Roger L. Liles's Blog: Background and Synopsis of the Novel “The Berlin Tunnel—A Cold War Thriller”

Books, movies and popular media have eulogized the major role that British breaking of the Enigma Code played in the winning of World War II. During the Cold War, a more monumental effort was made by the America and her allies to intercept and exploit Russian and communist countries communications. My novel, a thriller, takes the reader into the super-secret world that I occupied fifty years ago. It is based on a real tunnel built in the mid-1950s by British M-6 and the CIA to tap into a communications cable in East Berlin.

Every scene in The Berlin Tunnel could have happened. The time—1960-1961, and the place—the divided city of Berlin have been faithfully recreated using extensive research and personal experience. Its spy verses spy as my hero, Robert and his new girlfriend, a German girl named Anna, struggle to hide the existence of the Tunnel Robert's crew of American are digging into East Berlin.