The Berlin Spies

Spy Masters Series, Book 4

By: Alex Gerlis

Narrated by: Rupert Bush

The Second World War is coming to a close. But their fight is just beginning....

Berlin, 1945: A group of Nazis frantically plot the next steps for their country. SS recruits gather east of the city for an audacious yet ill-fated mission to bring about a Fourth Reich.

Three decades later, a young British diplomat in East Berlin is compromised after falling into a honey-trap. He contacts Major Edgar, a veteran British spymaster, who is drawn into an unlikely alliance with his old adversary, Viktor Krasotkin.

Soon they are plunged into a world of Nazi war criminals and double agents. With nobody to trust, they must rely on each other. But as Cold War tensions rise, the cracks begin to show.

©2020 Alex Gerlis (P)2022 Tantor

Once again the master spy-story-teller does it!

Don't know what else to say . . . he tangles the web, then we get into it!

All books have to end

Having just finished this one it is hard to put it down. Very compelling, I enjoyed it a great deal.

A lot of Intrigue with a lot of Names

This story is interesting and at times exciting, but it is often hard to follow due to the many names and aliases of characters involved. However, the author does an excellent job bringing together Nazism, the Cold War, and the formerly divided Germany into one huge spy show.

Good story but weak ending

Like the other books in this series, this book has a complex and innovative plot that is truly good listening. And it is performed well.

The interaction among British, German and Russian intelligence makes this one particularly interesting. With an additional plot twist from the Nazi era. I recommend this book and I recommend the whole series.

My one quibble with this book is that it seems the author couldn’t quite figure out how to end it. The ending is somewhat abrupt with no resolution for the main characters. Until that point, it is a very enjoyable listening experience.

Bad narration & too many characters

The narration was indifferent & not smooth, as if the listener could tell that the narrator had paused to turn a page. The characters were either presented at non-cohesive intervals or were just too numerous.

Too hard to handle

Gerlis is an excellent author and I tend to enjoy his spy thrillers but this one was too much to handle. The back and forth time line was not well done. I never could tell when I opened the book to listen where I was and what was going on. As an audible it is confusing.

I’m a fan, but this book isn’t a standout

I generally really like Alex Gerlis spy novels. But this one fell short of the mark for me. It was hard to follow and was only mildly interesting. Unlike his other novels which I have throughly enjoyed, this one was ho-hum at best. I wasn’t even that impressed with Rupert Bush’s narration, which in other books is excellent, but fell a bit flat in this book. I also found some of the sound editing in this book to be sub-standard. I remain an Alex Gerlis fan, but this book isn’t a standout.

Ok

There were too many characters with too many alternate names. Story was convoluted and hard to follow. The reader had halted, odd phrasing. Not my favorite of the series.