The Berlin Letters is a heart wrenching story of a family in Berlin when they wake up one morning to find barbed wire put up between East and West Berlin. Luisa’s family was in East Berlin and her Grandparents were in West Berlin. Luisa’s mom saw what was happening and threw Luisa over the wire to her grandparents. Soon after, the grandparents moved to the US. Luisa grew up being told her parents were killed in a car accident. Her grandfather, Walther, always gave her puzzles to decipher so she could find her gifts. Luisa thought it was a game, but when her grandfather was teacher her how to be a spy. When he died she found letters with an unusual mark in the corner. She soon found out her grandfather was sending coded letters to her father who was still alive in East Berlin. She decided she was going to rescue her father from an East Berlin prison. The story line between two time periods flowed together nicely. A must read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Muse for my copy of The Berlin Letter by Katherine Reay in exchange for an honest review.

Quick and Dirty
-multi-POV historical fiction
-intergenerational story (father/daughter focused)
-Cold War-era fiction
-adventurous, fast-paced ending

What Worked
Let me start by saying that Reay’s last book, A Shadow in Moscow, was one of my top 12 favorite books of 2023. The Cold War is another favorite historical era of mine, so The Berlin Letters DELIVERED a pulse-pounding, highly engaging drama that I could not put down. Not only was the family drama terrific (lies, secrets, espionage, identity crises), but the personal development of the FMC was strong. We watch her go from being riddled with self-doubt to being confident and daring, risking her life for what she wants most. The mystery unfolds rather early, leaving the rest of the story to play out in a movie-like fashion, leaving us wondering how in the world she will accomplish the impossible. While I could have read this book forever, the ending was perfection! But what I loved most was the author’s juxtaposition around the Berlin Wall. We start the novel with the unexpected construction of the Wall and the impact on lives on both sides of the Wall. The story arc takes us on a journey through time, with the Wall at the story’s center.

What Didn’t Work
Though the ending was super fast-paced, I struggled a little in the beginning with the story’s pace. Some might find this book a little history-heavy. Many geo-political dramas and figures are woven into the story, some of which are obscure to Americans (though likely very well known to Eastern Europeans). I suspect others will want the romance sprinkled into the story to be a bit more fleshed out, but I liked how Reay kept that on the back burner. Overall, it was a winner for me, which surprised me 0%. 🤣

Read This If
Anyone who wants to know more about the impact of the Berlin Wall will enjoy this.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Muse for my copy of The Berlin Letter by Katherine Reay in exchange for an honest review. It published March 5, 2024.
Wow! This book has got to be Reay's best book to date! It was written with such honesty, and care, I could not stop reading it! I drank it in and did not want to stop. I learned so much about the Cold War, and especially about the Berlin Wall, and the surrounding politics, I truly did not know about before. I feel like this is such an underrepresented historical event in fiction, and I am so grateful that the time was spent researching this to teach the public about it!
I cannot say enough good things about this book! The most surprising part about this book for me was the punks. I especially loved learning about them and the church behind the Iron Curtain.

The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay is my number one read for 2024. Yes, I’m calling it. This story is utterly outstanding and I will never forget my time with this read. In fact, this book should be required reading for every human on this planet. My most favorite aspect to this impeccable novel is the history. I learned more about the Cold War, Berlin, the Soviets, Punk music, and the insanely tumultuous powder keg known as Eastern Europe circa 1958-1989 from this one book than I ever learned in all the history classes I’ve taken. The best part is how Reay weaved this authentic learning experience into her highly engaging, seriously suspenseful father-daughter storyline. I wasn’t just a reader during the course of this story, I was also a student and I LOVED every minute. From chapter one, I was hooked and HATED when I had to put this book down. This was a story that had me reading well past my bedtime. The characters are superb. I loved journeying with Louisa as she not only discovers who her father truly is, but in the process realizes who she truly is as well. I enjoyed watching her grow and change and turn into the woman God always meant her to be. SO good!!! I also really loved Haris. Well, at the beginning of the story I wanted to pop him in the nose, but he quickly becomes one of the best characters I’ve ever read. And he is such a good dad…to the punk kids he takes under his wing, to Manfred, and to the daughter he loves with all his heart, but couldn’t be with for 28 years. I really loved the father-daughter dynamic of this story. I loved that Louisa fights for her dad. Not just fights for him, but crosses into terrifying East Berlin to attempt to free Haris from a Stasi-run prison. If this isn’t a beautiful illustration of Christ-like, sacrificial love then I just don’t know what is. I also appreciated Reay’s caution about judgement. It’s a subtle message, but it really punches the reader in the solar plexus…at least it did to this reader. It is SO easy to sit back today and judge the happenings in East Berlin all those decades ago — to judge the neighbors who snitched, the bosses who snitched, the friends who snitched — and find those people wanting. But those of us in 2024 who sit in the securities of our Western homes have no clue what the people of East Berlin went through. The depravity, the losses, the torture, the fear, the threats — I truly do not know if I would have survived. I appreciate this reminder from Reay not to judge others. God judges hearts, not us. This is a truth I hope never to forget.

The Berlin Letters is an excellent story. One I won’t soon forget. If you are a fan of excellently-detailed, highly engaging Historical Literature then I highly recommend checking out this story.

I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher, Harper Muse, via NetGalley. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

All I can say is "wow"! Katherine Reay has written a marvelous book about life in Berlin from the time the wall goes up to the time it comes down. Absolutely fascinating and I loved learning about this time in history. You don't read many books about the Berlin Wall and this is not only well-written but also educational. Kudos to the author on a great book!

Thanks to Harper Muse and NetGalley for this ARC.

📖 Book Review 📖
📱 “The Berlin Letters" by Katherine Reay

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Published March 5, 2024
Starting in Washington DC in 1989, the brilliant, logical, puzzle solving Luisa Voekler moves back in with her Oma after her Opa passed away. She works as a code breaker for a secret branch of the CIA, and when a coworker asks her for some help Luisa notices a small mark on the envelope that brings back a memory of her Opa and the same mark. These are letters from Berlin dating back to the 1960s and Luisa recognizes the codes hidden in the words.
In 1961 in East Berlin, Haris Voekler is shocked when on a Sunday morning his wife returns to their apartment without their 3-year-old daughter. A wall of wire was built overnight separating East and West Berlin, and when his wife met her parents at the concertina wire , she made a split second decision to toss Luisa over to her grandparents. Haris is a reporter for the German Democratic Republic communist newspaper and at first doesn’t believe that worse is to come and the Stasi (East German state security) will build a permanent wall so no one will be crossing over. The Stasi (similar to KGB in Soviet Union and Gestapo of Nazi Germany) maintained authority with civilian informants and harsh punishments for anyone who didn’t fall in line. Monica dies of a broken heart after she is no longer able to see her daughter when her parents move to the US. To cope with the loneliness and keep in touch with his daughter, Haris writes coded letters to his
father-in-law, Walther. The game of hiding the truth in pleasantries gives him a challenge, as his job becomes more
mundane. He is demoted at work, watched every where he goes, and is living with the realization that he chose the wrong side. By 1989, Haris has joined the resistance, his father-in-law hasn’t written back in months and someone close to him has betrayed him and turned him. He now waits in a Stasi prison.
This book intrigued me as I have never read much about the Berlin Wall and was a toddler when he was finally taken down. It was thoroughly researched, filled with mystery, and yet also so much hope.
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The Berlin Letters is the reason I love historical fiction so much. It's educational and completely fascinating. Katherine Reay is a phenomenal author who can masterfully craft a story.

Thank you for letting me read an ARC of this book! I find this period of history very interesting so I was excited to see another book come out that focused on it from a unique perspective. I felt very drawn in by the story, the characters and plot were done well and always kept me hooked. I also thought the dual perspective/timeline was done well (which is sometimes tricky) and added to the story. Lastly, the book never felt predictable so I kept wanting to know what would happen next and where the author was taking me. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend to others!

This is my fourth read by this author. A Shadow in Moscow made my Top Ten of 2023 and I’m sure this one will make my next Top Ten list. This book immediately grabbed my attention depicting the fear of a desperate mother as she shoved her three-year-old child over and through barbed wire towards her family to prevent the child from being raised in the increasingly oppressive regime in East Berlin. And that was just the prologue!

The audiobook is narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, Ann Marie Gideon and PJ Ochlan. They did a fabulous job giving life to the characters in this story. I was enthralled. I was glad that I had a digital copy of the text for name verification, but the publisher’s summary can aid with this as well.

The story alternates between dual timelines of the 1960s when the Berlin Wall was built and subsequent events and devastation the parents face with the loss of their child and 1989 when the child, Luisa, who was raised by her grandparents is now living in the US and working as a code breaker for the CIA.

From a young age, Luisa was taught by her grandfather how to work with codes. He would leave her codes to break to get her gifts on special occasions. This love for breaking codes leads to her working at the CIA, though her frustration with her stagnant position leaves her feeling like she’s not good enough. When a coworker shows her the project that she’s working on, Luisa recognizes a symbol in the letters and searches the family home for reference. What she finds is a secret that shockingly launches her into a harrowing adventure and revealing truths about what happened to her mother and her father, who wrote propaganda for the GDR sanctioned newspapers.

The growth and development of characters, especially Haris, was incredibly moving. There’s a moment when he talks about smiling and how it hurts that made me cry. I cried multiple times through this story from the prologue to the end. It really pulled at my heartstrings. I did find at times that switching between narrations, there was a little repetition, especially at the end of the story. However, the emotions attached to those events from a different character were all the more powerful for it, so I didn’t mind, but others may find it unnecessary.

Highly recommend this historical fiction story that covers a family affected by the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Muse for a copy provided for an honest review.

I have read many of Katherine’s books and enjoyed them all. It was almost ten years ago when I read her Jane Austen retellings and just a couple of years ago The London House, which I still remember well. Her book, A Shadow in Moscow was an incredible Cold War novel that was so sophisticated and compelling that I highly recommended it. Therefore I simply could not wait to dive into her latest, The Berlin Letters and it did not fail to impress me all over again.

‘I don’t want to leave the DDR. Like my father before me, I want my hometown to change so it is a place where I can live, and thrive, and make choices, and share with my family and friends. Father’s opinions cost him his life. I wonder if mine will cost me my life too.’

On this occasion there are alternating storyline’s between Luisa and her father. This starts with Berliners waking up to find a wall has been erected dividing not only their city but also their loved ones. My heart was aching when I read this passage of families awakening and finding themselves separated. The way Katherine weaves the history of Berlin and the Cold War throughout (her research is amazing!) is truly incredible. This is pulse racing, edge of your seat writing as courage commands the heart on more than one occasion.

‘It’s letting go of what you’re supposed to be doing for whatever comes your way. It’s about creating a future of our own making, not accepting the one they shove at us.’

Alternating between Luisa in the 1980s and her father Haris in the 1960s, this book is a superb example of not just key moments from history but a true emotional rollercoaster from parental sacrifice, to grandparents care to a child determined to uncover the truth at any cost. Berlin Letters is about family and choices, secrets and lies, courage and bravery. Katherine Reay has moved into my must read author list with this compelling tale. Do yourself a favour as you make the journey with Luisa and Haris as they take on a totalitarian regime in an effort to find the truth. The Berlin Letters is a book all lovers of historical fiction should read.

“Don’t die in the waiting room of the future.”






This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

This is such a good story. My prior knowledge of this time period is very lacking, so I loved a historical fiction centered around this time to give me some bearing. I have since done some research into the Berlin Wall and looked into the many resources recommended by the author. This I will continue.

While I was intrigued by the story and the dual timeline and points of view, I didn't feel completely connected to the characters. I'm not sure if it was the mood I was in while reading, my own knowledge being the granddaughter of German immigrants or simply the characters themselves. Regardless, it was a great story and one I would recommend to historical fiction fans - especially those looking for something other than the WWII era.

Wow! This book was a thrilling ride of espionage fun. If you’re a fan of things like the show The Americans you’ll enjoy this. I love novels set during the Cold War because it’s an area of history that hasn’t been covered enough in books and I just can’t get enough. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my advance copy.

This was a page turner. Luisa lived and worked in Washington, D. C. and after her grandfather died, moved in with her grandmother, who also live in Washington. Luisa's grandparents brought her form West Berlin when she was a child, and she assumed that her parents were dead. After her grandfather died, Luisa discovered her father was still alive because she found letters he had written to her grandfather. They were written in code, and because Luisa's grandfather had taught how to decipher puzzles and code, she was able to read them. When she discovered her father was in prison in East Berlin, she decided to rescue him. A good story with an enlightening look at life behind the wall in Berlin. I recommend, and will probably purchase it for my high school library. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc and no pressure for a positive review.

The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay

This book reads like a spy novel because, well, it is! Luisa Voekler remembers very little of her childhood in East Berlin. And she knows only that her parents died in an automobile accident and her grandparents cared for her as she was growing up. Then she finds something that turns everything that she knows about her family upside down. Secrets-- or are they lies-- cover her past and now she must return to East Berlin to uncover the truth.

This novel is set in East Berlin during the tumultuous years prior to the wall being torn down. No one is what they seem and danger looms around every corner. The suspense keeps readers turning pages and wondering who Luisa can trust.
The characters are well-drawn and three-dimensional. Luisa is strong and determined but not overly confident. The supporting characters are much easier to understand as Luisa uncovers her past more completely. There are also some unique characters who play a pivotal role in the plot.

This is my favorite type of book, with lots of action, interesting characterization and a satisfying conclusion. I have enjoyed the author’s other novels, but this is my favorite. I am grateful to the publisher for a complimentary arc in exchange for this, my honest review.

This was an interesting book about a a moment in time I’ve always known about, but never known much about. This novel is thoroughly researched and has a fast-paced plot rich with intrigue, code-breaking, and spying. It was a surprisingly quick read. The characters could have been more nuanced and complex, though I did enjoy the punk rock revolutionaries. If you want to learn about an interesting period without too much Kristin Hannah-esque heartbreak, this would be a good read for you.

This was my first book by Katherine Reay and WOW! I loved everything about this book! Even though the book had twists/turns and complex relationships, it was written in a way that made it easy to follow and to empathize with the characters. This is the perfect book for anyone that loves historical fiction and wants to see what it was like for Germans post-WWII. And the cover art is one of the best I've seen! I look forward to seeing what Katherine Reay's backlog looks like!

Title: The Berlin Letters
Author: Katherine Reay
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 4.2 out of 5

From the time she was a young girl, Luisa Voekler has loved solving puzzles and cracking codes. Brilliant and logical, she’s expected to quickly climb the career ladder at the CIA. But while her coworkers have moved on to thrilling Cold War assignments—especially in the exhilarating era of the late 1980s—Luisa’s work remains stuck in the past decoding messages from World War II.

Journalist Haris Voekler grew up a proud East Berliner. But as his eyes open to the realities of postwar East Germany, he realizes that the Soviet promises of a better future are not coming to fruition. After the Berlin Wall goes up, Haris finds himself separated from his young daughter and all alone after his wife dies. There’s only one way to reach his family—by sending coded letters to his father-in-law who lives on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

When Luisa Voekler discovers a secret cache of letters written by the father she has long presumed dead, she learns the truth about her grandfather’s work, her father’s identity, and why she has never progressed in her career. With little more than a rudimentary plan and hope, she journeys to Berlin and risks everything to free her father and get him out of East Berlin alive.

As Luisa and Haris take turns telling their stories, events speed toward one of the twentieth century’s most dramatic moments—the fall of the Berlin Wall and that night’s promise of freedom, truth, and reconciliation for those who lived, for twenty-eight years, behind the bleak shadow of the Iron Curtain’s most iconic symbol.

This is a time period I’m not sure I’ve read anything in, but I enjoyed this! I can’t imagine what it would have been like, watching the Berlin Wall go up overnight and being separated from your family and life. Reay did such a fantastic job of placing the reader in that scene in history, and I really felt the characters’ emotions. This was an emotional but well-written novel set in a bleak time and place, but showing the hope that existed even in that dark time.

Katherine Reay is a bestselling author. The Berlin Letters is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harper Muse in exchange for an honest review.)

This was a fantastic, epic story! I have not read many books set during the Cold War if any. I really enjoyed learning about that time period. The characters had quite the journey and quite the ending--those last couple of chapters had me on the edge of my seat! (the Epilogue was also fantastic!). Highly recommend!

The Author's Note really makes me want to visit Berlin.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was simply fascinating to me. To my recollection, I have not read a book about the Berlin Wall, and so my interest in the history there is what first drew me to the book. But it was different then what I was anticipating, in a good way. Reay’s inclusion of the code that her grandfather used (and another important character!) was so intriguing. I wanted more of it! But what also sealed the deal for me was her decision to have the POV’s of Louisa and her father.

I admit, in the beginning I thought Haris was a bad guy. I just did. I didn’t like how he did things, I didn’t appreciate that he chose work. But through his letters, you see a different side to him. Reay was brilliant in not only chanigng my mind about him, but having empathy and compassion for him. I mean he wasn’t a villian lol, I just didn’t like him. But he changes over the course of the book. He grows, and you as the reader seem to grow along with him. I thought his POV was perfectly put together.

Reay not only included a ton of history in the pages of this book, she included a lot of family dynamic, something I enjoy reading. I cried as Louisa’s mother made a tough decision in the beginning of the book. I could imagine myself being in her very shoes, wanting to do what’s best for my daughter. I became emotional as Louisa had scenes with her grandmother (I can’t really say spoilers, so sorry I can’t dive into these emotions too much). Secrets have a way of coming out eventually is all I will say on that. And, of course, the dynamic between Louisa and her father. Simply put – it was beautifully written.

The Berlin Letters is a stunning novel about lies, secrets, family, history, and so much more. Historical fiction fans will enjoy this lesser talked about time period and historical event. I kind of already want to read it again!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I haven't read much about the Cold War era, but I was immediately intrigued by plot of The Berlin Letters. Reay immediately deposits you into the story of a family separated in so many ways - necessity (for a myriad of reasons) and through a variety of cultural barriers. The story moves along quickly so that you get to know the characters on a deep and intimate level very quickly. You feel their pain, their frustration, their fears, and their uncertainty throughout the book. There is powerful imagery of what it must have been like for Haris navigating East Berlin for many years, from the beginning until the end of the Cold War.

While some parts of the book seemed to move more slowly that the timeline they represent, with a smooth pivot, you become immersed in the speed of urgency and a feeling of racing against the clock when appropriate. The author gives away no secrets until it is time to do so, which I suspect is what many people in East Berlin found in the people and Stasi snitches that surrounded them for so long. When the story turns, Reay does so with such clear language that it is easy to imagine the feelings of fear, fatigue, and cautious triumph of the characters that you have intimacy with throughout their journeys.

The resolution of this book came far too quickly for me. I was left with lingering questions about Haris and Luisa's life post-East Berlin, which I suppose is the mark of a truly exceptional book - it always leaves you wanting more for the characters that you become attached to through a connection of shared humanity.