Peter Ritter is a detective on the East Berlin murder squad—the youngest detective they have, really too young to have been hired but too well-connected to be fired. And in the weeks before the Berlin Wall is to be built, he is called out in the middle of the night to a macabre murder scene within the Soviet war memorial in Treptower Park. As his investigation continues, multiple layers of life in East Berlin are the crisis created by the steady stream of men and women fleeing the East through the city of Berlin; the infighting and the power-grabs among the leaders of the Communist government; the fear engendered by the secret police, known as the Stasi; and the daily hardships and dreams of East Berliners who live a mere subway ride away from the West. And through it all, Ritter simply seeks the truth—about the murderer of his victim, and about his own feelings about his place in a Communist country in turmoil. "A Death in East Berlin" is the first book in a new series by Richard Wake, the author of the popular Alex Kovacs thriller series.

Why would one man risk everything to help a mere acquaintance escape from East Germany? Peter Ritter thought the Berlin Wall would stand for three months, tops. He thought the impracticalities of dividing such a big city would cause it to crumble of its own weight. If not that he thought the Americans would never tolerate such a division. But three months turned into six, and six months turned into ten, and the wall was only growing bigger and more fortified by the day. Ritter was a detective on the East Berlin murder squad. He had obtained advanced warning about the wall being built and could have escaped along with his best friend, but he chose not to leave for any number of reasons. Most days, he had no regrets. He received a promotion at work, and his career was moving along well. His love life was active if not particularly serious. His lifestyle was among the best in the country—and if he had to do the occasional off-the-books favor for a member of the Central Committee who happened to be his ex-father-in-law, it was worth the trade-off. So why risk it all to assist a man he knew only from questioning him in prison regarding an old case? The question will haunt Ritter as his good deed turns into a life-or-death situation, not only for the man he helps but for Ritter himself. “In the Shadow of the Wall” is the second book in the Peter Ritter thriller series, written by Richard Wake, the author of the popular Alex Kovacs thriller series set during World War II. If you like the world inhabited by Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther or the characters created by Alan Furst, a place and time of unfathomable evil where the biggest questions sometimes are forced upon the most ordinary of people, I hope you’ll give “In the Shadow of the Wall” a try!