Porter (Empire State ), the British editor of Vanity Fair , returns with a topnotch Cold War thriller set in 1989 during the weeks leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Rudi Rosenharte, a former agent of the East German Ministry for State Security (a.k.a. the Stasi), is being forced back into service. The Stasi has arrested his twin brother, Konrad, and is holding the man's family hostage. In his quest to free Konrad, Rudi must walk a fine line among at least four intelligence services--the British SIS, the CIA, the KGB, and, of course, the Stasi. The East Germans believe that one of Rudi's old lovers wants to pass secrets to him, but he knows the woman died years earlier. What he doesn't know is who is manipulating whom. Beautifully researched and rich in incident and intriguing characters, this tour de force on a par with John le Carré has as many twists as a mountain road but is never confusing. Readers will root for the protagonist as he struggles to free his brother's family. Highly recommended for all public libraries.-- Ronnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson

Set in East Germany during the bleak, waning days of 1989, this stand-alone thriller from British author Porter (A Spy's Life ) combines impeccable research with compelling characters caught up in the broad sweep of fascinating historical events. The Stasi want art scholar Dr. Rudi Rosenharte to take part in a dangerous mission involving a former lover Rudi knows is dead, but who the Stasi thinks is not only alive but also harboring vital state secrets. Rudi has little choice, since the Stasi are holding Rudi's brother, Konrad, and his family hostage. Rudi, an ex-Stasi agent himself, clandestinely enlists the aid of the British SIS, the CIA and even the KGB as he pits all of these agencies against one another in an effort to smuggle Konrad and family across the border to the safety of the West. Readers will know that in a few weeks the Wall will be torn down, but at the time, as Porter makes clear, this was not a foregone conclusion, and death and disaster, as in Tiananmen Square, was a real possibility. It's easy to see why this riveting read won the CWA's Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award. (Apr.)