Stasi Child cover art

Stasi Child

Oberleutnant Karin Müller, Book 1

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Stasi Child

By: David Young
Narrated by: Julia Barrie
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About this listen

East Berlin, 1975: When Oberleutnant Karin Müller is called to investigate a girl's body at the foot of the wall, she realises this is a death like no other. It seems the girl was trying to escape - but from the West.

The Stasi want her to discover the identity of the girl but assure Müller the case is otherwise closed. This is not a regime that tolerates a curious mind, and Müller doesn't realise that the trail she's following will lead her dangerously close to home....

©2015 David Young (P)2016 W F Howes Ltd Espionage Historical Mystery Police Procedural Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Fiction

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Critic reviews

"Deep and dark, this debut is utterly gripping, sucking you in straight from the get go. Fascinating backdrop, well observed characters and a corker of an ending. Superb." (Nikki Owen, author of The Spider in the Corner of the Room)
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I found it a bit confussing in parts but overall very good and good narrator.

Stasi Child

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I enjoyed this but it didn t grip me... there's something not quite right about the way Karin the main character is written... I just didn t care about her enough... didn t know her. Great performance though from narrator

Very good listen

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Stasichild is David Young's excellent debut novel. Set in East Berlin in 1975.  A teenage girl's body is found near the Berlin Wall (or the anti-fascist protection barrier).  But the question is, who is she? where did she come from? and how and where did she die?  To answer these questions,  Oberleutnant  Karin Muller and her team are drawn into the seedy side of GDR power and influence.

This is a great debut novel full of atmosphere, detail, twists and turns.  It is well researched, with much to offer both the casual reader and those with a special interest in the former East Germany.  I would highly recommend both the print and audio version as I have them both

A great debut novel full of twists and turns

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Really and truly, listening to this reader almost caused me to stop listening to a good story. Like listening to Moaning Myrtle.

Good story, killed by poor reader

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Murder thriller set in the GDR of the 70-ies. Some of it seemed very cliché and sometimes rather unbelievable. However, the eerie threat of everyone being spy and spied upon comes across well.
It was a shame the reader couldn't pronounce the frequent German terms correctly.

Crime-spy thriller with dark secrets

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What did you like best about Stasi Child? What did you like least?

Interesting setting for the story. However the final third of the story stretched credulity.

Would you recommend Stasi Child to your friends? Why or why not?

No. Just too disappointing a plot by the end.

Not bad

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Really appreciated the parallel plots. The story is not fast paced, but definitely not boring. The end twist caught me quite offhand

A brilliant crescendo!

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In the constant search for new angles on the crime thriller, David Young takes us to the Soviet bloc (not new; Arkady Renko strolled into Gorky Park decades ago), but gives it a little more twist with a female detective. The initial set up of a gruesome murder near the Berlin Wall offers some promise, the forensic side of things is logical and carries one into the story, and the labyrinthine organisational politics ring true.

But for me, it all tailed off after that. The narrator's delivery is a little grating: trying a little too hard, but the main issue is the story goes off into a rather meandering and implausible adventure with a main character who, frankly, does not hold one's interest. This is clearly being set up for a "Karin Muller" series, but in this hopelessly cliched and hackneyed genre, there just is not enough here to tempt me back.

Great start, but fell away

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What does Julia Barrie bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I have no previous experience of Julia Barrie, but I will look out for her. Her narration here is faultless.

Any additional comments?

This is an excellent book, well written, atmospheric and briskly paced. The characters are well drawn and the story highly engaging, set as it is in the dark, compelling world of Soviet East Germany. The author describes this as the first in the series of Oberleutment (Senior Police Detective) Mùller. I very much look forward to the following books. Highly recommended.

Brilliant! Didn't want to put it down!

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Many books set in this genre seem determined to prove their authenticity. This however was a gripping story set in and shaped by the GDR but not dominated by it. I would recommend to anyone.

Excellent story with a genuine feel.

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