Winter Work is an excellent addition to Fesperman's body of work and a must-read for fans of the spy thriller genre. Winter Work is perfect for readers who are interested in recent history, as it provides a behind-the-scenes look at the intelligence community in 1990. The pace picks up significantly in the latter half of the book, as all of the agents converge and the tension reaches a fever pitch. He cares for his dying wife Bettina, who has graciously encouraged his relationship with his widowed “housekeeper,” Karola, who had a surprising earlier profession. Bauman serves as her unofficial back-up when she finally meets with Grimm, showing his tradecraft and zest for the secret life when he unexpectedly shows up when things get little sticky.

Winter Work’ by Dan Fesperman - WSJ Mysteries: ‘Winter Work’ by Dan Fesperman - WSJ

When her first rendezvous goes dangerously awry, she realizes the mission is far more delicate than she has been led to believe. With the rules of the game changing quickly, and as their two missions intersect, Emil and Claire find themselves on unlikely common ground, fighting for their lives against a powerful enemy lurking in the shadows. It’s an engaging spy story set in the months falling the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, and the subsequent dissolution of East Germany. CIA officer Claire Saylor is the heroine, and she does the right things to help Emil, with little help from a calculating boss who puts her in danger.East German Stasi officers are scrambling to trade secrets with the West to save their skins, or so it seems, with their former patron the KGB standing in their way. He's been hiding out at his dacha, working with a neighbor colleague to see how they can market what they know and leverage an escape. I'm glad I have picked up Winter Work and I look forward to exploring more of Fesperman's work in the future.

Winter Work by Dan Fesperman: 9780593466957 - Penguin Random House Winter Work by Dan Fesperman: 9780593466957 - Penguin Random

I'm not getting nearly as much reading time as I would like lately, life is getting in the way hence this took far longer to finish than usual. Set in Berlin and its surroundings in 1990, just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this quietly gripping novel based on a real CIA operation involving gaining access to intelligence contained within old Stasi files is spy fiction just the way I like it - atmospheric and suspenseful, taking its time as it slowly draws the reader deeper into its intriguing plot. Unfortunately, it doesn't cover the fact that the writing style is abysmal at best, with under-developed characters who are as interesting as watching paint dry, and a plot that unfolds sooooooooooooooo slooooooooooooooooooooow, you become numb. More reminiscent of John Le Carré than Robert Ludlum or Ian Fleming, “Winter Work” is a good, solid novel suitable for Cold War espionage enthusiasts willing to be patient. Both Claire Saylor and Emil Grimm are complex characters and believable which makes for an entertaining and convincing read.The main character in Dan Fesperman's spy thriller Winter Work is a colonel in East Germany's HVA, a unit of the infamous East German security service commonly referred to as the Stasi. And that puts him at a great disadvantage when the KGB arrives on the scene in league with the East German secret police.