IN THIS spy thriller, author Dan Fesperman tells the story based on two different eras – the present day and that of the Cold War in Berlin in the 70s. It all started in August 2014, 35 years after Berlin-based CIA worker Helen Abell went rogue to uncover a serial rapist, where she and her husband are shot in their Maryland farmhouse by their son, Willard. Initially, it is assumed that Willard, 24, who is mentally ill, committed the crime. But older sister, Anna, who feels he is incapable of such an act, decides to hire Henry Mattick, an investigator, to help uncover the truth. In the process, she is shocked to discover that her secretive mum was once a spy in Europe and may have been targeted in connection with her activities there. The book continues with alternating sections following Anna in the present and Helen in the past. In Berlin, the innocent but strong-willed Helen, who was 23 then, has the job of tending to four safe houses for the Company. During an impromptu middle...