The Quiet Assassin: Anniversary Edition

I have been able to read this book with a little different take on it than a lot of other people. I have been lucky enough to have known Dr. Kirkwood for three years now, as a teacher. By knowing the author, it gave me great insight into the book. I can tell people reading this that this book is more than worth reading, over and over. Some of the issues in the book have come from personal experience from the amazing author and has put his knowledge into it. I was so happy to learn so much from this book. I would encourage everyone to read it. It is one of the best books I have read in my life, and I have read quite a few.

What Really Brought Down the Berlin Wall -- An Intriguing Ideaby a person who is obviously familiar with resistance literature inGermany during the Hitler years. The cover copy is right on: Here isa truly original thriller, comparable to the very best of vintage LeCarré. It is set behind the Berlin Wall in the heart of the EastGerman police state and it features one of the most unique and winningheroines since Lucy in Ken Follet's Eye of the Needle. Her name isKaete Frassek, a resistance fighter since the age of eighteen, who overthe course of twenty years leads a double life in her courageouscampaign to rouse her countrymen to revolt against their repressiveregime. She is a wife, a mother, a scientist, a lover ... and anassassin. Against a backdrop of the Cold War in the 1960s, an abidinglove develops between Kaete, while still the young wife of an EastGerman official, and an American physician innocent of who she is andwhat she is doing. In the remarkable climax to her years of plottingagainst the head of the State's secret police, she finally must risknot only her own life but her son's and lover's as well...

I first read THE QUIET ASSASSIN when I ordered it through Book-of-the-Month Club about 15 years ago. I couldn't believe how involved I got in the story. Back then the Berlin wall was still up and no one thought it would ever come down. No one but the author of this novel, Kirkwood. Now, re-reading the book, I feel almost as if it's historical fiction. The Wall really crumbled, along with the whole East Block. It must have been because of people with the courage and perseverance of the characters in this story. When I compare those characters and the rich texture of this narrative to the silly plots and card-board characters of most of the best-selling thrillers of today, it makes me aware of how shallow a type of literature I love has become. It's our good fortune that Kirkwood is back in print. This is the way the cover describes the book, but not even a description by ad people can do it justice: "Here is a truly original thriller, comparable to the very best of vintage Le Carré. It is set behind the Berlin Wall in the heart of the East German police state and it features one of the most unique and winning heroines since Lucy in Ken Follet's Eye of the Needle. Her name is Käte Frassek, a resistance fighter since the age of eighteen, who over the course of twenty years leads a double life in her courageous campaign to rouse her countrymen to revolt against their repressive regime. She is a wife, a mother, a scientist, a lover ... and an assassin. Against a backdrop of the Cold War in the 1960s, an abiding love develops between Käte, while still the young wife of an East German official, and an American physician innocent of who she is and what she is doing. In the remarkable climax to her years of plotting against the head of the State's secret police, she finally must risk not only her own life but her son's and lover's as well." I hope some in the film industry spots this magnificent tale that draws its inspiration from the German resistance movment against Hitler -- and from that something inside all of us that wants to be free -- and makes a thriller with some substance. If Kirkwood can write it, someone should be able to film it!