The Berlin Exchange

A Novel

By: Joseph Kanon

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

From “the most accomplished spy novelist working today” (The Sunday Times, London), a “heart-poundingly suspenseful” (The Washington Post) espionage thriller set at the height of the Cold War, when a captured American who has spied for the KGB is returned to East Berlin, needing to know who arranged for his release and what they now want from him.

Berlin, 1963. An early morning spy swap, not at the familiar setting for such exchanges, nor at Checkpoint Charlie, where international visitors cross into the East, but at a more discreet border crossing, usually reserved for East German VIPs. The Communists are trading two American students caught helping people to escape over the wall and an aging MI6 operative. On the other side of the trade: Martin Keller, a physicist who once made headlines, but who then disappeared into the English prison system. Keller’s most critical possession: his American passport. Keller’s most ardent desire: to see his ex-wife Sabine and their young son.

The exchange is made with the formality characteristic of these swaps. But Martin has other questions: Who asked for him? Who negotiated the deal? The KGB? He knows that nothing happens by chance. They want him for something. Not physics—his expertise is out of date. Something else, which he cannot learn until he arrives in East Berlin, when suddenly the game is afoot.

Intriguing and atmospheric, with action rising to a dangerous climax, The Berlin Exchange “expertly describes what happens when a disillusioned former agent tries to come in from the cold” (The New York Times Book Review), confirming Kanon as “the greatest writer ever of historical espionage fiction” (Spybrary).

Critic reviews

"Narrator Jonathan Davis helps build the tension, creating a dark atmosphere of suspicion and suspense. His strong characterizations help listeners keep track of the story’s principals. Davis’s authentic-sounding pronunciation of names and places also helps to set the scenes and build the atmosphere, while his excellent pacing amps up the tension."

Theme répétions

Well written but author, usually quite brilliant, tells a tired story. Has done better in all other work. Somehow Berlin eludes him.

Classic Joseph Kanon!

Good story, a slow burn at first, and a slower book than he normally writes. But things heat up and the story keeps you on your toes! Highly recommended.

Mediocre

The story was a bit tooo linear to really captivate me. I knew what was going to happen. And, while I really appreciate the creativity and skill that it take to narrate a story. This narrator, while getting voices, accents and tones believable, whispered the whole thing. As a result most of it was pretty much monotone as a result. The characters didn’t raise their voices or even talk at a normal volume (except the story narrator). I do realize it was a technique to reinforce that almost everything was told in secret, but it really got tiresome.

Slow moving

I Wouldn’t listen to another by this author. I’m Glad to be finished with it.

Another east-west Berlin intrigue

Protagonist from Los Alamos returns to post-war east Berlin to find the world has changed. It's a what if story that revisits events that started the nuclear race. Vintage Joseph Canon. loved every bit of it.