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Flowers from Berlin #4
Betrayal In Berlin: A Spy Story
In this, the fourth installment of Noel Hynd’s hugely popular Flowers from Berlin series, William Thomas Cochrane returns to Berlin as part of a permanent intelligence posting, replacing an old friend. Cochrane has a special knowledge of Berlin and its people, having worked there undercover during the Hitler era, during World War II, and during the successful 1948-49 airlift. But before Cochrane can safely settle his family in Berlin, he finds himself investigating the suspicious death of the man he succeeded.
It is now the early 1950s. The former capital of Nazi Germany has emerged as the most volatile flashpoint of the Cold War. In Washington, Dwight Eisenhower is the newly elected President of the United States. In Moscow, Joseph Stalin is gravely ill but more aggressive than ever. He rules a Soviet Union that has gone from a backward nation to a world power in four decades. Emboldened now by atomic weapons, the Soviets are hell-bent on forcing the Western Powers – France, Great Britain, and the United States – out of the still-divided former capital. The pro-Moscow Communist government of East Germany controls East Berlin while the United States and its wartime allies control the other half of the city.
And that is only where Cochrane’s problems begin. Soon after his return, a simmering labor conflict explodes between East German workers and their government. The government demands increases in work quotas but without an increase in state-subsidized pay. Shortages of food and clothing accompany the rationing of electricity. A strike among construction workers grows into a mass protest involving fifty thousand East German citizens. Some Berliners in the angry protest demand the removal of the pro-Moscow East German government. East German police and Soviet troops move in and fire on the crowd, killing hundreds.
Within days of his arrival, Bill Cochrane faces a Berlin that is a more treacherous place than ever. Old friends come in and out of the rain and fog above the Rivers Spree and Havel. But so do old enemies. And so do some old friends who may actually be new enemies. Treachery and violence hang in the air, as do menace and betrayal. Berlin is a city where no one is safe, and nothing is sacred. People disappear. Traitors are everywhere. Murders are common.
And then there is the biggest enemy of Das Ministerium für Staatssicherheit, the Ministry for State Security, the new East German secret police agency. Modeled on the Soviet KGB, the “Stasi” has quickly become the most feared and vicious secret police agency in the postwar world.
Quickly, Bill Cochrane realizes that the assignment confronting him will require a painstaking voyage through the murky, multi-faceted world of his own past and Soviet-American espionage. Within days of his arrival, Cochrane finds his life, his family, and his career under attack. But from where? From East Germany? From the KGB in Moscow? From an old adversary stepping out of the past? Or from a betrayal from within that is too venal and personal for him to even imagine, much less face?
**
"Noel Hynd is a few notches above the Ludlums and Clancys of the world." - Booklist
Raves for Flowers From Berlin:
"A superb spy novel!" - Savannah News-Presse
"A page-turner. Complex, crisp in dialogue, and thorough in its background" - Library Journal
"First rate!" - The Cleveland Plain-Dealer
"A Chiller! - LA Times
Praise for Return to Berlin
"A Compelling Spy Thriller of War-Torn Berlin"
Lovers
It is now the early 1950s. The former capital of Nazi Germany has emerged as the most volatile flashpoint of the Cold War. In Washington, Dwight Eisenhower is the newly elected President of the United States. In Moscow, Joseph Stalin is gravely ill but more aggressive than ever. He rules a Soviet Union that has gone from a backward nation to a world power in four decades. Emboldened now by atomic weapons, the Soviets are hell-bent on forcing the Western Powers – France, Great Britain, and the United States – out of the still-divided former capital. The pro-Moscow Communist government of East Germany controls East Berlin while the United States and its wartime allies control the other half of the city.
And that is only where Cochrane’s problems begin. Soon after his return, a simmering labor conflict explodes between East German workers and their government. The government demands increases in work quotas but without an increase in state-subsidized pay. Shortages of food and clothing accompany the rationing of electricity. A strike among construction workers grows into a mass protest involving fifty thousand East German citizens. Some Berliners in the angry protest demand the removal of the pro-Moscow East German government. East German police and Soviet troops move in and fire on the crowd, killing hundreds.
Within days of his arrival, Bill Cochrane faces a Berlin that is a more treacherous place than ever. Old friends come in and out of the rain and fog above the Rivers Spree and Havel. But so do old enemies. And so do some old friends who may actually be new enemies. Treachery and violence hang in the air, as do menace and betrayal. Berlin is a city where no one is safe, and nothing is sacred. People disappear. Traitors are everywhere. Murders are common.
And then there is the biggest enemy of Das Ministerium für Staatssicherheit, the Ministry for State Security, the new East German secret police agency. Modeled on the Soviet KGB, the “Stasi” has quickly become the most feared and vicious secret police agency in the postwar world.
Quickly, Bill Cochrane realizes that the assignment confronting him will require a painstaking voyage through the murky, multi-faceted world of his own past and Soviet-American espionage. Within days of his arrival, Cochrane finds his life, his family, and his career under attack. But from where? From East Germany? From the KGB in Moscow? From an old adversary stepping out of the past? Or from a betrayal from within that is too venal and personal for him to even imagine, much less face?
**
"Noel Hynd is a few notches above the Ludlums and Clancys of the world." - Booklist
Raves for Flowers From Berlin:
"A superb spy novel!" - Savannah News-Presse
"A page-turner. Complex, crisp in dialogue, and thorough in its background" - Library Journal
"First rate!" - The Cleveland Plain-Dealer
"A Chiller! - LA Times
Praise for Return to Berlin
"A Compelling Spy Thriller of War-Torn Berlin"
Lovers
- GenresWorld War II
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 4, 2022
280 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Noel Hynd
62 books219 followers I've been a published novelist for longer than I care to admit, since 1976. I'm frequently asked, however, how I first got published. It's an interesting story and involved both Robert Ludlum and James Baldwin, even though neither of them knew it --- or me --- at the time.
My first agent, a wonderful thorughly perofessional gentleman named Robert Lantz was representing Mr. Baldwin at the time. This was around 1975. Balwin, while a brilliant writer, had had some nasty dealings with the head of Dell Publishing. Dell held Jimmy's contract at the time and he could not legally write for anyone else until he gave Dell a book that was due to them. Nonetheless, he refused to deliver a manuscript to Dell and went to Paris to sit things out.
The book was due to The Dial Press, which Dell owned. Baldwin was widely quoted as saying....and I'm cleaning up the quote here, "that he was no longer picking cotton on Dell's planatation."
The book was due to The Dial Press. The editor in chief of The Dial Press was a stellar editor who was making a name for himself and a fair bit of money for the company publishing thriller-author Robert Ludlum. A best seller every year will do that for an editor. Anyway, Baldwin fled New York for Paris. The editor followed, the asignment being to get him to come happily back to Dial. As soon as the editor arrived, Baldwin fled to Algeria. Or maybe Tunisia. It hardly mattered because Baldwin was furious and simply wouldn 't do a book for Dell/Dial. The editor returned to NY without his quarry. Things were at a standstill.
That's where I entered the story, unpublished at age 27 and knowing enough to keep my mouth shut while these things went down. I had given 124 pages of a first novel to Mr. Lantz ten days eariler. Miraculously, his reader liked it and then HE liked it. It was in the same genre that Ludlum wrote in and which the editor at Dial excelled at editing and marketing.
My agent and the editor ran into each other one afternoon in July of 1974 in one of those swank Manhattan places where people used to have three martinis for lunch. The agent asked how things had gone in Europe. The editor told him, knowing full well that the agent already knew. The next steps would be lawyers, Baldwin dragged into US Courts, major authors boycotting Doubleday/Dell, Dial, maybe some civil rights demonstrations and.......but no so fast.
Mr. Lantz offered Dial the first look at a new adventure/espionage novelist (me). IF Dial wanted me after reading my 124 pages, he could sign me, but only IF Baldwin was released from his obligations at Doubleday. I was the literary bribe, so to speak, that would get Jimmy free from Dial. It seemed like a great idea to everyone. It seemed that way because it was. Paperwork was prepapred and paperwork was signed. Voila!...To make a much longer story short, Dial accepted my novel. The editor instructed me on how to raise it to a professional level as I finished writing it over the next ten months. I followed orders perfectly. I even felt prosperous on my $7500 advance. He then had Dial release Mr. Balwin from his obligation. Not surpringly, he went on to create fine books for other publishers. Ludlum did even batter. Of the three, I'm the pauper but I've gotten my fair share and I'm alive with books coming out again now in the very near future, no small accmplishment. So no complaints from me.
That''s how I got published. I met Ludlum many times later on and Baldwin once. Ludlum liked my name "Noel" and used it for an then-upcoming charcter named Noel Holcroft. That amused me. I don't know if either of them even knew that my career had been in their orbits for a month 1975. They would have been amused. They were both smart gifted men and fine writers in dfferent ways. This story was told to me by one of the principals two years later and another one confirmed it.
Me, I came out of it with my first publishing contract, for a book titled 'Reve
My first agent, a wonderful thorughly perofessional gentleman named Robert Lantz was representing Mr. Baldwin at the time. This was around 1975. Balwin, while a brilliant writer, had had some nasty dealings with the head of Dell Publishing. Dell held Jimmy's contract at the time and he could not legally write for anyone else until he gave Dell a book that was due to them. Nonetheless, he refused to deliver a manuscript to Dell and went to Paris to sit things out.
The book was due to The Dial Press, which Dell owned. Baldwin was widely quoted as saying....and I'm cleaning up the quote here, "that he was no longer picking cotton on Dell's planatation."
The book was due to The Dial Press. The editor in chief of The Dial Press was a stellar editor who was making a name for himself and a fair bit of money for the company publishing thriller-author Robert Ludlum. A best seller every year will do that for an editor. Anyway, Baldwin fled New York for Paris. The editor followed, the asignment being to get him to come happily back to Dial. As soon as the editor arrived, Baldwin fled to Algeria. Or maybe Tunisia. It hardly mattered because Baldwin was furious and simply wouldn 't do a book for Dell/Dial. The editor returned to NY without his quarry. Things were at a standstill.
That's where I entered the story, unpublished at age 27 and knowing enough to keep my mouth shut while these things went down. I had given 124 pages of a first novel to Mr. Lantz ten days eariler. Miraculously, his reader liked it and then HE liked it. It was in the same genre that Ludlum wrote in and which the editor at Dial excelled at editing and marketing.
My agent and the editor ran into each other one afternoon in July of 1974 in one of those swank Manhattan places where people used to have three martinis for lunch. The agent asked how things had gone in Europe. The editor told him, knowing full well that the agent already knew. The next steps would be lawyers, Baldwin dragged into US Courts, major authors boycotting Doubleday/Dell, Dial, maybe some civil rights demonstrations and.......but no so fast.
Mr. Lantz offered Dial the first look at a new adventure/espionage novelist (me). IF Dial wanted me after reading my 124 pages, he could sign me, but only IF Baldwin was released from his obligations at Doubleday. I was the literary bribe, so to speak, that would get Jimmy free from Dial. It seemed like a great idea to everyone. It seemed that way because it was. Paperwork was prepapred and paperwork was signed. Voila!...To make a much longer story short, Dial accepted my novel. The editor instructed me on how to raise it to a professional level as I finished writing it over the next ten months. I followed orders perfectly. I even felt prosperous on my $7500 advance. He then had Dial release Mr. Balwin from his obligation. Not surpringly, he went on to create fine books for other publishers. Ludlum did even batter. Of the three, I'm the pauper but I've gotten my fair share and I'm alive with books coming out again now in the very near future, no small accmplishment. So no complaints from me.
That''s how I got published. I met Ludlum many times later on and Baldwin once. Ludlum liked my name "Noel" and used it for an then-upcoming charcter named Noel Holcroft. That amused me. I don't know if either of them even knew that my career had been in their orbits for a month 1975. They would have been amused. They were both smart gifted men and fine writers in dfferent ways. This story was told to me by one of the principals two years later and another one confirmed it.
Me, I came out of it with my first publishing contract, for a book titled 'Reve
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 7, 2023
Betrayal In Berlin is an amazing book to read. It is a tense story continuing, with Bill and Laura, the main characters. It is full of betrayal, fear, anger, murder, spys and more spys. But, also a story of strength, loyalty and bravery. An emotional roller coaster for sure. It will keep you guessing what will happen next. Bill and Laure are amazing, smart and quick. They have proved that they can handle themselves in any situation. No spoilers here, just a recommendation to read this series.
February 16, 2023
The author does an excellent job of depicting post WW II Soviet emergence and Berlin in particular.
He is also adept at coloring in his characters although his protagonist is a bit too saintly.
But more so than in his earlier books with the same protagonist, there is much more background filler and getting ready to tell the actual story than telling it. As a result, there's relatively little action in this book.
He is also adept at coloring in his characters although his protagonist is a bit too saintly.
But more so than in his earlier books with the same protagonist, there is much more background filler and getting ready to tell the actual story than telling it. As a result, there's relatively little action in this book.
July 29, 2023
The book gives lots of details about life in East and West Berlin, Kim Philby, and the aftermath of WWII. However, the story is not so interesting as the previous ones in the series.
July 18, 2023
Excellent Read. You will not be able to put it down
I have read all of the books in this series and all of them are well written, well researched and loaded with twists and surprises. The author however has a very bad habit of including Clancy like details throughout most of the book, which a magnificent, adding depth and context to the story and characters. But then in the closing chapters the author abandons the detail and rushes to the finish. I feel cheated each time, finding myself with too many unanswered questions and missing the details that are abundant throughout the book. There is too much unexplained. I get used to the details and then the author takes a shortcut to the finish. Come on Noel, don't do this to me. You are leaving out 100 pages of good story. That's why Clancy books are so long. And so good.
I have read all of the books in this series and all of them are well written, well researched and loaded with twists and surprises. The author however has a very bad habit of including Clancy like details throughout most of the book, which a magnificent, adding depth and context to the story and characters. But then in the closing chapters the author abandons the detail and rushes to the finish. I feel cheated each time, finding myself with too many unanswered questions and missing the details that are abundant throughout the book. There is too much unexplained. I get used to the details and then the author takes a shortcut to the finish. Come on Noel, don't do this to me. You are leaving out 100 pages of good story. That's why Clancy books are so long. And so good.
February 14, 2024
I enjoyed the book and am willing to overlook the protagonist flying on a Constellation years before they entered service, but am disappointed by the complete fabrication of the situation in Berlin in 1949 - 50. There was no wall or checkpoints between east and west Berlin until the wall went up in 1961. The wall was built because East German citizens were fleeing to the west, about 3,000,000 fled.The book could have still had the problems with East German Police and Stassi and all other items without totally misrepresenting the situation in Berlin.
Other than that I thought the book was a good read, interesting character, good plot development.
Other than that I thought the book was a good read, interesting character, good plot development.
December 12, 2022
Great book/series
These books are action packed and very well researched. The characters are rich and makes you feel you are on the scene with the. If you are a fan of WW 2 and the Cold War this series is for you. I highly recommend this author and series.
These books are action packed and very well researched. The characters are rich and makes you feel you are on the scene with the. If you are a fan of WW 2 and the Cold War this series is for you. I highly recommend this author and series.
March 1, 2023
An excellent read...
A lot is suspense and intrigue. Character development is exceptional. The historical context was compelling. The interplay of the occupational forces of Berlin was accurately portrayed. An enjoyable read.
A lot is suspense and intrigue. Character development is exceptional. The historical context was compelling. The interplay of the occupational forces of Berlin was accurately portrayed. An enjoyable read.
May 26, 2023
A story of Stasi killers from East Berlin and the behind the scenes investigation in a very tense Berlin in the first few months of 1950, featuring FBI agent Bill Cochrane, featured in 3 earlier books in this series.
April 8, 2024
Another good one
Finished the fourth book. Good series. Enjoyed the historical details and the plot. Didn't realize that Allan Dullas was NOT the goodie goodie we were taught. Wish for MORE in this series.
Finished the fourth book. Good series. Enjoyed the historical details and the plot. Didn't realize that Allan Dullas was NOT the goodie goodie we were taught. Wish for MORE in this series.
January 22, 2023
A great follow-up to the Flowers From Berlin series of books. Taut reading, great historical backdrops, and a genuinely good read.
August 20, 2023
Consistently Excellent
I’ve read them all in this series for the time being, and can’t wait until the next. All thumbs up. Bravo!
I’ve read them all in this series for the time being, and can’t wait until the next. All thumbs up. Bravo!
March 5, 2025
Keep your head down and your eyes open !
There is a plot thickening in the East and a deadly game afoot. The Corsicans are a dangerous, brutal lot, but they are loyal and effective!
There is a plot thickening in the East and a deadly game afoot. The Corsicans are a dangerous, brutal lot, but they are loyal and effective!
July 31, 2023
A thoroughly gripping read!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews