The Arms Maker of Berlin

A Novel

By: Dan Fesperman

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Nat Turnbull, a history professor who specializes in the German resistance, is only mildly surprised when his estranged mentor, Gordon Wolfe, is arrested for possession of stolen World War II archives. But what's in the archives is staggering: a spymaster's trove missing since the end of the war, one that Gordon has always claimed is full of "secrets you can't find anywhere else...Live ammunition."

Key documents are still missing, however, and Nat believes Gordon has hidden them. The FBI agrees, and when Gordon is then found dead in jail, the Bureau dispatches Nat to track down the material, which has also caught the interest of several dangerous competitors. Following a trail of cryptic clues left behind by Gordon, and assisted by an attractive German academic with questionable motives, Nat's quest takes him to Bern and Berlin. His path soon crosses that of Kurt Bauer, an aging German arms merchant still hoarding his own wartime secrets. As their tales - and Gordon's - intersect across half a century, long-buried exploits of deceit, devotion and doomed resistance begin working their way to the surface. As the stakes rise, so do the risks.

Here is Dan Fesperman's most thrilling, unexpected, and satisfying novel yet.

©2009 Dan Fesperman (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Ioved the book, hated the reader

This is a great story, well written. The reader tries to be too dramatic for my tastes. I almost gave up twice (because of the reader) but glad I stuck it out.

Interesting read

Fesperman always mixes a bit of history in with his mysteries and this is no exception. This story takes place both in the present and in those difficult times in WWII Germany and Switzerland. The WWII scenes felt more believable than the current ones, but worth the read. The action was good and the tension palitable.

Could not make it to the end

What would have made The Arms Maker of Berlin better?

I am not sure if this was a good story or not - I could not listen to Dick Hill's mannered reading anymore. If you listened to him as Wallander, then you will hear the exact same tone, intonation, and style for every character in this book.