I am always a bit wary going into a book when i know it is part of a series and i haven't read any of the previous ones, but for Readers First i plowed ahead anyway, and it was worth doing so as i thoroughly enjoyed this story.
We meet Karin Muller, an East German police officer in the 1970s, as she is being shown around a fancy apartment, wondering why she is there. Her boss has ulterior motives, he wants to create a new division and have Karin be in charge of it - the apartment is a sweetener to get her to say yes. Doing so would mean coming back early from maternity leave and having to spend a long time away from her newborn twins. But how could she say no to that apartment, which was more than she could ever afford on her old salary?!
Straight away she's into a murder investigation, with an old colleague met in a previous case (and presumably featured in previous books). A murder investigation that turns into a missing persons, a gay biker club, insider dealings with the steel industry and medical experimentation on unwitting human subjects. All the while they are hampered by the Stasi, who have their own motives for not wanting them to look too much into these cases.
The narrative switches between Karin and the missing person Karin is investigating from the few months leading up to where Karin got involved.
I felt a bit behind having not read the first two books, missing the back story of her previous cases which are mentioned several times. But she is a well written character so it just makes me want to read the first two anyway to flesh out this one more.
We meet Karin Muller, an East German police officer in the 1970s, as she is being shown around a fancy apartment, wondering why she is there. Her boss has ulterior motives, he wants to create a new division and have Karin be in charge of it - the apartment is a sweetener to get her to say yes. Doing so would mean coming back early from maternity leave and having to spend a long time away from her newborn twins. But how could she say no to that apartment, which was more than she could ever afford on her old salary?!
Straight away she's into a murder investigation, with an old colleague met in a previous case (and presumably featured in previous books). A murder investigation that turns into a missing persons, a gay biker club, insider dealings with the steel industry and medical experimentation on unwitting human subjects. All the while they are hampered by the Stasi, who have their own motives for not wanting them to look too much into these cases.
The narrative switches between Karin and the missing person Karin is investigating from the few months leading up to where Karin got involved.
I felt a bit behind having not read the first two books, missing the back story of her previous cases which are mentioned several times. But she is a well written character so it just makes me want to read the first two anyway to flesh out this one more.