Mystery & Crime, Fiction Subjects

Deadfall in Berlin

Name: Deadfall in Berlin
Author: R. D. Zimmerman
ISBN: 9780440212171

by R. D. Zimmerman

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About the Author, R. D. Zimmerman

Robert Alexander

While he's already made a name for himself with his series of bestselling mysteries (written as R. D. Zimmerman), Robert Alexander has also written a trilogy of Russian historical novels (The Kitchen Boy, Rasputin's Daughter, The Romanov Bride) about the last days of Empire.

Biography

A devoted Russophile, Robert Alexander has studied at Leningrad State University, worked for the U.S. government, and traveled extensively throughout Russia. While he's already made a name for himself with his series of bestselling mysteries (written as R. D. Zimmerman), he has also written a well-received trilogy of Russian historical novels (The Kitchen Boy, Rasputin's Daughter, The Romanov Bride) about the last days of Empire.

Good To Know

In our interview, Alexander shared some fun and fascinating facts about himself with us:

"Most of my friends know: I'm much too outgoing to be living in quarantine, as I do (as any writer does). Most of my friends don't know: I can ride a unicycle, I can't balance my checkbook, I broke my back going over a ski jump, and I was once enrolled in Meats 104 and Beverage 111 at a prominent School of Hotel and Restaurants, which prompted me to drop out and start my first novel."

"What I would like to know about me from someone is, why do I keep going to Russia? I've been going there for 28 years, and it's definitely not a place to unwind. But it certainly is always interesting. And that's where I met my domestic partner, Lars, and we've now been together 25 years. And it's also where I met my business partner, Meri, and we've been in business now almost 14 years -- we have a customs clearance business and Barabu, a small chain of espresso/wine bars. And I always come up with some weird story idea over there. So maybe I just answered my own question.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A horrifying truth about the life of a young boy during the fall of Berlin is revealed in this strong but not entirely satisfying novel by the author of Mindscream . In 1975, plagued by horrible dreams, pursued by a killer, Chicago actor Will Walker (born Willi Berndt) consults a hypnotherapist to help him remember who murdered his mother, Eva, a cabaret singer. ``Regressed'' to the final days of Nazi Germany, he sees beautiful Eva, running a bar and ostensibly whoring to support herself and two sons. Eva's reactions to a downed U.S. pilot who calls himself Uncle Joe and alludes unpleasantly to the past make Willi wonder if he might be Joe's son. Joe warns that an Allied raid will soon finish off the city and Willi begs his mother to flee. The reasons for her refusal are unveiled at the end of Walker's successive trances when a former Nazi, hoping to keep the past a secret, appears for the resolution. Focusing mainly on Willi's experiences, Zimmerman scants the character's later life as Walker, limiting the novel's dimensions and diminishing the effect of the final revelations. The result is a story that, albeit powerful, is more vignette than novel. (Sept.)