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Claire Saylor #3
Winter Work: A novel
An exhilarating spy thriller inspired by a true story about the precious secrets up for grabs just after the fall of the Berlin Wall--from the acclaimed author of The Cover Wife
On a chilly early morning walk on the wooded outskirts of Berlin, Emil Grimm finds the body of his neighbor, a fellow Stasi officer named Lothar, with a gunshot wound to the temple and a pistol in his right hand. Despite appearances, Emil suspects murder. A few months earlier he would have known just what to do, but now, as East Germany disintegrates, being a Stasi colonel is more of a liability than an asset. More troubling still is that Emil and Lothar were involved in a final clandestine mission, one that has clearly turned deadly. Now Emil must finish the job alone, on uncertain ground where old alliances seem to be shifting by the day.
Meanwhile, CIA agent Claire Saylor, sent to Berlin to assist an Agency mop-up action against their collapsing East German adversaries, has just received an upgrade to her assignment. She'll be the designated contact for a high-ranking foreign intelligence officer of the Stasi, although details are suspiciously sketchy. When her first rendezvous goes dangerously awry, she realizes the mission is far more delicate than she was led to believe.
With the rules of the game changing fast, and as their missions intersect, Emil and Claire find themselves on unlikely common ground, fighting for their lives against a powerful enemy hiding in the shadows.
On a chilly early morning walk on the wooded outskirts of Berlin, Emil Grimm finds the body of his neighbor, a fellow Stasi officer named Lothar, with a gunshot wound to the temple and a pistol in his right hand. Despite appearances, Emil suspects murder. A few months earlier he would have known just what to do, but now, as East Germany disintegrates, being a Stasi colonel is more of a liability than an asset. More troubling still is that Emil and Lothar were involved in a final clandestine mission, one that has clearly turned deadly. Now Emil must finish the job alone, on uncertain ground where old alliances seem to be shifting by the day.
Meanwhile, CIA agent Claire Saylor, sent to Berlin to assist an Agency mop-up action against their collapsing East German adversaries, has just received an upgrade to her assignment. She'll be the designated contact for a high-ranking foreign intelligence officer of the Stasi, although details are suspiciously sketchy. When her first rendezvous goes dangerously awry, she realizes the mission is far more delicate than she was led to believe.
With the rules of the game changing fast, and as their missions intersect, Emil and Claire find themselves on unlikely common ground, fighting for their lives against a powerful enemy hiding in the shadows.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published July 12, 2022
366 people are currently reading
2317 people want to read
About the author
Dan Fesperman
19 books419 followersDan Fesperman’s travels as a writer have taken him to thirty countries and three war zones. Lie in the Dark won the Crime Writers’ Association of Britain’s John Creasey Memorial Dagger Award for best first crime novel, The Small Boat of Great Sorrows won their Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for best thriller, and The Prisoner of Guantánamo won the Dashiell Hammett Award from the International Association of Crime Writers. He lives in Baltimore.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 265 reviews
October 23, 2022
Amazing book that features known historical events surrounding the time period covering the "fall of the wall" in Berlin. Filled with action centered around multi-dimensional characters from all sides, this book cannot be put down. Excellent read!
This is the first book I have read by this author, but I will now look for more.
Later Note: This is what happens to old people - the memory is not reliable. Of course I have read and enjoyed several books from this author! Just forgot like I forget many things. Oh well.
Library Loan
This is the first book I have read by this author, but I will now look for more.
Later Note: This is what happens to old people - the memory is not reliable. Of course I have read and enjoyed several books from this author! Just forgot like I forget many things. Oh well.
Library Loan
December 4, 2022
The body of a former Stasi officer is found in the woods outside Berlin just months after the Wall comes down. Emil Grimm, a colleague of the murdered man, scrambles to gather priceless intelligence sought after by both sides of the winding-down Cold War. At the same time, an American agent, her semi-retired back-up, and a host of scary Russian thugs all seem to be closing in on the spy score of a lifetime.
This is a John le Carré vibe, more in the vein of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, in that there’s a ton of exposition and interaction in the first 60% or so. Only once in that early span is there real movement, an act requiring a getaway. Mostly it’s a description of roles, of meetings held, of life circumstances and situations. Think a bit like a flowchart being explained. Perhaps not as bad as I’ve described it, since understanding how spy networks operate is a big part of this. But I concede it’s a bit slow.
It really picks up steam at that 60-70% point, when so many of the agents converge. The good news: you needn’t have paid such close attention to all those aforementioned interactions to understand what happens next. You can just hop in the car as it careens out of town in pursuit (or evasion?) of the bad/good guys. It’s as tense and shocking as any Jason Bourne novel (with more substance) or film, with plenty of gunshots, stealth walks and dire threats. A superb ending.
I was drawn to this with the promise of a little recent history. November, 1989: I remember taking a break from my homework, walking downstairs and seeing a bunch of people happily smashing a wall with hammers, dancing and crying as it crumbled. I lived mainly through the Carter/Reagan/Bush years of the Cold War, what with its glasnost and perestroika: the waning years, but still, I was dumbstruck. It seemed a new world was emerging. Years later, as I read about what happened, I learned that crazy nature of the Wall coming down, and thought, “What I wouldn’t give to have been one of those people watching it happen” (hopefully from the West German side). Try: The Time Traveler's Handbook: 19 Experiences from the Eruption of Vesuvius to Woodstock, The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall, or Fall of Giants.
Dan Fesperman does a fine job conveying much the same. History buffs will love it: lots of detail, not so much about life in Berlin, though that’s there, too. This is more a behind-the-scenes look at the intelligence community in 1990, the Wild West-like atmosphere of each nation trying to learn about what the dying Stasi knows. It’s actually based on a real covert operation – amazing!
So, hang in there through the deliberate plod of all those meetings, talks, bedside chats and such, because it WILL deliver in an exciting, stunning finale. Enjoy!
This is a John le Carré vibe, more in the vein of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, in that there’s a ton of exposition and interaction in the first 60% or so. Only once in that early span is there real movement, an act requiring a getaway. Mostly it’s a description of roles, of meetings held, of life circumstances and situations. Think a bit like a flowchart being explained. Perhaps not as bad as I’ve described it, since understanding how spy networks operate is a big part of this. But I concede it’s a bit slow.
It really picks up steam at that 60-70% point, when so many of the agents converge. The good news: you needn’t have paid such close attention to all those aforementioned interactions to understand what happens next. You can just hop in the car as it careens out of town in pursuit (or evasion?) of the bad/good guys. It’s as tense and shocking as any Jason Bourne novel (with more substance) or film, with plenty of gunshots, stealth walks and dire threats. A superb ending.
I was drawn to this with the promise of a little recent history. November, 1989: I remember taking a break from my homework, walking downstairs and seeing a bunch of people happily smashing a wall with hammers, dancing and crying as it crumbled. I lived mainly through the Carter/Reagan/Bush years of the Cold War, what with its glasnost and perestroika: the waning years, but still, I was dumbstruck. It seemed a new world was emerging. Years later, as I read about what happened, I learned that crazy nature of the Wall coming down, and thought, “What I wouldn’t give to have been one of those people watching it happen” (hopefully from the West German side). Try: The Time Traveler's Handbook: 19 Experiences from the Eruption of Vesuvius to Woodstock, The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall, or Fall of Giants.
Dan Fesperman does a fine job conveying much the same. History buffs will love it: lots of detail, not so much about life in Berlin, though that’s there, too. This is more a behind-the-scenes look at the intelligence community in 1990, the Wild West-like atmosphere of each nation trying to learn about what the dying Stasi knows. It’s actually based on a real covert operation – amazing!
So, hang in there through the deliberate plod of all those meetings, talks, bedside chats and such, because it WILL deliver in an exciting, stunning finale. Enjoy!
February 14, 2023
It's Berlin. A few months after the Berlin wall has fallen. Emil Grimm, a Stasi colonel, is an out-of-work spy at loose ends, like all the other spies at the moment. What's he supposed to do now? A very human man with an invalid for a wife, he has one thing to sell to the Americans and that is information. I found the book fascinating. I never thought about the dilemma of spies without a country. Winter Work has a complicated plot, but it is easy to follow. And there are spies all over the place, German spies, American spies, Russian spies/thugs. Spies who have retired, spies aging out of the system, young American spies, ambitious spies, unexpected spies. But like the plot, Fesperman manages to make each person distinct and recognizable without putting together a chart of names to keep everyone straight. Quite a feat. This isn't the fast-paced world of James Bond. Instead, it mostly takes place in the drab, grey, shut-down world of East Berlin, experiencing its first taste of the West after 20 years. A very good read.
August 3, 2022
This is a spy novel, and it is based on a real CIA operation in Berlin just after the wall came down. The author is a former foreign correspondent for the Baltimore Sun, who worked for the paper and lived in Berlin during this time. It is instructive--and doesn't give away anything--to read his Acknowledgements before reading the novel to learn what is true and what he made up to fill in the gaps. My quibble with the story is the unlikely situation he contrived for one of the main characters--a former high ranking member of the East German Stasi--which smacked of an attempt to make him more sympathetic and perhaps appeal more to women readers. Otherwise, it was an engaging story, and I learned some interesting things.
February 28, 2023
Clandestine meetings, intrique, espionage, possibly a murder, or two, or more. What could be better?
September 20, 2025
“Old School” Cold War Spy Fiction At Its Best!
For me, reading and thoroughly enjoying my first Dan Fesperman book, Winter Work, represents a perfect example of the saying “Better late than never.” This is because twenty-six years ago (in 1999) I obtained an Advance Reader Copy of Fesperman’s first spy thriller (Lie In The Dark), and over the years I received ARCs of several subsequent books of his, including Winter Work in 2022. Now, here’s the kicker behind my above comments. Up until starting Winter Work a week ago or so I NEVER READ ANY OF THEM! So, based on how much I enjoyed this book I’m committed to correcting my mistake by planning to read the other books by this excellent writer and storyteller. I’m about to do this by starting the first book of his I obtained in 1999!
Now, as to my review.
Winter Work is set in the chaotic months following the fall of the Berlin Wall (late 1989 into 1990), an era of disintegration for East Germany and uncertainty for everyone involved in the old regime. The story revolves around Fespeman’s excellent main character, Emil Grimm, a former high-ranking officer of the Stasi (East Germany’s secret police), who finds himself increasingly vulnerable. Further, Fesperman uses the settings he creates to examine elements of betrayal, survival, loyalty and moral compromise.
I highly recommend Winter Work to spy thriller lovers of books that provide the following attributes:
…grounded in realistic history with vivid atmospheric detail rather than purely “good guy vs. bad guy” thrillers;
…appreciate well-developed complex, sympathetic, yet morally “gray” characters;
…enjoy a somewhat dense plot with many moving parts; and
…prefer “emotional resonance” at least as much as “espionage machinery” (e.g. the deals, betrayals, intelligence games, etc.)
Put another way, I think fans of “old school” spy thrillers by authors such as Olen Steinhauer, Joseph Kanin, and John Le Carre (to name a few) will highly appreciate Winter Work, while those who prefer the type of thrillers by Joel C. Rosenberg, Ben Coes, Brad Thor and, of course, Ian Fleming might be less likely to be a fan.
For me, reading and thoroughly enjoying my first Dan Fesperman book, Winter Work, represents a perfect example of the saying “Better late than never.” This is because twenty-six years ago (in 1999) I obtained an Advance Reader Copy of Fesperman’s first spy thriller (Lie In The Dark), and over the years I received ARCs of several subsequent books of his, including Winter Work in 2022. Now, here’s the kicker behind my above comments. Up until starting Winter Work a week ago or so I NEVER READ ANY OF THEM! So, based on how much I enjoyed this book I’m committed to correcting my mistake by planning to read the other books by this excellent writer and storyteller. I’m about to do this by starting the first book of his I obtained in 1999!
Now, as to my review.
Winter Work is set in the chaotic months following the fall of the Berlin Wall (late 1989 into 1990), an era of disintegration for East Germany and uncertainty for everyone involved in the old regime. The story revolves around Fespeman’s excellent main character, Emil Grimm, a former high-ranking officer of the Stasi (East Germany’s secret police), who finds himself increasingly vulnerable. Further, Fesperman uses the settings he creates to examine elements of betrayal, survival, loyalty and moral compromise.
I highly recommend Winter Work to spy thriller lovers of books that provide the following attributes:
…grounded in realistic history with vivid atmospheric detail rather than purely “good guy vs. bad guy” thrillers;
…appreciate well-developed complex, sympathetic, yet morally “gray” characters;
…enjoy a somewhat dense plot with many moving parts; and
…prefer “emotional resonance” at least as much as “espionage machinery” (e.g. the deals, betrayals, intelligence games, etc.)
Put another way, I think fans of “old school” spy thrillers by authors such as Olen Steinhauer, Joseph Kanin, and John Le Carre (to name a few) will highly appreciate Winter Work, while those who prefer the type of thrillers by Joel C. Rosenberg, Ben Coes, Brad Thor and, of course, Ian Fleming might be less likely to be a fan.
November 14, 2022
This is a cerebral, Cold War spy novel about the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the scramble by certain East German intelligence officers to secure and offer vital intelligence to the US in order to secure their futures.
414 pages long, “Winter Work” seems slow at times, even though it includes a murder mystery and a “mole hunt.” Nevertheless, Author Daniel Fesperman holds our interest by giving us a number of compelling characters—American and East German—chasing vital intelligence down the gloomy city streets and through the dark forests of an East Germany fraught with instability and fear of the future. By the end of the novel, I was not only absorbed but actually rooting for a former East German spy.
More reminiscent of John Le Carré than Robert Ludlum or Ian Fleming, “Winter Work” is a good, solid novel suitable for Cold War espionage enthusiasts willing to be patient.
414 pages long, “Winter Work” seems slow at times, even though it includes a murder mystery and a “mole hunt.” Nevertheless, Author Daniel Fesperman holds our interest by giving us a number of compelling characters—American and East German—chasing vital intelligence down the gloomy city streets and through the dark forests of an East Germany fraught with instability and fear of the future. By the end of the novel, I was not only absorbed but actually rooting for a former East German spy.
More reminiscent of John Le Carré than Robert Ludlum or Ian Fleming, “Winter Work” is a good, solid novel suitable for Cold War espionage enthusiasts willing to be patient.
August 1, 2022
Solid spy novel in the classic sense.
February 11, 2023
This was booooring. I have no idea why you people like this book so much. It read like the dreary East Berlin setting in which this terribly banal spy intrigue unfolds…rather slowly and uneventfully.
September 4, 2022
This is the first book by Fesperman that I've read and I truly liked it a lot. It stands with similar spy work of authors like Olen Steinhauer and Joseph Kanon. The characters are developed in a astute way, and the plot is complicated as any spy plot should be. I like the emotional aspects of the book, especially Emil's relationships with his wife Bettina and Karola. But the simpatico relationship he builds with Claire is very interesting also and the key to some of the complications that make this book exciting.
September 21, 2022
Fesperman is a popular author based on the number of holds for this book at my library. The first half was interesting: I love spycraft, tradecraft - the details of it. But then I lost interest. Too many characters, too many names. It takes place just as the Berlin Wall has toppled and the story is filled with Stasi, Germans, Russians, the CIA. Even Putin has a mention. So I didn't finish it. Got about 3/4 and then other books were calling to me.
September 29, 2022
A fun and efficient thriller, with a compelling main character (and some tropey supporting roles). The very final days of the Cold War in Berlin provided a great setting and the internal politics of the various spy agencies were interesting, but the main story was a mix of a bit too many twists and deus ex machina.
Overall a solid spy story reminiscent of John le Carre.
Overall a solid spy story reminiscent of John le Carre.
March 29, 2025
I absolutely loved this book. Truly so fun, well developed, and executed with high quality writing. I heard an interview years ago with Dan Fesperman on the New York Times Book Review podcast and he seemed like such a lovely person and the story sounded so fun that I made it a point to find the book. But since I pretty much only buy used books, it took me a while to locate a copy. Of course, I came across an almost untouched copy at the annual Denver library book sale and snatched it up. And after months of some heavy reading, this was just the book to close out a very cold winter season. Loved.
September 19, 2022
Well researched story set in the months after the Berlin Wall came down. Based on real events and undercover operations, it’s fast paced and very readable. The author’s notes at the end are also very interesting and shed light on that time in history.
May 18, 2023
Set in Berlin and its surroundings in 1990, just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this quietly gripping novel based on a real CIA operation involving gaining access to intelligence contained within old Stasi files is spy fiction just the way I like it - atmospheric and suspenseful, taking its time as it slowly draws the reader deeper into its intriguing plot.
November 16, 2025
An enjoyable spy thriller set in East Berlin shortly after the fall of the Wall.
January 30, 2023
Deliberate. Historical. Gripping.
August 5, 2022
3.5 stars
If there's any period that must have been as flush with spy action as the WW2 era, it must be the fall of the Belin Wall. Dan Fesperman dives into this time head first, delivering a smart thriller that juggles Stasi spies trying to plot their next steps, a population elated to tear it all apart, Russians trying to salvage and Americans looking to benefit from the chaos.
Emil Grimm is probably a former Stasi operative. At this point he's not even sure if he'll get another paycheck. He's been hiding out at his dacha, working with a neighbor colleague to see how they can market what they know and leverage an escape. Emil's wife has ALS and he is hoping to find a safe haven for them. Grimm comes out as a good guy, but we know he can't be considering he's done for a living. Fesperman was a reporter in Berlin at the time, which adds verisimilitude to plot and location, but there's always something missing for me in his fiction. Everyone has their heads down and is focused on the job. Are there no doubts? No questions? It must have been terrifying and elating to go from an authoritarian world into one that was a little more than a rumor for East Germans.
Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for digital access to this title in exchange for an honest review.
If there's any period that must have been as flush with spy action as the WW2 era, it must be the fall of the Belin Wall. Dan Fesperman dives into this time head first, delivering a smart thriller that juggles Stasi spies trying to plot their next steps, a population elated to tear it all apart, Russians trying to salvage and Americans looking to benefit from the chaos.
Emil Grimm is probably a former Stasi operative. At this point he's not even sure if he'll get another paycheck. He's been hiding out at his dacha, working with a neighbor colleague to see how they can market what they know and leverage an escape. Emil's wife has ALS and he is hoping to find a safe haven for them. Grimm comes out as a good guy, but we know he can't be considering he's done for a living. Fesperman was a reporter in Berlin at the time, which adds verisimilitude to plot and location, but there's always something missing for me in his fiction. Everyone has their heads down and is focused on the job. Are there no doubts? No questions? It must have been terrifying and elating to go from an authoritarian world into one that was a little more than a rumor for East Germans.
Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for digital access to this title in exchange for an honest review.
May 6, 2023
near-perfect thriller
August 7, 2022
Winter Work is a fictional telling of how the Rosenholz operation by the CIA in early 1990 might have gone down. In the “Acknowledgements,” Fesperman states “The details and timetable of Rosenholz remain cloaked in secrecy” (p. 335). His story is realistic and quite believable. It’s an engaging spy story set in the months falling the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, and the subsequent dissolution of East Germany.
Claire Saylor, CIA, is assigned to meet with a member of the East German secret police, the Stasi, but Lothar Fischer has been killed and, accordingly, is a no-show. Emil Grimm, his partner in an effort to exchange critical information – “the identities of more than a thousand foreign agents of the HVA, the East German intelligence service by the Ministry for State Security, or Stasi” (p. 335) – to the Americans in exchange for new identities and escape from a potential round-up of former Stasi agents was Fischer’s back-up and spots Saylor. Grimm is able to make contact with her through interesting and effective spycraft, and a race ensues to be first to provide the list, which is in three separate interlocking files, to the Americans.
She also meets with Clark Bauman, a retired CIA agent, “seeking knowledge above her clearance and her pay grade” (p. 14), information about Stasi and the East German intelligence operations run by Markus Wolf (an historical individual). Bauman serves as her unofficial back-up when she finally meets with Grimm, showing his tradecraft and zest for the secret life when he unexpectedly shows up when things get little sticky.
Of course, with Fischer dead, Grimm’s life is threatened by the Russians, who are also negotiating with the Americans, although the information they want to sell is not valid. Things get pretty tense as Saylor works with Grimm to get the information to the CIA before they decide to do business with the Russians.
It’s a good Cold War spy novel. The characters are believable and Grimm and Saylor are likeable. In fact, Grimm may be the most likeable character I’ve encountered in Cold War spy novels. The reader can’t help but cheer him on. Bauman is also a well-developed character who is just old school enough to be effective. In his retirement, he hasn’t forgotten how things work. Dialogue is intelligent and believable.
Claire Saylor, CIA, is assigned to meet with a member of the East German secret police, the Stasi, but Lothar Fischer has been killed and, accordingly, is a no-show. Emil Grimm, his partner in an effort to exchange critical information – “the identities of more than a thousand foreign agents of the HVA, the East German intelligence service by the Ministry for State Security, or Stasi” (p. 335) – to the Americans in exchange for new identities and escape from a potential round-up of former Stasi agents was Fischer’s back-up and spots Saylor. Grimm is able to make contact with her through interesting and effective spycraft, and a race ensues to be first to provide the list, which is in three separate interlocking files, to the Americans.
She also meets with Clark Bauman, a retired CIA agent, “seeking knowledge above her clearance and her pay grade” (p. 14), information about Stasi and the East German intelligence operations run by Markus Wolf (an historical individual). Bauman serves as her unofficial back-up when she finally meets with Grimm, showing his tradecraft and zest for the secret life when he unexpectedly shows up when things get little sticky.
Of course, with Fischer dead, Grimm’s life is threatened by the Russians, who are also negotiating with the Americans, although the information they want to sell is not valid. Things get pretty tense as Saylor works with Grimm to get the information to the CIA before they decide to do business with the Russians.
It’s a good Cold War spy novel. The characters are believable and Grimm and Saylor are likeable. In fact, Grimm may be the most likeable character I’ve encountered in Cold War spy novels. The reader can’t help but cheer him on. Bauman is also a well-developed character who is just old school enough to be effective. In his retirement, he hasn’t forgotten how things work. Dialogue is intelligent and believable.
November 24, 2022
A classic spy thriller set in Berlin as/after the wall comes down. A great highlight as it was a major feature of our lifetime (or maybe my life time?) and of the 20th Century. Fesperman reveals suspense-filled spy novel drawing richly from real life characters and events and utilising authentic spy tradecraft, a favourite feature among spy fans. It focusses on the Stasi and their life after the wall has come down, an interesting feature and new angle from other spy novels set in that era. Both Claire Saylor and Emil Grimm are complex characters and believable which makes for an entertaining and convincing read. I'm glad I have picked up Winter Work and I look forward to exploring more of Fesperman's work in the future.
August 3, 2024
Refreshing to have a spy novel set in the aftermath of the Cold War as the changing political context allows for deeper character developments. However, the amount of players did leave me feeling as though I needed a diagram and it was left unclear on why the mission was so important.
Spoiler alert:
If you're going to be inclusive by having a disabled character, don't kill them off just for the sake of convenience.
Spoiler alert:
If you're going to be inclusive by having a disabled character, don't kill them off just for the sake of convenience.
August 16, 2022
This fast paced thriller showcases the immediate recalibration triggered by the fall of the Berlin Wall.
And confidential files ( key recent news) have great value.
Fesperman is a master at incorporating an actual CIA operation with former adversaries, sympathetic spies (especially Emil and Baucom) , actual players, and keen pacing. Not sure how I missed his previous thrillers, but know they’ll hit my Want To Read list soon.
And confidential files ( key recent news) have great value.
Fesperman is a master at incorporating an actual CIA operation with former adversaries, sympathetic spies (especially Emil and Baucom) , actual players, and keen pacing. Not sure how I missed his previous thrillers, but know they’ll hit my Want To Read list soon.
June 5, 2023
A terrific, multilayered story that takes place just after the “Mauerfall”, or the fall of the Wall between East and West Berlin on November 9, 1989. This story occurs exclusively in Berlin and the area 30 minutes north of Berlin near the village of Prenden where the Stasi elite dacha compound was located. (Still an exclusive residential area—but for the wealthy.) “Stasi” was the abbreviation and nickname for the infamous East German State Security (Staatsicherheit) ministry, so massive it covered five city blocks in East Berlin, and spies often referred to it by its street address: Normannenstrasse.
The characters here are well drawn and complex. Fesperman brilliantly captures the chaotic, minute-by-minute changes during die Wende—the transitional period between 9 November 1989 and German Reunification, or Wiedervereinigung, which became official on 3 October 1990. An entire generation has grown up since then; Germany celebrated the 30th anniversary of Reunification in 2020.
I just checked to make sure I had the correct dates, and found a very interesting article online that states Reunification was a very “close-run thing”. It truly was a miracle, because the window of possibility was open only for the briefest moment in time and supported only by one major world leader—U.S. President George H. Bush. (Thatcher and Mitterrand were against it.) It was fascinating to read that if not for the unique chemistry and understanding between Bush, Kohl and Gorbachev, Reunification probably would not have happened. That does not discount the immense effort behind-the-scenes of American and German diplomats who feverishly made sure all i’s were dotted and t’s crossed. It was a breathtaking time in world history—a velvet revolution, thanks to Gorbachev who ordered Soviet troops to stand down. That would be impossible today with Putin, who viewed glasnost as a betrayal of and loss of face for the mighty USSR. But I digress.
The main characters are 30-something CIA officer Claire Saylor and 50-something Stasi Colonel Emil Grimm, both of whom are out of their depth but succeed despite the odds. Claire is up against the CIA bureaucracy, represented by Lindsey Wall, who only cares about getting the maximum intelligence ‘Bang for the Buck’: the most intel from one source, regardless of nationality. That means she is in favor of dumping Emil for a more powerful but deadly KGB agent—the person responsible for the brutal murder of Emil’s friend who first offered the CIA the names of East German spies in the West (including a mole at CIA HQ).
Claire is new to Berlin (just transferred from Paris) and is on her own, yet expected to perform miracles. Despite the odds, she rises to the challenge. Three months into the op, she has proven her moxy—but Wall undermines her again by bringing in a new officer (male, naturellement) from HQ to take over. Claire has a secret weapon, however: an ex-CIA officer named Baucom who has lived in Berlin for decades (forced to retire early because of budget cuts—the Cold War being over—ha). Despite the bureaucracy, field operative Claire and her mentor pull off a miracle: the recovery of thousands of Stasi names, all during that brief, chaotic window of opportunity following the collapse of communism in 1989. This haul—which is historical fact—is still considered the biggest intelligence coup in CIA history.
Fesperman has written two others novels in which Claire features, which I look forward to reading.
The characters here are well drawn and complex. Fesperman brilliantly captures the chaotic, minute-by-minute changes during die Wende—the transitional period between 9 November 1989 and German Reunification, or Wiedervereinigung, which became official on 3 October 1990. An entire generation has grown up since then; Germany celebrated the 30th anniversary of Reunification in 2020.
I just checked to make sure I had the correct dates, and found a very interesting article online that states Reunification was a very “close-run thing”. It truly was a miracle, because the window of possibility was open only for the briefest moment in time and supported only by one major world leader—U.S. President George H. Bush. (Thatcher and Mitterrand were against it.) It was fascinating to read that if not for the unique chemistry and understanding between Bush, Kohl and Gorbachev, Reunification probably would not have happened. That does not discount the immense effort behind-the-scenes of American and German diplomats who feverishly made sure all i’s were dotted and t’s crossed. It was a breathtaking time in world history—a velvet revolution, thanks to Gorbachev who ordered Soviet troops to stand down. That would be impossible today with Putin, who viewed glasnost as a betrayal of and loss of face for the mighty USSR. But I digress.
The main characters are 30-something CIA officer Claire Saylor and 50-something Stasi Colonel Emil Grimm, both of whom are out of their depth but succeed despite the odds. Claire is up against the CIA bureaucracy, represented by Lindsey Wall, who only cares about getting the maximum intelligence ‘Bang for the Buck’: the most intel from one source, regardless of nationality. That means she is in favor of dumping Emil for a more powerful but deadly KGB agent—the person responsible for the brutal murder of Emil’s friend who first offered the CIA the names of East German spies in the West (including a mole at CIA HQ).
Claire is new to Berlin (just transferred from Paris) and is on her own, yet expected to perform miracles. Despite the odds, she rises to the challenge. Three months into the op, she has proven her moxy—but Wall undermines her again by bringing in a new officer (male, naturellement) from HQ to take over. Claire has a secret weapon, however: an ex-CIA officer named Baucom who has lived in Berlin for decades (forced to retire early because of budget cuts—the Cold War being over—ha). Despite the bureaucracy, field operative Claire and her mentor pull off a miracle: the recovery of thousands of Stasi names, all during that brief, chaotic window of opportunity following the collapse of communism in 1989. This haul—which is historical fact—is still considered the biggest intelligence coup in CIA history.
Fesperman has written two others novels in which Claire features, which I look forward to reading.
January 1, 2023
This was my first Dan Fesperman, but I'll be back for more.
As a spy novel, it has it all. Interesting layered characters, fast and often brutal action, suspense, good place descriptions and well-drawn context.
The story is set in Berlin, shortly after the Berlin Wall has come down. On the German side, the main character is Emil Grimm, a high-ranking officer in the East German secret police, the Stasi, who is afraid the collapse of his government will mean arrest and imprisonment. Humanizing this character is the fact that his wife, Bettina, is bedridden with ALS and may not have long to live, and he and she have agreed he will start a new life with a nearby widow, Karola. Grimm wants them all to remain safe against treacherous odds.
On the other side is Claire, a thirtysomething American CIA operative assigned from the Paris office. She has, almost predictably, a harsh female boss who is not about to take the blame if anything goes wrong. Her job is to meet with a Stasi officer (someone other than Grimm) who has promised to deliver names of former agents in return for his safety.
But of course, things do not go according to plan. The Stasi officer doesn't show up to his meeting, but a brutal squad of Russians do, and Claire barely manages to escape.
I don't want to give anything else away, except to say that bodies start to pile up, and both Claire and Emil must figure out how to find their way amidst paranoid and distrustful competitors.
The pacing and atmosphere of Winter Work is impeccable. I look forward to the chance to experience Fesperman's mastery in the future.
As a spy novel, it has it all. Interesting layered characters, fast and often brutal action, suspense, good place descriptions and well-drawn context.
The story is set in Berlin, shortly after the Berlin Wall has come down. On the German side, the main character is Emil Grimm, a high-ranking officer in the East German secret police, the Stasi, who is afraid the collapse of his government will mean arrest and imprisonment. Humanizing this character is the fact that his wife, Bettina, is bedridden with ALS and may not have long to live, and he and she have agreed he will start a new life with a nearby widow, Karola. Grimm wants them all to remain safe against treacherous odds.
On the other side is Claire, a thirtysomething American CIA operative assigned from the Paris office. She has, almost predictably, a harsh female boss who is not about to take the blame if anything goes wrong. Her job is to meet with a Stasi officer (someone other than Grimm) who has promised to deliver names of former agents in return for his safety.
But of course, things do not go according to plan. The Stasi officer doesn't show up to his meeting, but a brutal squad of Russians do, and Claire barely manages to escape.
I don't want to give anything else away, except to say that bodies start to pile up, and both Claire and Emil must figure out how to find their way amidst paranoid and distrustful competitors.
The pacing and atmosphere of Winter Work is impeccable. I look forward to the chance to experience Fesperman's mastery in the future.
July 31, 2023
I'm not getting nearly as much reading time as I would like lately, life is getting in the way hence this took far longer to finish than usual. However, it was a fantastic read - a novel of speculative fiction based on an actual CIA operation set in Berlin immediately after the collapse of the DDR. The plot is grounded, plausible and tense and the characters are realistic and likable. 4+ stars and highly recommended.
April 10, 2023
I tackled this novel again after failing to finish it last year, mainly because I felt the book had gotten off to a slow start. I’m glad I stuck it out this time, as tension builds to a satisfying climax. Dan Fesperman’s “Winter Work” is well-researched and passes the plausibility test for a spy thriller set in the chaotic period after the fall of the Berlin Wall. East German Stasi officers are scrambling to trade secrets with the West to save their skins, or so it seems, with their former patron the KGB standing in their way. Stasi officer Emil Grimm is the hero of the story. He cares for his dying wife Bettina, who has graciously encouraged his relationship with his widowed “housekeeper,” Karola, who had a surprising earlier profession. He’s out for these women, not himself, so he wins our sympathy. CIA officer Claire Saylor is the heroine, and she does the right things to help Emil, with little help from a calculating boss who puts her in danger. Winter Work is well-written and a worthy read.
July 29, 2022
A really good historical thriller/spy novel, from a modern master. Detailed and dramatic, with enough action to make it fun, but enough character to make it worth thinking about.
January 23, 2023
Thought it was pretty dull
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