A Darker State is a fantastic edition to an excellent series following on from “Stasi Child” and “Stasi Wolf”
Here we rejoin Karin Müller and her team of investigators in 1970’s East Germany. The body of a young man is found weighted down in a lake and it’s up to Karin and her newly formed Serious Crimes Unit to investigate. It quickly becomes apparent that other factors are in play and perhaps a bigger,more terrifying conspiracy is waiting to be discovered. With the ever watchful,almost omnipresent Stasi running interference Müller must quickly learn who she can trust to help unravel the tangled web of lies,deceit and corruption. Full of authentic detail which bring to life the stark realities of life in the DDR,the duplicitous and hypocritical nature of the regime is laid bare for all to see. Real life / historical events are woven together seamlessly within the fictional story which adds another layer of authenticity.
The book and series in general have a very strong sense of location and the author is a master at not only transporting us to the streets of the DDR but in recreating an almost tangible sense of paranoia that must have prevailed in this surveillance state which is testament to the depth of research and the passion he obviously has for the region and the era.
We are promised another two books in this series and I am looking forward to reading them as soon as possible.
5 stars. Highly recommended.
Here we rejoin Karin Müller and her team of investigators in 1970’s East Germany. The body of a young man is found weighted down in a lake and it’s up to Karin and her newly formed Serious Crimes Unit to investigate. It quickly becomes apparent that other factors are in play and perhaps a bigger,more terrifying conspiracy is waiting to be discovered. With the ever watchful,almost omnipresent Stasi running interference Müller must quickly learn who she can trust to help unravel the tangled web of lies,deceit and corruption. Full of authentic detail which bring to life the stark realities of life in the DDR,the duplicitous and hypocritical nature of the regime is laid bare for all to see. Real life / historical events are woven together seamlessly within the fictional story which adds another layer of authenticity.
The book and series in general have a very strong sense of location and the author is a master at not only transporting us to the streets of the DDR but in recreating an almost tangible sense of paranoia that must have prevailed in this surveillance state which is testament to the depth of research and the passion he obviously has for the region and the era.
We are promised another two books in this series and I am looking forward to reading them as soon as possible.
5 stars. Highly recommended.