Rostock Connection: An East German Spy Novel

by Max Hertzberg

He spied for the Russians, now they want him deadRumours of a mole in the Stasi's foreign intelligence wing just won't go away, and once again Lieutenant Reim is tasked with investigating.But six months after he first heard reports of a Western agent in the ranks of the Stasi, he's no closer to finding enough evidence against the officer he believes to be responsible for the leaks.To find the traitor and close the case, Reim has to go deeper undercover than ever before—but will he survive the final showdown with the agent he's tracked through East Germany and across the Iron Curtain?Book 3 of the Bruno Affair trilogy, part of the Lieutenant Reim Series.

Genres: Espionage

267 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 17, 2021

About the author

Previously an academic researcher (evaluating Stasi and SED files on opposition movements and on security on the Berlin Wall). More recently a social change trainer and facilitator.

Often to be found living in Berlin, Max is currently travelling around Eastern Europe and Germany doing research for further novels.

Reviews

[Ely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enter our hero, back to find the traitor. Will he or won't he?
This book evokes the atmosphere between the two Germanies at the height of the Cold War.
If you have read the previous books, you will enjoy this one.

[MRS CA THOMSON · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final resolution of a series of events that sent Reim to the West. This time he goes back to finally prove who the spy really is. He is helped by a West German agent who wants revenge. Unusually for thrillers set in ddr times, Reim is an East German patriot. He isn't impressed by the West even though his life in the ddr is difficult. Read the two books before this or else some of the story won't make sense.

[Scott Head · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series was enjoyable, even though the main character was an East German Stasi officer with little moral compass and was often quite a jerk. The novels have a certain hard boiled feel like Phillip Marlow stories, and are gritty and filled with turns. Very rewarding to read, the writer is skilled. But his editor isn't. Lots of spell check words passed unnoticed because they were correctly spelled words, but the wrong word. Also lots of missing words, 4-5 per book. Still recommended.

[Peter Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

That’s it! The Reim Series read!

Max Hertzberg is a very good story teller and this book is a rattling yarn. Action from start to finish.

A word of warning! Don’t read this book unless you’ve read the preceding books in the series, at least books 3 and 4.

Do I recommend reading the book?

Yes I do!

Regards,
Peter

[Ron Welton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most spy novels, involve a Western Operative infiltrating an oppressive regime. Hertzberg's East German spy novels flips this giving us insights into life as a spy working for the oppressor spying on the West.
In this case, the spy is Hans-Peter Reim, Second Lieutenant, ZAIG/II at Berlin Centre, GDR. Reim has few of the admirable qualities of a Western Operative: he is an alcoholic, cold-blooded, opportunistic, self-centered cynic. Reim and his colleagues are in constant fear from the regime and from their superiors whom they know will take all the credit for their subordinates' successes and lay any failure to their feet.
Reim's task in this novel is to discover a turncoat who is leaking secrets to the West. The man he suspects, First Lieutenant Gerhard Sachse, has been responsible for the deaths of several of his friends including that of code name, Sanderling, Ruth Gericke whose death has incited the action of the first of the five (to date) novels of the series. Reim will be assisted in this novel by West German agent, Anna Webber, whom he betrayed in the previous novel.
Hertzberg's novels are well written, filled with detailed information about life in the East and exciting to read.