A review by cakt1991
The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay

3.0

 I’ve read Katherine Reay in the past, although she’s not a must-read author. But the premise of The Berlin Letters intrigued me, as I’ve been enjoying some interesting books about codebreakers lately, and I was curious about the Soviet and East German angle to the story. 

Reay did a great job conveying the Cold War era and the politics of the era, especially with Germany being divided along political lines after World War II. 

I generally enjoyed Luisa’s perspective, and she was engaging to follow. I generally enjoyed following along with her as a protagonist, even if she didn’t always make the wisest decisions. 

But this was a weak book as a dual-timeline narrative. While it was interesting to learn a bit more about her father from his own perspective, this also bogged the story down quite a bit, and I wish there had been a more concise way to get the story across that didn’t slow down the otherwise gripping pace of the book. 

 While this was a somewhat underwhelming read overall, I’m not opposed to reading more from Reay in the future if the story sounds interesting. And I would still recommend it if you’re interested in historical fiction set during the Cold War.