire, “This is all getting pretty complicated,” she’s not at all unhappy about that. Fesperman adds in his Acknowledgments that “I wouldn’t have been nearly as comfortable with all this material if I hadn’t lived and worked in Berlin from 1993 to 1996, only a few years after this novel is set.Co-authors Nelson DeMille and his son Alex have created interesting characters, though Brodie might be the type that appears more in fiction than in the real world: About to be handcuffed by a pair of armed men, he “suddenly spun around and delivered a ball-busting kick, under the guy’s ballistic vest, and into his non-ballistic balls. His aim is to secure a safe haven for the three of them by providing information on his fellow agents and their contacts. 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.

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

A few months earlier he would have known just what to do, but now, as East Germany disintegrates, being a Stasi colonel is more of a liability than an asset. He also crafts an elegant, genuinely suspenseful spy novel with all kinds of tradecraft (if we didn't know the date, we might assume it was the 1940s or 1950s) and real human feeling. S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Harry Vance slips out of his lover’s bed for a mysterious nighttime meeting.

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. Second in the military crime series featuring Special Agents Scott Brodie and Magnolia "Maggie" Taylor, after The Deserter (2019). Set in Berlin and its surroundings in 1990, just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this quietly gripping novel based on a real CIA operation involving gaining access to intelligence contained within old Stasi files is spy fiction just the way I like it - atmospheric and suspenseful, taking its time as it slowly draws the reader deeper into its intriguing plot. Of course, with Fischer dead, Grimm’s life is threatened by the Russians, who are also negotiating with the Americans, although the information they want to sell is not valid.

Winter Work by Dan Fesperman: 9780593466957 - Penguin Random House Winter Work by Dan Fesperman: 9780593466957 - Penguin Random

A very human man with an invalid for a wife, he has one thing to sell to the Americans and that is information. An entire generation has grown up since then; Germany celebrated the 30th anniversary of Reunification in 2020. The characters are developed in a astute way, and the plot is complicated as any spy plot should be. And by the time things actually started to get mildly interesting (about 15% towards the end of the novel), I lost complete interest in the story.

Filled with action centered around multi-dimensional characters from all sides, this book cannot be put down. This is more a behind-the-scenes look at the intelligence community in 1990, the Wild West-like atmosphere of each nation trying to learn about what the dying Stasi knows. Instead, it mostly takes place in the drab, grey, shut-down world of East Berlin, experiencing its first taste of the West after 20 years. It’s as tense and shocking as any Jason Bourne novel (with more substance) or film, with plenty of gunshots, stealth walks and dire threats. But I’ve come across few that address the fraught few months immediately following that epochal event.