The Divided City

Inspector Gregor Reinhardt is back in Berlin now that the war is over.  He has been called out to a building where the body of a man has been found.  Investigating further, Reinhardt discovers another body a few floors up, inside an apartment.  He calls for the American MPs to attend.  They were happy to say that it was a local problem, not needing their attention.

Professor Endres, the pathologist, tells Reinhardt that both men were brutally attacked and that the second one was subsequently drowned by someone forcing water into his lungs.  Moments after learning this, Reinhardt is hailed back to the I police station, where he is introduced to two people from the British sector and an American who he knows.  The British tell the group that one of the victims was one of theirs who occupied a sensitive position and could not hold his liquor.

Reinhardt has questions about how quickly the Allies found out about the deaths.  He prefers to investigate only the German victim, leaving others to investigate the Brit’s death.

Later Reinhardt is called out to investigate another death.  Once again this is a former Luftwaffe pilot.  Is there a link between the two?  As his investigation progresses, he discovers that there is a link between the victims and others, and that is the outfit they served in during the war.

Shortly afterwards Reinhardt is surprised to find a Soviet MGB major awaiting him at his home.  Major Skokov seems to know as much as Reinhardt does, and then he inquires about his Western Allies connections.  Fortunately, and unbeknownst to Skokov, Reinhardt’s friend, Brauer is also staying in the same house and hears everything.  He promises to watch Reinhardt’s back.

Reinhardt is further shocked when his son turns up on his doorstep.  He had thought that Friedrich had been lost at Stalingrad. However, he had been made a POW.  Reinhardt wonders if Friedrich had been turned by the Soviets.

When Reinhardt discovers the link connecting the victims, he finds an industrialist behind the group of veterans.  Will there be more deaths to come?  There are many more questions to answer, too.

Author Luke McCallin provides those answers for Reinhardt near the end of this thriller.  He shows how the war left Berlin divided amongst the Allies, and at the same time pitted them one against the other.  A thoroughly enjoyable read, which brings to a conclusion this trilogy.