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  • The Berlin Spies

  • By: Alex Gerlis
  • Narrated by: Rupert Bush
  • Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (113 ratings)

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The Berlin Spies

By: Alex Gerlis
Narrated by: Rupert Bush
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Summary

The thrilling new novel with an astonishing twist from Alex Gerlis, the acclaimed author of The Best of Our Spies, The Swiss Spy and Vienna Spies.

In the dying days of the Second World War, a group of Nazis frantically plot the next steps for their country. SS recruits gather east of Berlin to be trained for an audacious yet ill-fated mission to bring about a Fourth Reich. Three decades later, a young British diplomat in East Berlin is compromised after falling into a honey-trap. He contacts Major Edgar, a veteran British spymaster, now retired. Edgar is drawn into an unlikely alliance with an old adversary, Viktor, the veteran Russian spymaster.

Can they ever trust one another?

The pair are drawn into a world of Nazi war criminals and British sympathisers, double agents and the rise of the Baader Meinhoff - urban terrorists threatening the West German state as Cold War tensions rise.

©2018 Alex Gerlis (P)2019 W. F. Howes Ltd
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What listeners say about The Berlin Spies

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Yet another brilliant listen from Alex Gerlis.

This is the fifth book I have listened to by Alex Gerlis and as with the other four it is a great story. You have to keep your wits about you to keep up with the way the tale meanders, but it's well worth it.
One tip, although this is a stand alone book its well worth reading the previous four in order to follow the full story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another Good Story

Another good story of espionage, MI6, CIA KGB, NKVD and Nazi's. Great consistency of characters many years on from the previous three books set in WW2.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Worthy of Le Carre

Alex Gerlis does it again with a Really excellent story and narration by, Rupert Bush. Probably not for you if you like a straightforward plot. There are Many characters involved and some have names, aliases and code names plus working for numerous agencies, in WWII and both sides of the “Iron Curtain”. But it all comes together nicely and makes perfect sense. A definite 5star listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Classic Cold War Spy Thriller

Really enjoyed this book. Had a great mix of Nazi, Soviet and British Intelligence all weaved together. Really nicely done indeed.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Effective cold war thriller. You keep listening.

This moves along with pace and twists. Characters a little two dimensional but the plot glosses over this well. The women were very stereotyped in a rather crude way, and not really very important in the plot. Having said that I enjoyed the tale, although the narrator took some adjusting to with persistent emphasis on the last syllable in each word when narrating dialogue. I nearly gave up at the start, but the plot hooked me in and I was happy to have spent time with it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story spoiled by poor narrator

Well, it’s better than the last one but Bush has no sense of pace or drama. A lot of the time the narration is robotic with inappropriate pauses (is anyone editing this stuff?). Dacha is not pronounced DAKKA! Why do I stick with it? Well, I like Gerlis and am invested in the stories and the spy ‘eco-system he has created. Whilst Edgar is no Smiley (and the clumsy references to A Perfect Spy jar at times), the period is evoked well and the twists are enjoyable.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant spy book

This is a well crafted spy book on a level with Le Carre, Alex Gerlis I believe has worked extremely hard with this book, be prepared to work hard when listening to it and rewind when necessary you need to understand every nuance of this complex and intriguing spy story spread over a 30 year period. I loved it and hope there is a sequel to complete a task which you the reader will only understand once you have listened to this book, enjoy.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Bizarre structure. Start was quite slow and the end lacks that killer punch that a great story deserves. Also you can’t help thinking that the end was somewhat lame. But in between the start and the end, you have a brilliant thriller. The story was well constructed, with some memorable characters along with some mean characters. The story was thrilling as well as chilling in parts. Highly recommended.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Probably the best spy book I've read in decades...

...I absolutely adored this book, a wonderful story with believable and likeable characters, a fascinating listen with the movement between the dying Nazis and the cold war in the 70s - listen to it, it's brilliant - generally I shy away from the classic books in this genre because they tend to drag, but this is anything but, superb!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Disappointed in the narration

I hate criticising narrators but I’m afraid the usually solid Rupert Bush wasn’t great here. I can understand not pronouncing German names and places as I’ve heard them usually done but there are several English words he mispronounced here and it was really distracting. Otherwise it was an excellent, if complex book. Not one to listen with only one ear!

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