Espionage and Murder Follow a CIA agent for Thirty-five years

Helen Abell is a junior CIA agent in Berlin in 1979. She joined the agency thinking of adventure. Instead, she’s given the job of overseeing the safe houses. These are the places where agents and their sources can meet to exchange information.

Helen hates the fact that she’s been given a job deemed suitable for a woman, but things change one day while inspecting her houses. Helen is upstairs checking out the recording equipment when someone, unknown to her, enters. A meeting ensues and Helen never shuts off the recorder. Her much older lover, Baucom, tells her that she must get rid of the recording. She returns to the safe house late at night and witnesses another encounter between an agent and his source. This one spells present danger.

Thirty-five years later, Helen and her husband are murdered by her son. He’s slow, but has always been gentle. Anna, Helen’s daughter, returns for the funeral. She’s unable to believe her brother committed the murder without a reason. She enlists a neighbor, Henry Mattick, as a sounding board and to find out what happened. Was this crime related to Helen’s past?

If you enjoy espionage thrillers, this is a good one. Helen is a sympathetic character, particularly the way she chafes against her proscribed role in 1979. Anna, her daughter is another strong character. In spite of what she might find, she wants to know what happened to her mother.

I enjoyed the scenes of Berlin in 1979. For me it was the best description in the book. The other areas were more briefly described. The forte of this book is the characterization and dialog. Both are very well done. The story is told between two time periods, Helen’s in 1979 and Anna’s in 2014. Both are realistic. The plot is filled with twists that will keep you guessing.

I received this book from Knopf for this review.