Luisa Voekler is a CIA code breaker in 1980s Washington, D.C. Even since she was a young girl, she’s excelled at solving puzzles and deciphering messages. Her grandfather made sure to cultivate those skills. Having been raised by her grandparents who emigrated from Berlin when she was a child, she doesn’t know much about her parents. She was told they died in a car accident. And her grandparents have always been tight-lipped about their life before America. Despite her remarkable performance and exceptional intelligence, she’s stuck deciphering messages from WWII. But while helping a coworker with her assignments, she notices a symbol on one of them – one that she’s seen before on her grandfather’s mail. Unfortunately her grandfather has passed and cannot reveal what connection – if any – exists between the letters at the CIA and the one she saw years ago. And when she begins to investigate, she realizes there’s more to her family’s history than she was ever clued in on. The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay is a dual-timeline, dual POV historical fiction novel in which Luisa gets closer to finding the truth and the danger that held her family prisoner for decades.

Reay creates a thrilling fictional tale that reminds readers about our nation’s history and heartbreaking experiences of those across the ocean during the Cold War. Both POVs from Luisa and Haris illustrate the psyche and context of living under authoritarian, militaristic rule and the lengths that those in power will go to contain ideals that threaten that power. While Luisa is an admirable character, Haris’s growth impressed me the most. Reay pits loyalty against family, challenging the reader to consider the lengths we ourselves might go to in order to ensure the safety of our loved ones. Action-packed, engaging, and impactful, The Berlin Letters is a must for anyone’s TBR pile.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Muse for the digital arc.
I was almost 10 years old when the Berlin Wall started to go up. I remember watching the breaking news on a black and white tv bunny ears and sketchy reception. I didn't comprehend the magnitude but the urgency of the reporters, the bleakness of the guards and barbed wire, made me realize this was a traumatizing event. The families of Berlin were being torn in two. And so begins “Berlin Letters”. It is August 1961, and Monika Voekler makes a split decision to throw her baby daughter, Luisa, over the barbed wire into the arms of her father, who had sensed the impending crisis, and moved west. Luisa is brought up by her grandparents, who move to the the US, and believed her parents died in a car accident. Fast forward to 1989 and Luisa, who has been taught to solve puzzles sin childhood, is hired as a decoder at the CIA. Dual timelines and narration present a Cold War spy thriller that should not be missed!
#TheBerlinLetters #NetGalley

3.5⭐

This is definitely a historical fiction story. She did an exceptional job of researching this story. While I enjoyed the story, I felt like there were times when the story dragged, causing me to stop listening. However, I did enjoy the multiple voices narrating the story. I have enjoyed reading other books by this author, but this one was just a miss for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read an advanced copy of the book. This is my honest review.

Katherine Reay delivers a historical fiction triumph! Set in the Cold War, Luisa Voekler uncovers coded intelligence secrets in her grandfather’s old letters, leading her on a quest to East Germany. With a dip into punk culture, the CIA, and deep family secrets, The Berlin Letters promises an exciting and fascinating read.

I really loved how Reay brought historical fiction up to the near history, really bringing alive a time that I'm not old enough to remember, but that shaped the world I was growing up in. She weaves compelling character development into the historical framework in each book she pens, and this one is no exception! I hope to see more books like this from her.

This book will take you on a historical journey as well as an emotional one. The story takes place during the time of the Berlin Wall, but it is the dual timeline that allows for a story to unfold from the time the wall went up to the time the wall comes down.
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The book is beautifully written, well researched history throughout, a little bit of mystery and it just keeps you wanting more! This is not my normal time period for an historical fiction read but I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the reading and decoding of the letters. Little bit of my own background, I originally graduated from school with my degree in history and my favorite classes were the decoding of old documents. The feeling of understanding and completing is such a rush that I could feel the same energy off the pages from Luisa.
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I would recommend this to readers who love historical fiction. Honestly, no matter what genre you like if your looking for a good book … Pick.This.One! There is a little something for everyone in this book.
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Side Note: I think this book would make a great book club selection as there is so much depth to the story and would create great conversations!

This was okay. I found it really unbelievable for a historical fiction. I found myself not loving the characters and it felt really unrealistic and I had a hard time with that.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

After binging four seasons of the brilliant German TV series "The Weissensee Saga" (on MHZ Choice) I was craving a thriller covering Berlin during that period between the building of the Wall and its collapse. "The Berlin Letters fits that bill perfectly.

Luisa Voelker grew up with her grandparents in the Washington DC area, believing that her parents were killed in an automobile accident. Her grandfather played elaborate cryptic puzzle games with her ,which come in handy in her job as a CIA cryptologist. Luisa finds some old letters from her grandfather to someone she is shocked to realize is her father. She recognizes the code the letters use and is able to confirm that her father was recently alive. Using her contacts and wits, she plans to break him out of prison.

The most interesting character in the book is not Luisa, but her father, a man who was dedicated to the East's new order to the point that he was the Party newspaper's top reporter. Because his in-laws defected, he is gradually demoted until he is left writing one-sentence filler news. Watching his political and social feeling evolve mirrors the feelings of so many East Germans at the time.

There's a little romance, a little family drama, and characters who appear briefly and then are never heard of again, but overall there is plenty in the Berlin Letters to keep readers glued to the page. Such a fascinating period of history, and Katherine Reay maked the most of it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the digital review copy in exchange of an honest review.

Such an incredible piece of historical fiction.

The Cold War - a piece in history that I will admit that I do not know a lot about. I feel like some parts left me wanting for just a bit more in the development of the story, but overall the dual timelines were highly appreciated and enjoyed. The ending felt admittedly rushed and fell flat in a big way for me, but I still really loved this book and the rich history that I learned from it.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Harper Muse for this eArc in exchange for my own opinions.

The Berlin Letters is an intriguing look at the decades of the Cold War. I was fascinated by the unfolding of Luisa's story as she began to uncover the secrets of her past through a collection of hidden, encoded letters written by her father in Berlin to her grandfather in America. I love learning more about history through novels; this is one of the best novels I've read about the Cold War era. I appreciated how it covered the realities of life behind the Iron Curtain without being too graphic or intense. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian fiction with an interest in 20th century history.

Very well done! Historical fiction, although abundant these days in nature can be very tough to master and this book was done well! Grabs your attention and won't let go.

This book brings us to Germany during the Cold War. It follows a family that is separated when the wall went up. It is an interesting story. I was realy pulled in by going back and forth from the past to the present. It was amazing to read about this in fiction, I really loved this book and look forward to reading more from this author.

You know, there were so many compelling, intriguing characters floating around in this book. Our protagonist Luisa was not one of them. She was simply the most generic straight white female protagonist imaginable; there was nothing about her that was memorable beyond the fact that she threw up a lot when she was stressed. Supposedly, she got top marks in her espionage program, but there was nothing she did in the entire book that demonstrated that aptitude to me.
Again, there were so many potentially compelling stories hinted at throughout the whole book. The one with the most potential was the group of musicians who eventually helped sneak Luisa into East Berlin. I desperately wanted them to show up more, to get a glimpse into their lives, to understand their feelings. But they were a tiny part of the book. It was just so disappointing.
Also, there was surprisingly little action. Luisa just kind of passively bobs along from place to place; whenever anything worked out for her, it seemed like it was because someone else told her what to do. But there was never any point where I felt genuinely tense or worried for her because she just wasn’t doing much of anything. Not my kind of story or character. As a final note – the whole book was so white and so straight.

This one pulled me in from the very beginning. What an incredible storyline paired with a dramatic historical tale. Katherine did an amazing job of weaving fact and fiction and I found myself googling to see what actually happened and if certain details were true! Definitely recommend for any historical fiction fans or anyone interested in The Berlin Wall story.

My feelings about this book are complicated.

Learning about the Cold War, as a person who was not alive for another decade after the Berlin Wall fell, was fascinating. I loved thinking about that history and the hardships the German people faced and how they overcame it. The prologue had me immediately invested. The lives of the characters are interesting and getting to know each of them slowly was fun.

Some parts of the book were boring in their slowness. Not just slowness—sometimes it felt like the action was at an absolute standstill. The chapters from Haris’s point of view are especially guilty of this. Instead of experiencing life with him in East Germany, we mostly just heard him giving a recap about the recent state of affairs, which did not help the pacing of the story.

(Slight spoilers in this next paragraph.)

I also couldn’t stand Daniel. I’m simply unable to believe a man I met 75% into the book, while only being mentioned three times tops before, could make a good love interest for the leading lady. It made me feel ill every time they acted romantically toward each other; it made no sense to me, because we didn’t even know him.

The action of the story was very compelling, when actual story was happening. I feel there was in general way more telling/summary than showing/scene, and that made the book hard to read sometimes. However, it was an interesting story that, aside from its slow moments, was overall good. A wonderful read for those interested in modern history or a dangerous story that isn’t too fast-paced.

I enjoyed this cold war novel. And I learned a lot about the history of the time. More than I learned in school. But it's hard to believe that the 80s is now considered historical fiction especially when I was born in 87.

Set in the Cold War era, this novel is the story of Luisa Voekler, a German born American CIA cryptographer who at age three was tossed to her grandparents in West Berlin as the wall went up. The family moved to the United States and Luisa was told that her parents died in a car crash. In 1989 she discovers a cache of coded letters from her father to her grandfather, discovering that her father is alive which leads to efforts to rescue to him from prison as the wall comes down. Alternating between the father's story and Luisa's, this is a very interesting look at life in East Germany and in the Cold War.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

While I LOVE Reay’s books, I wouldn’t call this my favorite of her works. Felt a bit predictable and the pace was slow in some sections. I did love the family aspects, how Louisa is with her grandparents and aunt. I also liked Daniel (who wouldn’t?). But again, predictable. Maybe part of that predictability is because it’s a historical fiction that I can google?

I do think that Reay definitely did the time period and all of the horrors that happened behind the Iron Curtain justice. The spy/CIA aspects were very fun, but I would’ve preferred to see more of that side- let us be code breakers too if we want! Tell me more about the high stakes Haris was surrounded by.

All in all, 3.75 stars rounded up from me.

I was very disappointed because I ran out of time on this one, but I did order a copy for my public library here in Florida and I hope to pick it up again

Having always been a fan of historical fiction novels I was so extremely excited for this book. I read the description and was convinced I would love this book. Sadly, as I was reading I just was unable to get into the book despite its well written characters.

This intensely suspenseful Cold War era mystery will keep you turning pages from start to finish! Starting just before the Berlin Wall goes up until it comes down, a city, a country, a family split in two for over 20 years as political powers violently struggle for control, I learned so much about something I knew so little about. Expertly researched and written. Another amazing novel from Katherine Reay!