Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon

Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon

Intrigue, spying, daring, difficult to understand at times but once you get involved, this is a book you just can't put down especially as you suspect the book has episodes that closely relate to true experiences.

This excellent spy novel is set in 1949 Berlin at the time when Germany and Berlin, in particular were divided into war zones. The Berlin airlift was  providing supplies to the excluded parts of Berlin that were in the German and Russian zones. It was a time just after the finish of the war and set in the devastation. disorganization  and ruins of a bombed out country.

Into this mess and confusion, comes Alex Meiers, a young Jewish writer, who fled Germany during the war but because of his youthful politics and his support of Communism, has been told he will be deported from America. He makes a deal with the CIA to win back his place in America by becoming an agent in his native Berlin. Having no choice, he agrees to do so. He appears to be welcomed by his old remaining German friends as an honored native returning writer but quickly becomes involved in a complex game  where he never is sure just who his real friends are and just what he has become involved in.

A very interesting book to read and a real page-turner!!

The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell by William Klabber

The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell by William Klabber

A historical novel based on the Story of Lucy Lobdell who lived in the early nineteen century.  This was a woman who was born before her time and wanted to be allowed to do the things that men could do but women were not allowed to do.Loved by her father she had been taught well to fire a gun and do chores as any young man would do and she enjoyed it. 
An unhappy marriage and a husband who deserted her and her child,led to her running away to try to make a life of her own . So she decided to dress and act like a man which she wished she was.
Her travels, to make a living for herself in early America had her travelling even to the Western frontier. She had a hard life but determined as she was,  she managed to find another woman to love and in some ways fulfilled her dream.
 A sad book to read as her trials were many but the book holds the reader well and despite the sadness it makes you have hope that all will end well.

I wrote this review before I went on my vacation and just now found it so here it is. Way behind with the book reviews but I'll catch up eventually!!

Carthage by Joyce Carol Oates

Carthage by Joyce Carol Oates

Carthage is the name of the town  in New York where this book takes place. It tells the story of a  well respected, loving couple and their two daughters Juliet ( the pretty one) and Cressida ( the odd and unusual one). It is a loving family but within the family are misunderstanding between the sisters and sibling rivalry. Into the family comes a young man Brett, who falls in love with Juliet , becomes engaged to her and then become a soldier who goes off to fight in the Iraq war. He comes back as a very disturbed and disabled man.The wedding is called off.

Soon after , the younger now 19. rather  odd daughter Cressida  goes missing and Brett is   thought to have had something to do with this . He is suspected of  murdering her. Under pressure he confesses. But why would he do this?

This could have been the end of the story but it is really just the start and continues with the telling of an intriguing story  with great writing and character description. By the end of the book you feel that you know this family.and  the justice and jail system . You can also understand a great deal about how a bad incident can change family dynamics and lead to many conclusions.Some wrong.

A very detailed book with good emotional understanding of people and their actions.

A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay

A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay

Carl Weaver’s son Scott dies in an accident and Carl, a private investigator, is determined to find out more about the accident and has strong suspicions that there is more to this than has been told. He is going to many of Scott friends trying to find the answers when one night during a bad rain storm he gerts a tap on his car window and picks up a young girl who knew his son.

From this encounter , Carl then gets pulled into involvement in a complicated investigation of the girl’s disappearance, a murder and a complex ongoing fight between the small town’s police force and the council and mayor..

It is quite a believable modern story and the mystery is complex. It is a story set in a small town and with  topical problems.

A good read if you like mysteries. I  was surprised by the end of the story and found it a sad ending.