He is the master of the shadows of the era' The Times From the author of The Good German (made into a film starring George Clooney), Leaving Berlin is a sweeping post-war story and an international bestseller.

This is a compelling read with a complex, riveting, and intricate plot.* Don't miss THE ACCOMPLICE, the next heart-pounding and intelligent espionage novel from 'master of the genre' (The Washington Post), Joseph Kanon * 'Up there with the very best. It is filled with intrigue that reminds readers of a period and place where loyalties were conflicted and political maneuvering was prevalent. Leaving Berlin is about betrayal, murder, and survival. Another character to survive is her brother-in-law, an unapologetic Nazi doctor who worked for the Third Reich’s euthanasia program. Readers learn through the lead female character, Irene, about the double-dealing necessary to survive by working with the different secret organizations. Kanon sets the tone in the very first pages with an explanation in an author’s note about the setting and the various organizations that played a key role in the story. He is an amazingly fast learner in the art of spy craft, but without this the thriller would be lacking in suspense. Some scenes might require the reader to suspend belief as Alex suddenly develops into a master manipulator who handles violence with self-confidence. Throughout the story, Joseph Kanon shows the characters to be unlikely spies.

He must return to Berlin, pose as a disenchanted exile, and gather actionable intelligence by spying on a former lover.Īlex finds that espionage in Berlin is a fact of life. To avoid jail and continue being a celebrity novelist, he makes a desperate deal with the CIA. Although he did not have his heart with the Communists, he still was swept up by the McCarthy era after refusing to name names to a Congressional committee. With his family’s help, Alex escaped to America before the Holocaust. The storyline is based on the adventures of Alex Meier, a German writer whose father was Jewish and who sees himself as a socialist. In many ways, the book is so realistic readers might forget it is a thriller. Through an action-packed plot, readers gain a glimpse of what life was like there at the start of the Cold War, when the Stalinists replaced the Nazis. Leaving Berlin is a gripping historical thriller, set in Berlin four years after the end of World War II.

Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon