The Berlin Letters

A Cold War Novel

By: Katherine Reay

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, Ann Marie Gideon, P. J. Ochlan

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Bestselling author Katherine Reay returns with an unforgettable tale of the Cold War and a CIA code breaker who risks everything to free her father from an East German prison.

From the time she was a young girl, Luisa Voekler has loved solving puzzles and cracking codes. Brilliant and logical, she’s expected to quickly climb the career ladder at the CIA. But while her coworkers have moved on to thrilling Cold War assignments—especially in the exhilarating era of the late 1980s—Luisa’s work remains stuck in the past decoding messages from World War II.

Journalist Haris Voekler grew up a proud East Berliner. But as his eyes open to the realities of postwar East Germany, he realizes that the Soviet promises of a better future are not coming to fruition. After the Berlin Wall goes up, Haris finds himself separated from his young daughter and all alone after his wife dies. There’s only one way to reach his family—by sending coded letters to his father-in-law who lives on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

When Luisa Voekler discovers a secret cache of letters written by the father she has long presumed dead, she learns the truth about her grandfather’s work, her father’s identity, and why she has never progressed in her career. With little more than a rudimentary plan and hope, she journeys to Berlin and risks everything to free her father and get him out of East Berlin alive.

As Luisa and Haris take turns telling their stories, events speed toward one of the twentieth century’s most dramatic moments—the fall of the Berlin Wall and that night’s promise of freedom, truth, and reconciliation for those who lived, for twenty-eight years, behind the bleak shadow of the Iron Curtain’s most iconic symbol.

• A Cold War novel that takes listeners to the heart of Berlin to witness both the early and final days of the Berlin Wall
• Stand-alone novel
• Book length: approximately 107,000 words
• Includes discussion questions for book clubs

©2024 Katherine Reay (P)2024 Harper Muse

Critic reviews

Both deeply moving and edge-of-your-seat suspenseful, The Berlin Letters is an eloquent reminder of the brutal totalitarianism of Soviet Communism and the unsung heroes who fought to tear down the Iron Curtain and free Eastern Europe.—Beatriz Williams, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives

The Berlin Letters is a thrilling read that has it all: secret codes, espionage, and a fascinating glimpse into the world behind the Berlin Wall. Katherine Reay always delivers well-researched historical fiction with a perfect blend of heartwarming characters and fast-paced action. Fans of historical spy novels are going to love this enthralling read!—Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Keeper of Hidden Books

A Fresh Peek

Loved this audiobook! Especially the back and forth detail, the West/ East view, the idea that one should t have to leave home in order to live free. Really resonates right now. I was in Europe the summer the wall came down, and so this brought back so many memories and feelings. But we are still learning what it was like to live in East Berlin, and even the views of West Berlin are eye-opening. I really loved the father-daughter aspect as well, including a father who faces the fact that he was wrong but also was willing to give all for change. I wouldn’t have thought that an epistolary novel would have felt so tense, well done to the author for keeping that feeling so prescient, leaping off the pages. The narrators were good/ had their work cut out for them with these accents.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and now am motivated to read a lot more about the Berlin Wall, its inception and collapse. Highly recommend.

Excellent book for listening!

This book takes place during of a piece of history which is too easily forgotten- The Cold War and the division between Western Democratic Europe and in Soviet controlled Eastern Europe. Through the very human characters we are put in touch with with the gnarly postwar divided Berlin situation which is endured for many years by many brave people. The compelling characters are made so because of the great readers with excellent acting skills. . It is not a book with the same narrator throughout. Each character has their own voice and as a listener you look forward to each character's account. It is like listening to a live play. Very thought-provoking and enjoyable.

The immense fear and suffering

I really enjoyed this audiobook. It gave us a glimpse of the betrayal, sorrow and fear brought on by the separation of families and abuses, experienced by those living under an oppressive regime. After witnessing the fall of the Berlin wall over the news many years ago, I enjoyed the perspective from those living trapped by it. I really enjoyed the narrations using different voices and accents. It made it seem more real and easy to follow.

Don't be fooled

I was suckered into purchasing this book for the wonderful Saskia Maarleveld, who unfortunately actually only narrates a cameo of one short chapter at the beginning of the book. I found the other narrators to be rather off-putting: the male narrator read with a farcical, breathy and depressed German accent for the entire book and the female narrator playing Luisa read in a whiny tone making the character rather unbelievable as a CIA agent. If you could sample each narrators' voice you would think twice about buying this. The story, too, was hackneyed and felt like it had been done so much better so many more times by other authors. I disliked the way the author often repeated events from two different characters' perspectives, which in truth showed little difference other than that they were read by a different narrator. All in all the tale was exceptionally unconvincing and I returned it.