Lee Durrell

An absolutely enthralling story of betrayal and revenge set in the mid 1990s with a newly reunited Germany attempting to consolidate influence with the USA on intelligence matters. Into the mix, the British Secret Service is trying not to lose their place with the Americans and there is still a residual feeling in some Germans that the Nazi past of some cannot be overlooked. And, of course, there are the Russians to consider, who are supposedly the enemies of the West. From this, Seymour has conjured up a gripping, fast paced and atmospheric tale of the times, exploring the moral dilemmas of those involved, which leads to an exciting and unpredictable climax.… (more)

Interesting. It's a little choppy - twelve segments, each about visiting a different area (eleven nature reserves and Moscow's pet market and zoo). Almost every segment begins with complaints about the trip to get there, comments about where they'd be sleeping, and a description of a fabulous meal they were given, before going on to discuss the various animals they'd come to see. He really likes his similes, too - every paragraph had two or three, and some had dozens in five or ten sentences. But, as always, Durrell's descriptions of settings and animals draw you in. The photographs are gorgeous, too. Fascinating animals, and interesting information about the work that's been done and is being done to bring back endangered and extinct in the wild populations. I really enjoyed reading this. I don't think I'll love it like some of his "bring 'em back alive" books, which are regular rereads, but it was worth reading.… (more)

The plot at first impression was a fairly simple one. A young East German male is caught and killed by a Stasi unit led by Haupman Dieter Krause while on a spying mission for the British. A decade later, the Berlin Wall has collapsed and the German nation is in the throes of unification with many on the old Eastern side trying to readjust to their new circumstances. Dieter Krause thought he had buried his past and is now being touted around Western Governments by the German spy agency as having inside knowledge of Russian Defence Minister's right hand man Colonel Pyotr Rykov. On a visit to Britain Krause is attacked by the girlfriend of the young dead spy, who witnessed the murder, and so starts a search in old East Germany for evidence against Krause so he can be brought to book for murder. Albert Perkins, an agent for the British Government is also in Germany running his own parallel investigation into the relationship between Krause and Rykov. This is all fairly straight forward stuff but when secret videotape of Krauses's wife and Rykov having sex comes to light another plot is hatched led by another Cold War veteran Olive Harris which if successful makes the others null and void. Unfortunately, IMHO this third plot rather detracts from the overall story for me and only seems to have been added to suggested that the 'fairer' sex can be as ruthless as men.

There was some intersting insights into the old East Germany but generally I found it fairly predictable although there was a rather nice twist at the very end which I certainly did not see coming. I enjoyed the author's writing style, the lack of gadgets was certainly refreshing, but perhaps not quite as much as I remembered and perhaps that is the message of the book,you should revisit your past with caution. I enjoyed the book and it was an pleasant diversion but it is also probably not one that will live long in the memory.… (more)