A Match Made in Heaven, The Matchmaker: A Spy in Berlin
The Matchmaker: A Spy in Berlin, A Review
The Matchmaker: A Spy in Berlin is a fun read for a crime and mystery novel. From fun characters, to an interesting plot, it has everything and more you could ask for.
Should You Read:
The Matchmaker: A Spy in Berlin is a fun crime novel. Compared to others I’ve read, this one managed to keep me always interested. I constantly kept turning pages to find out what happens next. I appreciate the way the mystery is solved, and I enjoyed reading a crime story grounded in reality. If you’re also into history, this story takes place during an interesting time period, which is an added bonus.
What is The Matchmaker: A Spy in Berlin About?
The Matchmaker: A Spy in Berlin follows the story of Anne Simpson. After a heated argument with her husband, Anne grows concerned as he never returns. Soon, Anne is approached by the CIA who believe Stefan, Anne’s husband, was working under the Matchmaker, who has ties to the KGB. Following this revelation, Anne begins questioning her ways of life, as she tried to find out the truth behind her husband. As she digs deeper, Anne realizes that she is part of something even bigger than she is, and she vows to take revenge on the person who started her suffering.
Who is in The Matchmaker: A Spy in Berlin?
The Matchmaker: A Spy in Berlin features a core cast of characters. Our protagonist is Anne Simpson, an American living in West Berlin working as an interpreter for the Joint Allied Refugee Operations Center. There, she is married to Stefan Kohler, a piano tuner. After Stefan goes missing, Anne meets both CIA and West German officers to solve the mystery of Stefan’s disappearance and potential murder.
Review:
The Matchmaker: A Spy in Berlin was a very fun read. We’ve done a lot of mystery and crime stuff here at Prairie Grown Reviews lately, but this was a refreshing tale. Reading a crime novel does give you more to look for compared to a movie after all. Now, before I get into the crime and mystery aspect of the novel, I do want to mention that I loved the characters featured. Anne as a protagonist was fun to follow. There have been a lot of times where different kinds of media try to hard to make a fun and relatable female character. Some of them just try to shove the “strong female lead” too much, which makes them unlikeable. Anne however, was fun to follow. She was a strong character, not because it was shoved down your throat, instead, her actions spoke louder than her words. Besides Anne, other characters were great as well. For the sake of spoilers, I won’t say much, but each character felt unique and realistic, which is a refreshing change of pace.
Besides characters, and before the crime portion, I also enjoyed the setting for this novel. Having it set during the Cold War period and when Germany was split into East and West was a nice change of pace. The history involved with the setting also was interesting and it brought an extra layer to the story. I’ve always loved history and loved studying the wars, so this addition to the setting was a nice bonus.
Now onto the best part of the novel: the mystery. For the sake of spoilers, I won’t get into much, but I really like how the story turned out. Each twist that happened was surprising, and when the story wasn’t throwing in a twist, it was captivating to read. I also like how well written that area of the book was. Each reveal was a twist for sure, but it wasn’t completely out of nowhere. There was enough foreshadowing, which made it a great read.
Honestly, if you enjoy crime and mystery novels, then give this one a shot. It’s a fun read with some great characters.
