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Karin Müller #4
Stasi 77
A secret State. A dark conspiracy. A terrible crime.
Karin Müller of the German Democratic Republic's People's Police is called to a factory in the east of the country. A man has been murdered - bound and trapped as a fire burned nearby, slowly suffocating him. But who is he? Why was he targeted? Could his murderer simply be someone with a grudge against the factory's nationalisation, as Müller's Stasi colleagues insist? Why too is her deputy Werner Tilsner behaving so strangely?
As more victims surface, it becomes clear that there is a cold-blooded killer out there taking their revenge. Soon Müller begins to realise that in order to solve these terrible crimes, she will need to delve into the region's dark past. But are the Stasi really working with her on this case? Or against her?
For those who really run this Republic have secrets they would rather remain uncovered. And they will stop at nothing to keep them that way ...
A gripping and evocative crime thriller, moving between the devastating closing weeks of the Second World War and the Stasi-controlled 1970s, STASI 77 is David Young's most compelling and powerful novel yet.
Karin Müller of the German Democratic Republic's People's Police is called to a factory in the east of the country. A man has been murdered - bound and trapped as a fire burned nearby, slowly suffocating him. But who is he? Why was he targeted? Could his murderer simply be someone with a grudge against the factory's nationalisation, as Müller's Stasi colleagues insist? Why too is her deputy Werner Tilsner behaving so strangely?
As more victims surface, it becomes clear that there is a cold-blooded killer out there taking their revenge. Soon Müller begins to realise that in order to solve these terrible crimes, she will need to delve into the region's dark past. But are the Stasi really working with her on this case? Or against her?
For those who really run this Republic have secrets they would rather remain uncovered. And they will stop at nothing to keep them that way ...
A gripping and evocative crime thriller, moving between the devastating closing weeks of the Second World War and the Stasi-controlled 1970s, STASI 77 is David Young's most compelling and powerful novel yet.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2019
68 people are currently reading
326 people want to read
About the author
David Young
16 books215 followersDavid Young was born near Hull and – after dropping out of a Bristol University science degree - studied Humanities at Bristol Polytechnic specialising in Modern History. Temporary jobs cleaning ferry toilets and driving a butcher's van were followed by a career in journalism with provincial newspapers, a London news agency, and the BBC’s international newsrooms where he led news teams for the World Service radio and World TV.
David was a student on the inaugural Crime Thriller MA at City University – winning the course prize in 2014 for his debut novel Stasi Child – and now writes full-time in his garden shed. In his spare time, he’s a keen supporter of Hull City AFC.
Stasi Child is the first of three books in the Oberleutnant Karin Müller series – set in 1970s communist East Germany – bought by the UK arm of Swedish publisher Bonnier by former Quercus CEO Mark Smith. It reached the top 5 bestsellers on Amazon Kindle, was number one bestseller in Amazon’s Historical Fiction chart, and has been optioned for TV by Euston Films (Minder, The Sweeney etc). Translation rights have so far been sold to France.
David was a student on the inaugural Crime Thriller MA at City University – winning the course prize in 2014 for his debut novel Stasi Child – and now writes full-time in his garden shed. In his spare time, he’s a keen supporter of Hull City AFC.
Stasi Child is the first of three books in the Oberleutnant Karin Müller series – set in 1970s communist East Germany – bought by the UK arm of Swedish publisher Bonnier by former Quercus CEO Mark Smith. It reached the top 5 bestsellers on Amazon Kindle, was number one bestseller in Amazon’s Historical Fiction chart, and has been optioned for TV by Euston Films (Minder, The Sweeney etc). Translation rights have so far been sold to France.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
April 15, 2019
Continuing this excellent and compelling crime novel series set in the former East Germany.
Episode 4 of this fascinating police procedural, and the deeper you get into this series the closer you get to know and feel for the characters.
What sets it apart from others is the unusual location, combined with the ideology, bureaucracy, secrecy and the strong female lead in Murder Squad Chief Karin Müller.
In this story Müller is again thwarted by the looming influence of the Stasi in her investigations of multiple murders seeming linked back to an incident in the dying days of World War 2.
As in previous books there's various different timelines at play here, but I found this a real page turner and could not tell how this one was going to end up.
As always David Young packs in some great details that would appear insignificant to many not familiar with the period or the politics.
However, it’s also a great crime novel with a richly detailed and complex female lead. A cracking ending, that makes the reader want to read more about Karin Müller...
If you like police procedurals, strong female characters, along with an Orwellian landscape then I recommend this.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review
Episode 4 of this fascinating police procedural, and the deeper you get into this series the closer you get to know and feel for the characters.
What sets it apart from others is the unusual location, combined with the ideology, bureaucracy, secrecy and the strong female lead in Murder Squad Chief Karin Müller.
In this story Müller is again thwarted by the looming influence of the Stasi in her investigations of multiple murders seeming linked back to an incident in the dying days of World War 2.
As in previous books there's various different timelines at play here, but I found this a real page turner and could not tell how this one was going to end up.
As always David Young packs in some great details that would appear insignificant to many not familiar with the period or the politics.
However, it’s also a great crime novel with a richly detailed and complex female lead. A cracking ending, that makes the reader want to read more about Karin Müller...
If you like police procedurals, strong female characters, along with an Orwellian landscape then I recommend this.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review
November 27, 2019
David Young stature as an author has grown and matured as this series has developed.
Setting his novels in the DDR, the former East Germany from 1949-1990, when the eastern portion of Germany was part of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. Commonly described as a communist state in English usage, it described itself as a socialist "workers' and peasants' state." Wikipedia.
It attracts readers like me who grew up reading Cold War thrillers, fans of police procedures where all is complicated by state intervention, compare with Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith. Where Arkady Renko, a Moscow homicide investigator was thwarted by KGB interference. Young’s detective is female, Karin Müller and her best efforts are undermined, her investigations marginalised and closed down by the Stasi who go to any lengths to suppress the truth where state security is threatened.
I love the tension this introduces into all her cases; where her own team can’t be trusted, harassment and intimidation is used against her. She is a great detective, loyal to her government but determined to seek out justice and expose the truth.
Into this scenario the author is then able to introduce great locations and historical background that makes for a fresh and interesting read.
Stasi 77 is no different, it continues to draw on the strengths of this set of books. Stasi 77 is the fourth book in this series and for me the best yet. It has real tension and Karin ends up not just fighting to stay with the investigation but struggling to keep her job and family safe.
The historical dimension that the writer has woven into his plot is well researched, relevant to the characters he has previously introduced to us and sensitively shared. That said, it is a horrific series of events in the Nazi struggle to maintain slave labour and the atrocities that occurred at the end of the conflict in 1945.
David Young comments at the end of the novel about combining fact and fiction in this way. How it is hard to write of war crimes within a commercial format to promote fiction.
The books reads so well. It is a real skill to mix up the revelation of a historical narrative in pace with the modern plot. The past has a significant bearing on the present action and the crimes being committed. There is no comparison with the two; one is mass murder but these facts are revealed not in a sensational way but like reading an historical account from the war years. It is moving, brings historical knowledge where the reader may otherwise not be aware of these events and adds understanding to ideas of restorative justice, forgiveness and accountability.
The author introduces a number of reflections and voices in these issues. At the time, in the immediate aftermath and how lives move on for both victims and perpetrators.
The case Karin begins to investigate she is always going to fail to bring into the full light of justice. That in itself is a parable of these times, those that write history rather than crime fiction. However, Karin’s integrity never wavers, she may have learned that she has to raise her game to match the Stasi but we learn that the truth can still be manipulated and perhaps always buried. Karin does her best to expose the darkest hours and days in German history. We should be grateful to the talented work of this author who has lifted a stone from that past. In fiction played out various scenarios and outcomes and in his protagonist a War Baby herself that new life and hope can grow from the blackest moments.
I fully recommend these series of books and Stasi 77 was simply a wonderful read.
Setting his novels in the DDR, the former East Germany from 1949-1990, when the eastern portion of Germany was part of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. Commonly described as a communist state in English usage, it described itself as a socialist "workers' and peasants' state." Wikipedia.
It attracts readers like me who grew up reading Cold War thrillers, fans of police procedures where all is complicated by state intervention, compare with Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith. Where Arkady Renko, a Moscow homicide investigator was thwarted by KGB interference. Young’s detective is female, Karin Müller and her best efforts are undermined, her investigations marginalised and closed down by the Stasi who go to any lengths to suppress the truth where state security is threatened.
I love the tension this introduces into all her cases; where her own team can’t be trusted, harassment and intimidation is used against her. She is a great detective, loyal to her government but determined to seek out justice and expose the truth.
Into this scenario the author is then able to introduce great locations and historical background that makes for a fresh and interesting read.
Stasi 77 is no different, it continues to draw on the strengths of this set of books. Stasi 77 is the fourth book in this series and for me the best yet. It has real tension and Karin ends up not just fighting to stay with the investigation but struggling to keep her job and family safe.
The historical dimension that the writer has woven into his plot is well researched, relevant to the characters he has previously introduced to us and sensitively shared. That said, it is a horrific series of events in the Nazi struggle to maintain slave labour and the atrocities that occurred at the end of the conflict in 1945.
David Young comments at the end of the novel about combining fact and fiction in this way. How it is hard to write of war crimes within a commercial format to promote fiction.
The books reads so well. It is a real skill to mix up the revelation of a historical narrative in pace with the modern plot. The past has a significant bearing on the present action and the crimes being committed. There is no comparison with the two; one is mass murder but these facts are revealed not in a sensational way but like reading an historical account from the war years. It is moving, brings historical knowledge where the reader may otherwise not be aware of these events and adds understanding to ideas of restorative justice, forgiveness and accountability.
The author introduces a number of reflections and voices in these issues. At the time, in the immediate aftermath and how lives move on for both victims and perpetrators.
The case Karin begins to investigate she is always going to fail to bring into the full light of justice. That in itself is a parable of these times, those that write history rather than crime fiction. However, Karin’s integrity never wavers, she may have learned that she has to raise her game to match the Stasi but we learn that the truth can still be manipulated and perhaps always buried. Karin does her best to expose the darkest hours and days in German history. We should be grateful to the talented work of this author who has lifted a stone from that past. In fiction played out various scenarios and outcomes and in his protagonist a War Baby herself that new life and hope can grow from the blackest moments.
I fully recommend these series of books and Stasi 77 was simply a wonderful read.
November 28, 2022
Karin Muller makes some discoveries that chill her to the backbone. Men are being murdered in a strange way. The truth leads back to the war years. Another Muller Mystery that intrigues. As always the spectre of the Stasi looms over all.
April 14, 2019
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bonnier Zaffre for an advance copy of Stasi 77, the fourth novel to feature Karin Müller of the DDR’s Volkspolizei Serious Crimes Department set in 1977.
Karin is recalled from holiday to investigate the murder of a party official in a factory in Karl Marx Stadt but she doesn’t get very far as the Stasi block her investigation at every turn before taking it over completely. The same happens when she discovers more victims. She soon realises that the murders have their roots in the past and that, unable to trust anyone, she’ll have to investigate alone.
I thoroughly enjoyed Stasi 77 which is an engrossing if difficult historical read. It opens with a foreigner with a plan trying to get through Checkpoint Charlie. That was me hooked. The tension of his situation was palpable and his mission intriguing. It then switches to Karin’s investigation which, again, is intriguing and the reader can’t help but connect the two events through small things although there’s nothing overt to say so. As Karin’s investigation progresses it is intercut with one man’s story of his time as a slave labourer under the Nazis. This latter is horrific in its cruelty and inhumanity.
This is a riveting novel in historical terms with both the wartime and 1977 stories showing the worst side of human nature. Both reinforce, perhaps without nuance, the harmfulness of authoritarian regimes. The war story is background and is well done as the reader can feel the narrator’s pain and suffering. Karin’s investigation is cleverly plotted but perhaps not as authentic as it could be as she seems to be able to dodge under the radar and manipulate the system more than history would suggest is possible. As the highest ranking female police officer in the state she is under constant surveillance and yet she is able to avoid it on a regular basis. I think that is what offers hope in a novel where the state suffocates its citizens and stifles any deviation from the party line, although what constitutes the party line seems tied up in the personal needs of senior officials. The picture it paints of the DDR is unedifying and believable.
Stasi 77 is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.
Karin is recalled from holiday to investigate the murder of a party official in a factory in Karl Marx Stadt but she doesn’t get very far as the Stasi block her investigation at every turn before taking it over completely. The same happens when she discovers more victims. She soon realises that the murders have their roots in the past and that, unable to trust anyone, she’ll have to investigate alone.
I thoroughly enjoyed Stasi 77 which is an engrossing if difficult historical read. It opens with a foreigner with a plan trying to get through Checkpoint Charlie. That was me hooked. The tension of his situation was palpable and his mission intriguing. It then switches to Karin’s investigation which, again, is intriguing and the reader can’t help but connect the two events through small things although there’s nothing overt to say so. As Karin’s investigation progresses it is intercut with one man’s story of his time as a slave labourer under the Nazis. This latter is horrific in its cruelty and inhumanity.
This is a riveting novel in historical terms with both the wartime and 1977 stories showing the worst side of human nature. Both reinforce, perhaps without nuance, the harmfulness of authoritarian regimes. The war story is background and is well done as the reader can feel the narrator’s pain and suffering. Karin’s investigation is cleverly plotted but perhaps not as authentic as it could be as she seems to be able to dodge under the radar and manipulate the system more than history would suggest is possible. As the highest ranking female police officer in the state she is under constant surveillance and yet she is able to avoid it on a regular basis. I think that is what offers hope in a novel where the state suffocates its citizens and stifles any deviation from the party line, although what constitutes the party line seems tied up in the personal needs of senior officials. The picture it paints of the DDR is unedifying and believable.
Stasi 77 is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.
June 15, 2019
4 stars
Book#4 in the Karin Mueller series. A really great addition. Major Mueller is head of the Serious Crimes Unit in East Berlin during the 1970's. She is called to investigate an unusual scene where the victim is bound and locked in a room with a burning fire. Accident, suicide, or murder. The more Major Mueller investigates, the more the Stasi blocks her way. Karin risks a great deal to find out the truth which lies in the past. Very revealing storyline into Germany's past.
Book#4 in the Karin Mueller series. A really great addition. Major Mueller is head of the Serious Crimes Unit in East Berlin during the 1970's. She is called to investigate an unusual scene where the victim is bound and locked in a room with a burning fire. Accident, suicide, or murder. The more Major Mueller investigates, the more the Stasi blocks her way. Karin risks a great deal to find out the truth which lies in the past. Very revealing storyline into Germany's past.
November 19, 2019
A superb series,that keeps getting better.
May 8, 2019
David Young's latest Karin Mülller detective story, Stasi 77, is set, as with its three predecessors, in the German Democratic Republic. At the heart of the story, like the earlier novels, is a stubborn and gifted young detective trying to solve a series of serious crimes despite the interference of the state secret police, the Stasi.
There are two, perhaps even three, threads to the plot. Karin, now Major Mülller is looking into a number of suspicious deaths which we readers suspect are linked to events in the closing years of the Second World War. There are plenty of novels and films which use 'the answer lies in the past' approach. What sets Stasi 77 apart is the empathy that the author shows towards the French slave labourer at the heart of the 1944-5 part of the tale. Often massacres and atrocities are reported as statistics but here David Young has introduced a strong human element. All this means that we readers are in some doubt as to how we'd like the story to end.
Karin's family life continues to flourish and this adds to her uncertainty as to how she should continue her investigation despite interference from the Stasi. The author must have wrestled with these problems as the plot developed. As usual with this series, the research is meticulous, characterisation strong, locations interesting and plot exciting and credible. A very fine thriller.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and The Summer of '39, all published by Sacristy Press.
There are two, perhaps even three, threads to the plot. Karin, now Major Mülller is looking into a number of suspicious deaths which we readers suspect are linked to events in the closing years of the Second World War. There are plenty of novels and films which use 'the answer lies in the past' approach. What sets Stasi 77 apart is the empathy that the author shows towards the French slave labourer at the heart of the 1944-5 part of the tale. Often massacres and atrocities are reported as statistics but here David Young has introduced a strong human element. All this means that we readers are in some doubt as to how we'd like the story to end.
Karin's family life continues to flourish and this adds to her uncertainty as to how she should continue her investigation despite interference from the Stasi. The author must have wrestled with these problems as the plot developed. As usual with this series, the research is meticulous, characterisation strong, locations interesting and plot exciting and credible. A very fine thriller.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and The Summer of '39, all published by Sacristy Press.
May 21, 2019
Fourth instalment of the 'Karin Muller' Stasi series.
An enjoyable cold war thriller that continues to maintain the quality and excitement of its predecessors.
The book follows the tried and trusted formula of using flashbacks and two time threads that come together at the eventual climax of the story.
In this case Muller has to investigate the deaths of a number of communist party figures who've died from smoke inhalation. It soon becomes clear they've been murdered but by whom and why?
It becomes necessary to delve into the fascist past of Germany and the death marches of foreign forced labourers and concentration camp inmates in the last days of the war.
The historical part of this story worked best for me. The thriller part a little less so with the revelation of the killers identity towards the end.
Overall a really enjoyable read and three stars is probably hard marking. It's almost worth a four.
The first book in the series 'Stasi Child' is still the best for me.
I look forward to the next book.
An enjoyable cold war thriller that continues to maintain the quality and excitement of its predecessors.
The book follows the tried and trusted formula of using flashbacks and two time threads that come together at the eventual climax of the story.
In this case Muller has to investigate the deaths of a number of communist party figures who've died from smoke inhalation. It soon becomes clear they've been murdered but by whom and why?
It becomes necessary to delve into the fascist past of Germany and the death marches of foreign forced labourers and concentration camp inmates in the last days of the war.
The historical part of this story worked best for me. The thriller part a little less so with the revelation of the killers identity towards the end.
Overall a really enjoyable read and three stars is probably hard marking. It's almost worth a four.
The first book in the series 'Stasi Child' is still the best for me.
I look forward to the next book.
June 3, 2019
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in return for an honest review.
Once more Karin Mueller is called in to investigate a murder which is apparently baffling the local police but her assistant, Werner Tilsner, is behaving strangely and the Stasi are being totally obstructive. When she is removed from the case she surreptitiously continues to try to solve it thereby putting her whole family in danger. More compelling and intriguing plot twists lead Karin into as historical crime of epic proportions. Her life will never be the same again.
Highly recommended. You have to read this but preferably you will have read the first three book in the series first. Brilliant!
Once more Karin Mueller is called in to investigate a murder which is apparently baffling the local police but her assistant, Werner Tilsner, is behaving strangely and the Stasi are being totally obstructive. When she is removed from the case she surreptitiously continues to try to solve it thereby putting her whole family in danger. More compelling and intriguing plot twists lead Karin into as historical crime of epic proportions. Her life will never be the same again.
Highly recommended. You have to read this but preferably you will have read the first three book in the series first. Brilliant!
June 15, 2019
A great read once again, this series gets better and better.
July 13, 2020
Karin investigates a series of murders that appear to be linked to a dark secret from the victims' Nazi era past. With her work hindered by Stasi interference at every turn and her deputy behaving strangely, however, she has a hard time figuring out what exactly it is that links the victims - and who else might be on the killer's list of intended targets.
Another compelling entry in the series. I was glad to find that even though the ending felt a lot like it might be the conclusion to the whole series, there's already a fifth book available.
Another compelling entry in the series. I was glad to find that even though the ending felt a lot like it might be the conclusion to the whole series, there's already a fifth book available.
May 17, 2019
Fact and fiction expertly interwoven. Another excellent book from David Young.
September 18, 2022
The historical background to the book is what made me up the rating to 4 stars from 3. i had never heard of what had fallende at Gardelegen and immediately did my research after reading this.
The story itself is a page-turner but otherwise, this time Karin Müller just irritated me. I feel like her character isn‘t really going anywhere. As in the books before this one, we see her disobeying orders to pursue cases that are officially closed, feeling terribly guilty for dumping her kids on her grandmother to follow Leads in cases she isn’t allowed to follow up on, and in between all this we have her difficult working relationship with her deputy and the Stasi. In other words, different crimes but same people and situations. There is also, by now, no need for the author to keep reminding us that the Ministry for State Security is … the Stasi at the end of the chapters.
That said, I will continue with the series and hope that Karin gets the chance to develop her character further.
The story itself is a page-turner but otherwise, this time Karin Müller just irritated me. I feel like her character isn‘t really going anywhere. As in the books before this one, we see her disobeying orders to pursue cases that are officially closed, feeling terribly guilty for dumping her kids on her grandmother to follow Leads in cases she isn’t allowed to follow up on, and in between all this we have her difficult working relationship with her deputy and the Stasi. In other words, different crimes but same people and situations. There is also, by now, no need for the author to keep reminding us that the Ministry for State Security is … the Stasi at the end of the chapters.
That said, I will continue with the series and hope that Karin gets the chance to develop her character further.
April 16, 2019
I'm a big fan of this series - David Young is a master at immersing us in East Germany in the 1970s - and Stasi 77 is, in my opinion, the best of the four so far. Which is quite an achievement. It's the darkest of the four but some harrowing scenes are treated with great sensitivity and purpose. This is a novel David Young should be very proud of indeed. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.
May 10, 2021
There was a distinct feeling of déjà vu with this fourth adventure for East German Murder Squad detective Karin Müller investigating a chilling murder in Karl Marx-Stadt with the infamous Stasi running interference and seemingly thwarting Müller's efforts to uncover the truth (as in previous volumes). However as the story develops this become probably the best story in the series so far tying into real-life events at the end of WW2 and revealing those who had supported one totalitarian regime, switching horses to support another. Great series of books, decent murder mysteries set in a fascinating historical background.
April 15, 2020
By far the best in the series up to this point. And, I had to wait over 5 weeks for delivery from the UK.
Murders surrounding old Nazi war crimes made for a very good mystery. Karin Muller shines as the Comrade Major who is always handcuffed by Stasi police while investigating these murders that all have chilling similarities. The terrible atrocities committed by the Nazis at the end of the war in 1945 are difficult to read about. I think the author did a brilliant job of weaving these murders around an atrocity that he himself feels strongly about. Highly recommend.
Murders surrounding old Nazi war crimes made for a very good mystery. Karin Muller shines as the Comrade Major who is always handcuffed by Stasi police while investigating these murders that all have chilling similarities. The terrible atrocities committed by the Nazis at the end of the war in 1945 are difficult to read about. I think the author did a brilliant job of weaving these murders around an atrocity that he himself feels strongly about. Highly recommend.
May 17, 2021
I enjoyed this book. Much like I have enjoyed the rest of the series. They are a fun read and do manage to keep you guessing somewhat through then.
They’re not perfect but an easy read.
They’re not perfect but an easy read.
July 21, 2019
There’s an irony about Stasi 77. Like many of the characters within its pages, David Young’s latest DDR novel is not all it seems. It promises to be another high quality police procedural with the mystery taking place alongside position-jockeying between investigator Karin Müller and Stasi officers hiding in the shadows. In fact, the mystery is, you feel, only really there so that Young can ask fundamental questions about individual and collective fear, guilt, courage and moral certitude.
Let’s cover the mystery first: it’s fine. As usual, Müller forces her way through to a conclusion. We like Müller: she believes in the DDR but she is no humourless apparatchik. She’s brave and resourceful and if, sometimes, her hunches seem to pay off rather too conveniently there are none the less some super spy set pieces.
The main narrative is interspersed with a first person narrative from the tail end of the Second World War. The narrator, a French prisoner of war captured along with his brothers, and Young plausibly presents his fear, hope and spirit as the POWs are shunted by their captors as they flee the Allies’ advance. We can guess the outcome. What we may not know is that this narrative depicts a real atrocity.
In an afterword to the novel, Young questions the ethics of, as he puts it, ‘bolting a fictional story onto a horrific real-life event’. It isn’t for me to pass judgement on that, but I do think that Young manages to do three things rather well. First, he tells the story of the Gardelegen massacre, a not-well-known episode that requires to be told.
The second result is slightly less obvious and is difficult to relate in a review of this length. But Young tries to look at the massacre through the eyes of some of the Germans present at the massacre. He manages to do this sensitively and to ask wider questions about individual agency in the face of a mob. To what extent did those who found themselves caught up in atrocity find that they were able to stand up to it? Young considers the question from a number of angles: it is easy, after all, to claim you were against an atrocity after the fact, and it is also possible for history to be written and re-written, depending on the interests of those doing the writing. Young points out that Nazi sympathisers gained positions of power in the DDR - and that others were blackmailed by the Stasi into doing its work. I don’t think that Young lets his characters off the hook. And Müller, who was not born during this part of her country’s history, is able to take what she sees as a principled stance. On one level, that’s any easy position for her to take, and Young encourages us to question how much she earns her position on the high ground, and, by implication, how much we today who have never been tested in this way earn our right to claim any moral superiority.
Stasi 77 is a risk-taking, ambitious novel that promises you a police procedural and instead kicks you in the gut. It isn’t an easy read. I recommend it highly.
Let’s cover the mystery first: it’s fine. As usual, Müller forces her way through to a conclusion. We like Müller: she believes in the DDR but she is no humourless apparatchik. She’s brave and resourceful and if, sometimes, her hunches seem to pay off rather too conveniently there are none the less some super spy set pieces.
The main narrative is interspersed with a first person narrative from the tail end of the Second World War. The narrator, a French prisoner of war captured along with his brothers, and Young plausibly presents his fear, hope and spirit as the POWs are shunted by their captors as they flee the Allies’ advance. We can guess the outcome. What we may not know is that this narrative depicts a real atrocity.
In an afterword to the novel, Young questions the ethics of, as he puts it, ‘bolting a fictional story onto a horrific real-life event’. It isn’t for me to pass judgement on that, but I do think that Young manages to do three things rather well. First, he tells the story of the Gardelegen massacre, a not-well-known episode that requires to be told.
The second result is slightly less obvious and is difficult to relate in a review of this length. But Young tries to look at the massacre through the eyes of some of the Germans present at the massacre. He manages to do this sensitively and to ask wider questions about individual agency in the face of a mob. To what extent did those who found themselves caught up in atrocity find that they were able to stand up to it? Young considers the question from a number of angles: it is easy, after all, to claim you were against an atrocity after the fact, and it is also possible for history to be written and re-written, depending on the interests of those doing the writing. Young points out that Nazi sympathisers gained positions of power in the DDR - and that others were blackmailed by the Stasi into doing its work. I don’t think that Young lets his characters off the hook. And Müller, who was not born during this part of her country’s history, is able to take what she sees as a principled stance. On one level, that’s any easy position for her to take, and Young encourages us to question how much she earns her position on the high ground, and, by implication, how much we today who have never been tested in this way earn our right to claim any moral superiority.
Stasi 77 is a risk-taking, ambitious novel that promises you a police procedural and instead kicks you in the gut. It isn’t an easy read. I recommend it highly.
September 14, 2019
David Youngs Karin Muller books are excellent. This is the fourth I read, and it has the same exiting nerve as the others. We are in East Germany in 1977, a number of dead men sufficated from smoke inhalation are found. What is the link between them? Muller is on the case but the Stasi has their own plans and cover operations. We end up at the towns of Estedt and Gardelegen, and the role of key Stasi officials (then young nazi soldiers) role in the massacre of 1000 slave workers in April 1945. Good plot and exciting story
October 14, 2019
Meh. This book was pretty dull. The characters were flat, the dialogue was clunky and the plot was so cliched I felt like I'd read it before. Worst of all, there was almost no attempt to create a sense of setting, the book felt as if it could have been set in any country or time, it did not feel like it was set in a Communist society. Maybe it's because I've recently read Child 44, because this is nowhere near as good.
October 6, 2022
Excellent insight into the former Eastern Bloc. The book delves into the harrowing history of Gardelegen which some readers might find upsetting, and rightly so.
January 12, 2022
https://dominicamat.blogspot.com/2022...
"ΕΝΑ ΦΡΙΚΤΟ ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑ ΜΙΑ ΣΚΟΤΕΙΝΗ ΣΥΝΩΜΟΣΙΑ"
Όλοι κι όλες που διαβάζουμε σειρές βιβλίων με έναν,ή,καί περισσότερους αγαπημένους ήρωες,στο βάθος του μυαλού μας φωλιάζει ο φόβος που γεννάται από την σκέψη πως μπορεί σε ένα επόμενο βιβλίο να βρούμε κάτι που να το έχουμε ήδη ξαναδιαβάσει,χωρίς βέβαια αυτό να συμβαίνει πάντα. Καλώς,ή,κακώς οι συγγραφείς ανάλογων έργων,πάντα μα πάντα,εκτός του ότι έχουν να ανταγωνιστούν τον ίδιο τους τον εαυτό καί να τον ξεπεράσουν,γράφοντας όλο καί καλύτερα βιβλία,βρίσκονται σε μία επαγρύπνηση,ώστε να μην υποπέσουν σε κάποιο συγγραφικό τέλμα που θα έχει ως αποτέλεσμα μία αναφορά στα ήδη ειπωμένα,ή χειρότερα,να τους συμβεί κάποιο μπλοκάρισμα της σκέψης καί γέννησης νέων ιδεών.
Από όταν διάβασα το πρώτο βιβλίο του συγγραφέα David Young έως καί το τέταρτο σήμερα,με τίτλο ''ΣΤΑΖΙ '77'',πάντα με πρωταγωνίστρια την αστυνομικό Κάριν Μίλερ (όλα κυκλοφορούν από τις εκδόσεις Κέδρος),αυτός ο φόβος που σας αναφέρω παραπάνω δεν κατάφερε να με ''κερδίσει'' κι αυτό γιατί ο συγγραφέας δουλεύει πολύ τόσο πάνω στον τρόπο εκφρασής του,όσο καί στο υλικό που διαχειρίζεται. Ναι,υπάρχει ένας κεντρικός άξονας,αλλά από εκεί καί πέρα μιλάμε για βιβλία που μπορούν να σταθούν επάξια κι από μόνα τους,ή,να διαβαστούν βάσει της σειράς με την οποία έχουν εκδοθεί. Άλλος ένας λόγος για τον οποίο αγαπώ τη συγκεκριμένη σειρά βιβλίων είναι αυτή η μαεστρία του συγγραφέα να ενισχύει το ήδη καλό αστυνομικό κομμάτι των βιβλίων με την αναφορά σε σκοτεινές σελίδες της νεότερης ιστορίας.
"Η Κάριν Μίλερ, αξιωματικός της Αστυνομίας του Λαού της Λαοκρατικής Δημοκρατίας της Γερμανίας, καλείται σε ένα εργοστάσιο στα ανατολικά της χώρας για την εξιχνίαση μιας δολοφονίας. Ένας άντρας δεμένος, παγιδευμένος σε μια φωτιά, έχει πεθάνει από τις αναθυμιάσεις. Ποιος ήταν; Γιατί δολοφονήθηκε; Όταν το ίδιο διάστημα στην ευρύτερη περιοχή γίνονται κι άλλες δολοφονίες στις οποίες τα θύματα πεθαίνουν με τον ίδιο τρόπο, η Μίλερ καταλαβαίνει ότι για να ξεδιαλύνει τα τρομερά αυτά εγκλήματα πρέπει να ψάξει στο σκοτεινό παρελθόν. Όμως δεν έχει καμία βοήθεια: ο συνεργάτης της, Βέρνερ Τίλσνερ, συμπεριφέρεται πολύ παράξενα και η Στάζι δεν συνεργάζεται μαζί της. Γιατί εκείνοι που πραγματικά κυβερνούν τη χώρα προτιμούν τα εγκλήματα να παραμείνουν ανεξιχνίαστα και θέτουν κάθε δυνατό εμπόδιο στην αποστολή της..." (Περίληψη οπισθοφύλλου)
Άραγε η στάση κάποιων ανθρώπων καί δη αυτών που έχουν την εξουσία στα χέρια τους δύναται να γίνει ακόμη πιο σκληρή κι απάνθρωπη; Η απάντηση είναι ένα τεράστιο ''ναι''. Η εξουσία λειτουργεί σαν άλλο αφροδισιακό στα χέρια κάποιων ανθρώπων,που κατέχοντάς την,αποκαλύπτουν το πόσο σάπια καί αδυσώπητη είναι η ψυχή τους. Κι αν κάποιος/α προσπαθήσει να αντ��σταθεί σε όλα αυτά καί να αποκαλύψει όσα ηθελημένα παραμένουν κρυμμένα,τί συνέπειες θα έχει να αντιμετωπίσει; Δυστυχώς,η Στάζι καί στο παρόν έργο δείχνει για ακόμη μία φορά το πόσο αδίστακτοι καί χωρίς ηθικούς φραγμούς ήταν οι άνθρωποι που υπάγονταν σε αυτήν καί το πως επηρέαζαν,είτε σε μεγαλύτερο είτε σε μικρότερο βαθμό,τη ζωή όλων των πολιτών της Ανατολικής Γερμανίας,χρόνια μετά την λήξη του Β' Παγκοσμίου πολέμου.
Ο συγγραφέας,όμως,δεν μένει μόνο εκεί. Επιλέγει καί γυρνά πίσω στον χρόνο,στις τελευταίες καταστροφικές εβδομάδες του Β' Παγκοσμίου πολέμου καί σε ένα συγκλονιστικό καί θηριώδες γεγονός που αμαυρώνει μέχρι καί σήμερα,όχι μόνο την σύγχρονη ιστορία,αλλά καί την ανθρώπινη ύπαρξη. Βλέπετε,το παρελθόν,-όσο κι αν προσπαθήσουν κάποιοι/ες να το αφήσουν πίσω-,αυτό επανέρχεται διεκδικώντας την λύτρωση των θυμάτων καί την τιμωρία των ενόχων. Με καταιγιστικό ρυθμό εξελίξεων,ανατριχιαστικά περιγραφικές καί μακάβριες εικόνες,μεστό λόγο,σασπένς καί εξαιρετική καί εις βάθος σκιαγράφηση των χαρακτήρων όλων των προσώπων της πλοκής,ο συγγραφέας προσδίδει έναν άλλον αέρα σε όλο το κείμενο,μιλώντας για το πως είχαν γαλουχηθεί άνθρωποι με μία στρεβλή καί λανθασμένη άποψη καί την τυφλή τους υπακοή στη δημαγωγία του Χίτλερ,στην ανάγκη για επιβίωση,στη δύναμη της ψυχής,αλλά καί στον διαχωρισμό των ρόλων που επιτελεί μία γυναίκα,αυτόν της μητέρας καί αυτόν της αστυνομικού. Αξίζει,λοιπόν,να πάμε κόντρα στο ρεύμα για όσα αγαπάμε καί να διεκδικήσουμε ένα καλύτερο αύριο;
Άν καί το βιβλίο δεν έχει πληθώρα ανατροπών,θα μου επιτρέψετε να θεωρώ πως ο συγγραφέας χρησιμοποιεί το καλύτερο χαρτί που έχει στα χέρια του στον εξαιρετικό επίλογο. Ήταν κάτι που δεν το περίμενα για να είμαι ειλικρινής καί με έκανε να ανυπομονώ για το επόμενο βιβλίο,για να δω ποια νέα τροπή θα πάρει στη συνέχεια η ζωή της Κάριν Μίλερ. Ναι,το βιβλίο μου άρεσε πολύ καί σας προτείνω να το αναζητήσετε κι εσείς!
Καλή ανάγνωση!
"ΕΝΑ ΦΡΙΚΤΟ ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑ ΜΙΑ ΣΚΟΤΕΙΝΗ ΣΥΝΩΜΟΣΙΑ"
Όλοι κι όλες που διαβάζουμε σειρές βιβλίων με έναν,ή,καί περισσότερους αγαπημένους ήρωες,στο βάθος του μυαλού μας φωλιάζει ο φόβος που γεννάται από την σκέψη πως μπορεί σε ένα επόμενο βιβλίο να βρούμε κάτι που να το έχουμε ήδη ξαναδιαβάσει,χωρίς βέβαια αυτό να συμβαίνει πάντα. Καλώς,ή,κακώς οι συγγραφείς ανάλογων έργων,πάντα μα πάντα,εκτός του ότι έχουν να ανταγωνιστούν τον ίδιο τους τον εαυτό καί να τον ξεπεράσουν,γράφοντας όλο καί καλύτερα βιβλία,βρίσκονται σε μία επαγρύπνηση,ώστε να μην υποπέσουν σε κάποιο συγγραφικό τέλμα που θα έχει ως αποτέλεσμα μία αναφορά στα ήδη ειπωμένα,ή χειρότερα,να τους συμβεί κάποιο μπλοκάρισμα της σκέψης καί γέννησης νέων ιδεών.
Από όταν διάβασα το πρώτο βιβλίο του συγγραφέα David Young έως καί το τέταρτο σήμερα,με τίτλο ''ΣΤΑΖΙ '77'',πάντα με πρωταγωνίστρια την αστυνομικό Κάριν Μίλερ (όλα κυκλοφορούν από τις εκδόσεις Κέδρος),αυτός ο φόβος που σας αναφέρω παραπάνω δεν κατάφερε να με ''κερδίσει'' κι αυτό γιατί ο συγγραφέας δουλεύει πολύ τόσο πάνω στον τρόπο εκφρασής του,όσο καί στο υλικό που διαχειρίζεται. Ναι,υπάρχει ένας κεντρικός άξονας,αλλά από εκεί καί πέρα μιλάμε για βιβλία που μπορούν να σταθούν επάξια κι από μόνα τους,ή,να διαβαστούν βάσει της σειράς με την οποία έχουν εκδοθεί. Άλλος ένας λόγος για τον οποίο αγαπώ τη συγκεκριμένη σειρά βιβλίων είναι αυτή η μαεστρία του συγγραφέα να ενισχύει το ήδη καλό αστυνομικό κομμάτι των βιβλίων με την αναφορά σε σκοτεινές σελίδες της νεότερης ιστορίας.
"Η Κάριν Μίλερ, αξιωματικός της Αστυνομίας του Λαού της Λαοκρατικής Δημοκρατίας της Γερμανίας, καλείται σε ένα εργοστάσιο στα ανατολικά της χώρας για την εξιχνίαση μιας δολοφονίας. Ένας άντρας δεμένος, παγιδευμένος σε μια φωτιά, έχει πεθάνει από τις αναθυμιάσεις. Ποιος ήταν; Γιατί δολοφονήθηκε; Όταν το ίδιο διάστημα στην ευρύτερη περιοχή γίνονται κι άλλες δολοφονίες στις οποίες τα θύματα πεθαίνουν με τον ίδιο τρόπο, η Μίλερ καταλαβαίνει ότι για να ξεδιαλύνει τα τρομερά αυτά εγκλήματα πρέπει να ψάξει στο σκοτεινό παρελθόν. Όμως δεν έχει καμία βοήθεια: ο συνεργάτης της, Βέρνερ Τίλσνερ, συμπεριφέρεται πολύ παράξενα και η Στάζι δεν συνεργάζεται μαζί της. Γιατί εκείνοι που πραγματικά κυβερνούν τη χώρα προτιμούν τα εγκλήματα να παραμείνουν ανεξιχνίαστα και θέτουν κάθε δυνατό εμπόδιο στην αποστολή της..." (Περίληψη οπισθοφύλλου)
Άραγε η στάση κάποιων ανθρώπων καί δη αυτών που έχουν την εξουσία στα χέρια τους δύναται να γίνει ακόμη πιο σκληρή κι απάνθρωπη; Η απάντηση είναι ένα τεράστιο ''ναι''. Η εξουσία λειτουργεί σαν άλλο αφροδισιακό στα χέρια κάποιων ανθρώπων,που κατέχοντάς την,αποκαλύπτουν το πόσο σάπια καί αδυσώπητη είναι η ψυχή τους. Κι αν κάποιος/α προσπαθήσει να αντ��σταθεί σε όλα αυτά καί να αποκαλύψει όσα ηθελημένα παραμένουν κρυμμένα,τί συνέπειες θα έχει να αντιμετωπίσει; Δυστυχώς,η Στάζι καί στο παρόν έργο δείχνει για ακόμη μία φορά το πόσο αδίστακτοι καί χωρίς ηθικούς φραγμούς ήταν οι άνθρωποι που υπάγονταν σε αυτήν καί το πως επηρέαζαν,είτε σε μεγαλύτερο είτε σε μικρότερο βαθμό,τη ζωή όλων των πολιτών της Ανατολικής Γερμανίας,χρόνια μετά την λήξη του Β' Παγκοσμίου πολέμου.
Ο συγγραφέας,όμως,δεν μένει μόνο εκεί. Επιλέγει καί γυρνά πίσω στον χρόνο,στις τελευταίες καταστροφικές εβδομάδες του Β' Παγκοσμίου πολέμου καί σε ένα συγκλονιστικό καί θηριώδες γεγονός που αμαυρώνει μέχρι καί σήμερα,όχι μόνο την σύγχρονη ιστορία,αλλά καί την ανθρώπινη ύπαρξη. Βλέπετε,το παρελθόν,-όσο κι αν προσπαθήσουν κάποιοι/ες να το αφήσουν πίσω-,αυτό επανέρχεται διεκδικώντας την λύτρωση των θυμάτων καί την τιμωρία των ενόχων. Με καταιγιστικό ρυθμό εξελίξεων,ανατριχιαστικά περιγραφικές καί μακάβριες εικόνες,μεστό λόγο,σασπένς καί εξαιρετική καί εις βάθος σκιαγράφηση των χαρακτήρων όλων των προσώπων της πλοκής,ο συγγραφέας προσδίδει έναν άλλον αέρα σε όλο το κείμενο,μιλώντας για το πως είχαν γαλουχηθεί άνθρωποι με μία στρεβλή καί λανθασμένη άποψη καί την τυφλή τους υπακοή στη δημαγωγία του Χίτλερ,στην ανάγκη για επιβίωση,στη δύναμη της ψυχής,αλλά καί στον διαχωρισμό των ρόλων που επιτελεί μία γυναίκα,αυτόν της μητέρας καί αυτόν της αστυνομικού. Αξίζει,λοιπόν,να πάμε κόντρα στο ρεύμα για όσα αγαπάμε καί να διεκδικήσουμε ένα καλύτερο αύριο;
Άν καί το βιβλίο δεν έχει πληθώρα ανατροπών,θα μου επιτρέψετε να θεωρώ πως ο συγγραφέας χρησιμοποιεί το καλύτερο χαρτί που έχει στα χέρια του στον εξαιρετικό επίλογο. Ήταν κάτι που δεν το περίμενα για να είμαι ειλικρινής καί με έκανε να ανυπομονώ για το επόμενο βιβλίο,για να δω ποια νέα τροπή θα πάρει στη συνέχεια η ζωή της Κάριν Μίλερ. Ναι,το βιβλίο μου άρεσε πολύ καί σας προτείνω να το αναζητήσετε κι εσείς!
Καλή ανάγνωση!
April 24, 2019
'A Secret State
A Dark Conspiracy
A Terrible Crime'
Stasi 77 is the forth book in a crime fiction series featuring East German police officer Karin Müller. Written by David Young and just published with Zaffre, it is described as ‘a gripping and evocative crime thriller where David Young effortlessly weaves true historical narrative into a contemporary mystery plot that will leave you breathless.’ This is the first book I have read in the series and I will say that I think it would be more beneficial to read these books in order, as the life and career of Karin Müller is documented over the years as her personal and work circumstances have changed. The series begins in 1975 with book 1, Stasi Child and in Stasi 77, book 4, we are again taken behind the Berlin Wall to April 1977.
Karin Müller, a member of the GDR People’s Police, receives a call to attend a murder scene, where the body of a man is discovered in a state factory mill. Initially it is thought that this is an individual case but the view on this soon changes as the body count begins to mount. Karin is no fool and her initial feeling is that there is something much bigger at play here, something that is linked to certain members of the Stasi aka The Internal Security Force of the GDR. The Stasi were a group established to handle domestic surveillance and foreign espionage and were a feared group among the general population of the GDR. Karin has experience dealing with the Stasi over the years and the relationship between both would not be of the most positive nature. Karin knows how they work and she knows what it is that they do. She also is fully aware of the lengths they will go to to achieve their objectives and to keep their secrets just that….a secret.
David Young writes fictional novels that are ‘part police-procedural, part thriller and have a dash of historical mystery thrown in. There’s a smidgen of Cold War politics in the mix too….’ (writing.ie) He introduces the reader to a time in our history that many of us know nothing about. I remember the Berlin Wall coming down but, in truth, I know very little of the lives lived by those who were sectioned off to the east behind the ‘Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart: the GDR’s favourite term for the Berlin Wall’ (David Young)
In Stasi 77, David Young was determined to write about one of the Second World War’s least publicised war crimes and to keep the memories of those who were brutally tortured and massacred alive. He does this through the fictional narrative of one man, a man who was interred in the camps and suffered horrendously at the hands of the Nazi regime. The powerful descriptions of this man’s journey and those who were by his side, will stay with me forever. The atrocities carried out, the inhumanity of man are all superbly captured by the compelling words of David Young.
David Young expertly ties together two periods in history with a shocking tale at it’s core. Karin Müller is one tough and fearless protagonist who is not afraid to challenge the establishment to uncover the terrible secrets of the past. At times I did question some of the freedom that Karin Müller appeared to have but, as I really know absolutely nothing about the GDR, I was totally willing to accept it and move on.
Stasi 77 is a very effective novel, with the author’s research into this period quite evident. As has been the case with a lot of books I have read recently, Stasi 77 encouraged me to do my own research into the heinous actions of 1945 that are woven into the mystery that is central to this book. All the characters are portrayed with great attention to detail giving great credibility to the actions taken by many. Stasi 77 is an exciting story, with a fascinating and heart-breaking story at it’s core. It is a novel that will appeal to many, across different genre, as it encompasses so many different themes.
I’ll leave with the words of David Young:
‘I thought long and hard about the ethics of bolting a fictional story onto a horrific real-life event. In the end I concluded that anything that serves to raise the profile of this massacre must be good thing….’
A Dark Conspiracy
A Terrible Crime'
Stasi 77 is the forth book in a crime fiction series featuring East German police officer Karin Müller. Written by David Young and just published with Zaffre, it is described as ‘a gripping and evocative crime thriller where David Young effortlessly weaves true historical narrative into a contemporary mystery plot that will leave you breathless.’ This is the first book I have read in the series and I will say that I think it would be more beneficial to read these books in order, as the life and career of Karin Müller is documented over the years as her personal and work circumstances have changed. The series begins in 1975 with book 1, Stasi Child and in Stasi 77, book 4, we are again taken behind the Berlin Wall to April 1977.
Karin Müller, a member of the GDR People’s Police, receives a call to attend a murder scene, where the body of a man is discovered in a state factory mill. Initially it is thought that this is an individual case but the view on this soon changes as the body count begins to mount. Karin is no fool and her initial feeling is that there is something much bigger at play here, something that is linked to certain members of the Stasi aka The Internal Security Force of the GDR. The Stasi were a group established to handle domestic surveillance and foreign espionage and were a feared group among the general population of the GDR. Karin has experience dealing with the Stasi over the years and the relationship between both would not be of the most positive nature. Karin knows how they work and she knows what it is that they do. She also is fully aware of the lengths they will go to to achieve their objectives and to keep their secrets just that….a secret.
David Young writes fictional novels that are ‘part police-procedural, part thriller and have a dash of historical mystery thrown in. There’s a smidgen of Cold War politics in the mix too….’ (writing.ie) He introduces the reader to a time in our history that many of us know nothing about. I remember the Berlin Wall coming down but, in truth, I know very little of the lives lived by those who were sectioned off to the east behind the ‘Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart: the GDR’s favourite term for the Berlin Wall’ (David Young)
In Stasi 77, David Young was determined to write about one of the Second World War’s least publicised war crimes and to keep the memories of those who were brutally tortured and massacred alive. He does this through the fictional narrative of one man, a man who was interred in the camps and suffered horrendously at the hands of the Nazi regime. The powerful descriptions of this man’s journey and those who were by his side, will stay with me forever. The atrocities carried out, the inhumanity of man are all superbly captured by the compelling words of David Young.
David Young expertly ties together two periods in history with a shocking tale at it’s core. Karin Müller is one tough and fearless protagonist who is not afraid to challenge the establishment to uncover the terrible secrets of the past. At times I did question some of the freedom that Karin Müller appeared to have but, as I really know absolutely nothing about the GDR, I was totally willing to accept it and move on.
Stasi 77 is a very effective novel, with the author’s research into this period quite evident. As has been the case with a lot of books I have read recently, Stasi 77 encouraged me to do my own research into the heinous actions of 1945 that are woven into the mystery that is central to this book. All the characters are portrayed with great attention to detail giving great credibility to the actions taken by many. Stasi 77 is an exciting story, with a fascinating and heart-breaking story at it’s core. It is a novel that will appeal to many, across different genre, as it encompasses so many different themes.
I’ll leave with the words of David Young:
‘I thought long and hard about the ethics of bolting a fictional story onto a horrific real-life event. In the end I concluded that anything that serves to raise the profile of this massacre must be good thing….’
November 25, 2020
This is story that deserves to be told.
Although Young’s characters are fictional, the events depicted in 1945 during the death throes of Nazi Germany, are horrific facts. Though this is a primarily a detective story, it’s clear that ‘Stasi 77’ also functions as a disturbing reminder, not just of certain historical events, but of the fact that certain perpetrators didn’t just survive - they thrived.
How should we judge those who were never brought to justice? Can we ever begin to empathise with their position? Should we try to? Or is it as simple as justice seeking Major Karin Muller believes: those who did not reject the prevailing Nazi culture should be decisively reviled? I suspect David Young takes a more nuanced approach than his young detective, whose visceral reaction to any Nazi memorabilia might seem excessive if it didn’t fit perfectly with her innocent, genuine commitment to the DDR.
-- What’s it about? --
Secrets. Crimes. Cover ups. Spies. More specifically? A man is found murdered in a mill that used to be a concentration camp. The manner of his death suggests someone is seeking revenge - especially when further deaths surface.
Major Karin Muller is initially tasked with investigating the crime (indeed, the powers that be are so keen to avail themselves of her expertise that she is instructed to cut short her family holiday to do so), but as soon as she starts to delve into the dead man’s history, the Stasi intervene, insisting that this is a crime about property, not past misdemeanours. Bye, bye Karin. Don't let the door hit you on your way out, and definitely don't keep asking questions about the dead man's past.
Except that fans of Karin will already know that this is like asking a cat to step away from a mouse it’s enjoying worrying. Karin has had to thwart the machinations of the Stasi to uncover the truth in every major case she has investigated, and she isn’t about to stop now.
-- What’s it like? --
Brutal. Clever. Intriguing.
Alongside Karin’s 'modern day' (1977) investigation, a second narrative focuses on the events of early 1945, following a group of prisoners of war, who are desperately hoping the pursuing Americans will catch up with the Germans and release them.
Gradually, as Karin begins to uncover the identity of the potential murderer, the two narratives come together to reveal disturbing truths. It's true that the reader can see what's happening long before Karin does (it takes her far too long to realise that her Underleutnant isn't simply moping over a girlfriend), but this is how she has worked her way up the ranks to become Major Muller: a brilliant combination of naivety, which allows Stasi officials to think she's a simpleton and a pushover, and intuition. These traits are combined with a streak of luck and a shocking disregard for her personal safety that may just allow Karin to solve this case, despite the Stasi's increasingly heavy handed interventions.
-- Final thoughts --
David Young's written style is quite factual: expect to be told that characters are hungry and tired, rather than witnessing their hunger and exhaustion. Where Young excels is in creating an atmosphere of suspicion, distrust and fear, each novel revealing a deeper darkness in the Stasi-ridden state, where anyone could turn out to be an informer and any day could be your last taste of (state sanctioned) 'freedom'.
When Karin persists in investigating forbidden avenues, she experiences a brutal reminder of the state's vast power. This exhibition of state control literally made my heart stop for a long moment, but Karin became a cold tiger, determined to manipulate the system in turn and protect her young family. One of these days I'd like to see her recognise her own moral compromises, but in the meantime it's thrilling to watch her solving cases while outwitting the Stasi.
This is the fourth book in Young’s thrilling ‘Stasi’ series, exploring the reach of the communist state in East Germany in the 1970s. As always, while you definitely can read these books independently, I urge you to begin at the beginning if you like the sound of Young’s work: ‘Stasi Child’, ‘Stasi Wolf’ and ‘A Darker State’ are all excellent stories in their own right.
Although Young’s characters are fictional, the events depicted in 1945 during the death throes of Nazi Germany, are horrific facts. Though this is a primarily a detective story, it’s clear that ‘Stasi 77’ also functions as a disturbing reminder, not just of certain historical events, but of the fact that certain perpetrators didn’t just survive - they thrived.
How should we judge those who were never brought to justice? Can we ever begin to empathise with their position? Should we try to? Or is it as simple as justice seeking Major Karin Muller believes: those who did not reject the prevailing Nazi culture should be decisively reviled? I suspect David Young takes a more nuanced approach than his young detective, whose visceral reaction to any Nazi memorabilia might seem excessive if it didn’t fit perfectly with her innocent, genuine commitment to the DDR.
-- What’s it about? --
Secrets. Crimes. Cover ups. Spies. More specifically? A man is found murdered in a mill that used to be a concentration camp. The manner of his death suggests someone is seeking revenge - especially when further deaths surface.
Major Karin Muller is initially tasked with investigating the crime (indeed, the powers that be are so keen to avail themselves of her expertise that she is instructed to cut short her family holiday to do so), but as soon as she starts to delve into the dead man’s history, the Stasi intervene, insisting that this is a crime about property, not past misdemeanours. Bye, bye Karin. Don't let the door hit you on your way out, and definitely don't keep asking questions about the dead man's past.
Except that fans of Karin will already know that this is like asking a cat to step away from a mouse it’s enjoying worrying. Karin has had to thwart the machinations of the Stasi to uncover the truth in every major case she has investigated, and she isn’t about to stop now.
-- What’s it like? --
Brutal. Clever. Intriguing.
Alongside Karin’s 'modern day' (1977) investigation, a second narrative focuses on the events of early 1945, following a group of prisoners of war, who are desperately hoping the pursuing Americans will catch up with the Germans and release them.
Gradually, as Karin begins to uncover the identity of the potential murderer, the two narratives come together to reveal disturbing truths. It's true that the reader can see what's happening long before Karin does (it takes her far too long to realise that her Underleutnant isn't simply moping over a girlfriend), but this is how she has worked her way up the ranks to become Major Muller: a brilliant combination of naivety, which allows Stasi officials to think she's a simpleton and a pushover, and intuition. These traits are combined with a streak of luck and a shocking disregard for her personal safety that may just allow Karin to solve this case, despite the Stasi's increasingly heavy handed interventions.
-- Final thoughts --
David Young's written style is quite factual: expect to be told that characters are hungry and tired, rather than witnessing their hunger and exhaustion. Where Young excels is in creating an atmosphere of suspicion, distrust and fear, each novel revealing a deeper darkness in the Stasi-ridden state, where anyone could turn out to be an informer and any day could be your last taste of (state sanctioned) 'freedom'.
When Karin persists in investigating forbidden avenues, she experiences a brutal reminder of the state's vast power. This exhibition of state control literally made my heart stop for a long moment, but Karin became a cold tiger, determined to manipulate the system in turn and protect her young family. One of these days I'd like to see her recognise her own moral compromises, but in the meantime it's thrilling to watch her solving cases while outwitting the Stasi.
This is the fourth book in Young’s thrilling ‘Stasi’ series, exploring the reach of the communist state in East Germany in the 1970s. As always, while you definitely can read these books independently, I urge you to begin at the beginning if you like the sound of Young’s work: ‘Stasi Child’, ‘Stasi Wolf’ and ‘A Darker State’ are all excellent stories in their own right.
March 22, 2023
Having met the author at my local library in Croydon (so reminiscent of a communist state in its terrible buildings!), where he spoke alongside the charming Jane Thynne, in a double-act about novels set in 20th century Germany...I felt committed to a minor reading feat: to read two David Young novels in succession over a few days...to be well-genned-up for a reading group discussion of his 5th instalment of sinister machinations in post-war East Germany, mostly down to the notorious Stasi...a hybrid of the evil Gestapo from the era of Nazi Germany (just extinguished?)...& very close to the Soviet Union's equivalent under Lenin, Stalin & Beria...Walls have ears & yours friends & family tongues...informers are ubiquitous...
This cracker of a crime mystery, with its central theme, the immediate after effects of the brutal, rapacious Communist take-over of large parts of Germany, including great cities like Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig & Magdeburg, this 4th episode in the career of Karin Muller of the state police service...Volkspolizei!...is right on the mark with its plot, characters, historical accuracy & sheer power of the whole tragic mystery of a massacre of prisoners/workers, a few hours before the Allies arrive to liberate them - at least, those that have survived an ordeal that horrifies & accentuates the facts of their fates, as Nazi Germany takes no prisoners...in more ways than one!
A handful of the perpetrators are Nazi youths, obliged to carry out their orders while still not adults. The French prisoner, whose two brothers have already been dispatched, manages to avoid his execution, by finding himself the focus of a moral debate between colleagues, and he lives to take another step to salvation & traumatic memories. The young Germans end up in the D.D.R...with Nazi sympathies but Communist overlords...& are rising to the heights of the creepy Stasi, which has established a stranglehold on their past loyalties, perverted moralities & their constant fears of exposure as war criminals or traitors. (They are everywhere in East Germany, Austria & at home in the western half of the Bundesrepbublik...).
The truth emerges slowly but surely, as Major Muller & her male accomplice, Werner Tilsner, implicated himself in the April '45 massacre, investigate a series of strange deaths...murders?...& a whole can of worms slither out to confound the heroine of the series with its effects on her view of both her colleagues & her country in a chilling light. Who can anyone trust?! Can you trust yourself to make the right, moral decisions? Or are all her fellow compatriots tainted by their pasts?
An easy read in many ways...a page turner...& an encouragement to procede with the 5th instalment...'Winter'...
More to follow...& more to be followed!
This cracker of a crime mystery, with its central theme, the immediate after effects of the brutal, rapacious Communist take-over of large parts of Germany, including great cities like Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig & Magdeburg, this 4th episode in the career of Karin Muller of the state police service...Volkspolizei!...is right on the mark with its plot, characters, historical accuracy & sheer power of the whole tragic mystery of a massacre of prisoners/workers, a few hours before the Allies arrive to liberate them - at least, those that have survived an ordeal that horrifies & accentuates the facts of their fates, as Nazi Germany takes no prisoners...in more ways than one!
A handful of the perpetrators are Nazi youths, obliged to carry out their orders while still not adults. The French prisoner, whose two brothers have already been dispatched, manages to avoid his execution, by finding himself the focus of a moral debate between colleagues, and he lives to take another step to salvation & traumatic memories. The young Germans end up in the D.D.R...with Nazi sympathies but Communist overlords...& are rising to the heights of the creepy Stasi, which has established a stranglehold on their past loyalties, perverted moralities & their constant fears of exposure as war criminals or traitors. (They are everywhere in East Germany, Austria & at home in the western half of the Bundesrepbublik...).
The truth emerges slowly but surely, as Major Muller & her male accomplice, Werner Tilsner, implicated himself in the April '45 massacre, investigate a series of strange deaths...murders?...& a whole can of worms slither out to confound the heroine of the series with its effects on her view of both her colleagues & her country in a chilling light. Who can anyone trust?! Can you trust yourself to make the right, moral decisions? Or are all her fellow compatriots tainted by their pasts?
An easy read in many ways...a page turner...& an encouragement to procede with the 5th instalment...'Winter'...
More to follow...& more to be followed!
April 29, 2019
Initially I found it to be a slightly slow start but in the long run this was helpful. It gave me a chance to get my head around the plot. Think of it as a train that's pulling out of a station. It takes a while to get up to full speed but then it doesn't stop until the final destination.
David Young has done his usual style of another story thread interspersed with Karin's investigation. I knew the two would eventually link somehow but the reveal is devastating. I don't want to give any spoilers but when reading, I wrote in my notes, 'Did this actually happen?' Sadly, the answer is yes. And that's the wonderful thing about this series. You get a History lesson without realising it. It's the authentic touches that make the difference. The description of the newly built towns - a vision in concrete it seems - and Karin's belief in the Republic, brings alive a world that was hidden from the West.
Karin Müller is such a wonderful character. It's a bit of a cliché but she really has been on a journey and David Young has turned her life upside down on several occasions. As Karin discovers, the Stasi will use anything to get their way, including her children. Although she's been in tight scrapes before, this is Karin at her most vulnerable - alone and unable to trust anyone.
Throughout the novel, there are references to Karin's past cases. As this is the fourth in the series, I would recommend reading the books from the beginning. Having said that, this could be read as a standalone. But the tie-ins from the past have got me thinking - is this the last novel?
So, compelling and powerful? Absolutely. This is my favourite of the four without a shadow of a doubt. It takes a while to 'bed' in a character but we're there with Karin Müller. We know she believes in the Republic but is wary of the Stasi. We know if she's ordered off a case then she'll find a way to solve it regardless. We know if Karin is pushed into a corner then she'll come out fighting. So I really hope she has more cases to solve. Especially as this is set in 1977. Another 12 years before the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Come on David, you know you want to.
David Young has done his usual style of another story thread interspersed with Karin's investigation. I knew the two would eventually link somehow but the reveal is devastating. I don't want to give any spoilers but when reading, I wrote in my notes, 'Did this actually happen?' Sadly, the answer is yes. And that's the wonderful thing about this series. You get a History lesson without realising it. It's the authentic touches that make the difference. The description of the newly built towns - a vision in concrete it seems - and Karin's belief in the Republic, brings alive a world that was hidden from the West.
Karin Müller is such a wonderful character. It's a bit of a cliché but she really has been on a journey and David Young has turned her life upside down on several occasions. As Karin discovers, the Stasi will use anything to get their way, including her children. Although she's been in tight scrapes before, this is Karin at her most vulnerable - alone and unable to trust anyone.
Throughout the novel, there are references to Karin's past cases. As this is the fourth in the series, I would recommend reading the books from the beginning. Having said that, this could be read as a standalone. But the tie-ins from the past have got me thinking - is this the last novel?
So, compelling and powerful? Absolutely. This is my favourite of the four without a shadow of a doubt. It takes a while to 'bed' in a character but we're there with Karin Müller. We know she believes in the Republic but is wary of the Stasi. We know if she's ordered off a case then she'll find a way to solve it regardless. We know if Karin is pushed into a corner then she'll come out fighting. So I really hope she has more cases to solve. Especially as this is set in 1977. Another 12 years before the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Come on David, you know you want to.
April 13, 2019
This is the 4th book in the Karin Müller series. I’ve enjoyed the first 3 books so as soon as this popped up on netgalley I had to request it!
Set in East Berlin, 1977, Karin of the serious crimes department of the Kriminalpolizei is called and rushed back from her family holiday to investigate what appears to be the murder of a local political party official, Found in an old Mill, tied up and locked in a room then left to sufficate on smoke fumes.
Similar murders follow, Müller attempts to investigate but the Stasi block her at every turn whilst her deputy and sometime love interest Weiner Tilsner seems to be acting very strangely about the investigation. Is he somehow involved?
Kicked off the case, Müller goes to her boss, to try and get back on the case, he pointedly refuses and she backs off until she receives a mysterious letter offering information on the murders.
There are flash backs throughout to a 1943 prison camp and the tale of 3 French brothers. These are harrowing, disturbing and the darkest I’ve read from David Young in the 4 Muller books, nothing is sensationalised, it feels very grim and very real.
Betrayal and lies from the people she trusts, Stasi putting up dead ends at every turn, murder , corruption right to the very top of the Stasi and cover ups abound and threats to Müller, what links the murders to these flash backs?
A Tense finale , full of twists and continuing Betrayal , brings an excellent book to its end, and a very interesting turn in Müller‘s life and future leaves me waiting eagerly for the next in the series.
This is the darkest , most powerful of the series so far, some extremely difficult scenes to read , at times almost poignant.
Clevery written, highly researched with great attention to detail especially in regards to the authorities at that time and the ranks and names.
A highly Interesting , intriguing , compelling page turner.
A series going from strength to strength and a highly enjoyable albeit upsetting and dark tale
4.5
Set in East Berlin, 1977, Karin of the serious crimes department of the Kriminalpolizei is called and rushed back from her family holiday to investigate what appears to be the murder of a local political party official, Found in an old Mill, tied up and locked in a room then left to sufficate on smoke fumes.
Similar murders follow, Müller attempts to investigate but the Stasi block her at every turn whilst her deputy and sometime love interest Weiner Tilsner seems to be acting very strangely about the investigation. Is he somehow involved?
Kicked off the case, Müller goes to her boss, to try and get back on the case, he pointedly refuses and she backs off until she receives a mysterious letter offering information on the murders.
There are flash backs throughout to a 1943 prison camp and the tale of 3 French brothers. These are harrowing, disturbing and the darkest I’ve read from David Young in the 4 Muller books, nothing is sensationalised, it feels very grim and very real.
Betrayal and lies from the people she trusts, Stasi putting up dead ends at every turn, murder , corruption right to the very top of the Stasi and cover ups abound and threats to Müller, what links the murders to these flash backs?
A Tense finale , full of twists and continuing Betrayal , brings an excellent book to its end, and a very interesting turn in Müller‘s life and future leaves me waiting eagerly for the next in the series.
This is the darkest , most powerful of the series so far, some extremely difficult scenes to read , at times almost poignant.
Clevery written, highly researched with great attention to detail especially in regards to the authorities at that time and the ranks and names.
A highly Interesting , intriguing , compelling page turner.
A series going from strength to strength and a highly enjoyable albeit upsetting and dark tale
4.5
February 6, 2020
In 1977, a remarkably dislikable detective, whose only notable characteristics are that she is a terrible leader and a terrible parent, is investigating a mysterious murder. She sets off to interview someone, but is thwarted by the Ministry for State Security.
The Stasi.
In a parallel story in 1943, some French brothers we have no reason to care about toil in a Nazi work camp. One reminisces about their youth in some backwater fishing town and how they'll be back there again with their girlfriends one day. But no, their situation is too hopeless. Some Russians try to escape but get shot.
Back in 1977, the detective drives to a small town to continue her investigation, but is thwarted by the Ministry for State Security.
The Stasi.
It's 1945, our Frenchmen are marching West now. Our hero reminisces about their youth in some backwater fishing town and how they'll be back there again with their girlfriends one day. But no, their situation is too hopeless. Their girlfriends are probably shagging the Germans. Some Russians try to escape but get shot.
1977 - the detective drives to a cabin in the woods to continue her investigation, but is thwarted by the Ministry for State Security.
The Stasi.
1945, our Frenchmen are marching East now. Our hero reminisces about their youth in some backwater fishing town and how they'll be back there again with their girlfriends one day. But no, their situation is too hopeless. Their girlfriends are probably shagging the Germans. His brother didn't even like his girlfriend anyway. Some Russians try to escape but get shot.
1977 - detective, investigation, thwarted, state security.
The Stasi.
'45, in a barn, all is forsaken, Russians try to escape, get shot, etc etc.
The book is bad enough as it is, but earns the special distinction of a one-star review by also being riddled with typos, as though even the editor couldn't take it any more.
The Stasi.
In a parallel story in 1943, some French brothers we have no reason to care about toil in a Nazi work camp. One reminisces about their youth in some backwater fishing town and how they'll be back there again with their girlfriends one day. But no, their situation is too hopeless. Some Russians try to escape but get shot.
Back in 1977, the detective drives to a small town to continue her investigation, but is thwarted by the Ministry for State Security.
The Stasi.
It's 1945, our Frenchmen are marching West now. Our hero reminisces about their youth in some backwater fishing town and how they'll be back there again with their girlfriends one day. But no, their situation is too hopeless. Their girlfriends are probably shagging the Germans. Some Russians try to escape but get shot.
1977 - the detective drives to a cabin in the woods to continue her investigation, but is thwarted by the Ministry for State Security.
The Stasi.
1945, our Frenchmen are marching East now. Our hero reminisces about their youth in some backwater fishing town and how they'll be back there again with their girlfriends one day. But no, their situation is too hopeless. Their girlfriends are probably shagging the Germans. His brother didn't even like his girlfriend anyway. Some Russians try to escape but get shot.
1977 - detective, investigation, thwarted, state security.
The Stasi.
'45, in a barn, all is forsaken, Russians try to escape, get shot, etc etc.
The book is bad enough as it is, but earns the special distinction of a one-star review by also being riddled with typos, as though even the editor couldn't take it any more.
October 11, 2022
Better than 2 & 3… Karin Müller goes all John Luther!!!
A welcome improvement. Better.
I’d done the somewhat chancy thing of buying all books in the series at once. I’ve done this before & found I’d wasted money.
However, Book One in this series is good, 2 & 3 nowhere near. This one is better, & I hope 5 & 6 are better still.
Overall, good writing, sometimes could use a little more subtlety when dropping key clue hints, can sometimes pad out the word count with an unnecessary line or two, & can sometimes come across a bit like a ‘cozy mystery’. I also think the main character can sometimes be a little too over zealous. Generally, though, very good.
The author definitely needs to allow Kriminaltechniker Jonas S to have the odd ‘Currywürst mit Pommes und Mayo’ from the ‘Schnell Imbiß!’, with a couple of ‘Frikadellen whilst waiting for the main items!!.
I’m hugely interested in Germany and find it easy to read along through the books. The author has the ability to be phenomenal but needs to eliminate the points noted. It’s simple feedback to help shape future writing.
The obvious knowledge the author has gleaned about Germany is Impressive & he should seriously consider something further in the country of Germany for future series. I’d buy it!
A welcome improvement. Better.
I’d done the somewhat chancy thing of buying all books in the series at once. I’ve done this before & found I’d wasted money.
However, Book One in this series is good, 2 & 3 nowhere near. This one is better, & I hope 5 & 6 are better still.
Overall, good writing, sometimes could use a little more subtlety when dropping key clue hints, can sometimes pad out the word count with an unnecessary line or two, & can sometimes come across a bit like a ‘cozy mystery’. I also think the main character can sometimes be a little too over zealous. Generally, though, very good.
The author definitely needs to allow Kriminaltechniker Jonas S to have the odd ‘Currywürst mit Pommes und Mayo’ from the ‘Schnell Imbiß!’, with a couple of ‘Frikadellen whilst waiting for the main items!!.
I’m hugely interested in Germany and find it easy to read along through the books. The author has the ability to be phenomenal but needs to eliminate the points noted. It’s simple feedback to help shape future writing.
The obvious knowledge the author has gleaned about Germany is Impressive & he should seriously consider something further in the country of Germany for future series. I’d buy it!
January 4, 2020
David Young had only gotten better with his books. Contrary to some other authors who are 'inspired' to write a great first book and then churn out subpar books at a regular basis after that, David Young has demonstrated that quality of writing can be maintained and then improved upon.
Though I do have to point out that the protagonist, Karin is slightly to brave for her own good that it become somehow illogical. Though I understand that she is portrayed to be a person who is righteous and wants to pursue the truth, her downright challenging the Stasi on multiple accounts before knowing the whole truth is too daring to be true. It's not that bad, but could be improve.
As I pointed out before, his writing skills have improved a lot since his first book, it's not something obvious, but his writing has become 'smoother' and easier to read.
The overall plot and details given and created are impeccable. There is nothing much to say regarding that aspect. A good book that is definitely worth a read.
Though I do have to point out that the protagonist, Karin is slightly to brave for her own good that it become somehow illogical. Though I understand that she is portrayed to be a person who is righteous and wants to pursue the truth, her downright challenging the Stasi on multiple accounts before knowing the whole truth is too daring to be true. It's not that bad, but could be improve.
As I pointed out before, his writing skills have improved a lot since his first book, it's not something obvious, but his writing has become 'smoother' and easier to read.
The overall plot and details given and created are impeccable. There is nothing much to say regarding that aspect. A good book that is definitely worth a read.
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