by Joseph Kanon
First published 2022
Martin Keller stands at a discreet East German border crossing in 1963, part of a Cold War prisoner exchange. The physicist once made headlines before vanishing into British prison. Now the Communists trade him for two American students and a CIA operative. Keller carries an American passport and burns to reunite with his ex-wife Sabine and their young son. But questions plague him. Who requested his release? Who brokered this deal? His years working for the KGB taught him that nothing occurs by accident. They need him for something beyond physics, since his scientific knowledge has grown stale. The answer waits in East Berlin, where the real game begins. Keller must navigate a web of espionage while pursuing his personal mission, unsure who controls his fate or what price they will demand.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, thriller, action, espionage
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: East Berlin, East Germany
Period: 1963
320 pages · Paperback ·