Customer Reviews

The Berlin Conspiracy: A Novel

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I recently received a review copy of a Cold War espionage thriller... The Berlin Conspiracy by Tom Gabbay. For a first novel, he did an excellent job.

Take yourself back to 1963... Berlin during the Cold War. Jack Teller is a retired CIA agent who decided that life wasn't for him after what happened in Cuba and the Bay of Pigs. His disillusionment has led him to spend his days fishing in southern Florida. But all that changes when his name specifically comes up as the desired contact of an East German agent who has some important information. Nobody, not even Jack, knows why this agent wants him. But he decides to go along for the ride and see what happens. After ditching his handlers to run the contact his own way, he learns that there is a plot to assassinate President Kennedy in Berlin. The unusual twist is that the plot is being run by people in the US government, and it's up to Jack to figure out who is involved and what the motivation might be. He quickly finds out that he's become a loose end that needs to be tied up, and as a result he's being framed to take the fall for the killing. The question becomes not only can Jack stay alive, but can he keep the President from being shot...

The whole "who shot Kennedy" conspiracy obviously comes into play here, and Gabbay does a nice job in approaching that from a different angle. The plot line blends pretty seamlessly into historical fact, and it's not a stretch to imagine this particular scenario playing out. This was a recreational read that I found myself looking forward to at nights when I did some reading before falling asleep. I have no doubt that if and when Tom Gabbay writes another novel, it will be on my "to read" list.

Do you like a great espionage novel? Do you like A great spy
novel?Have you been searching amazon.com for that book you
can't put down? Who is writing the great thrillers theses days?
A new author is in town and if you've come to this site its a
new day for you. His name is Tom Gabbay. and his book is The
Berlin Conspiracy. I am an avid reader of thrillers and have been looking for a new name , that would join the ranks of Robert Ludlum, Jack Higgins,Frederick Forsyth,and Craig Thomas.
Now we have him and his book.
We have Jack Teller a new cold war hero, not a card board character,but a character who brings you into the story and his mind,and gives the reader a real since of the era and Berlin in
1963. If you begin the book it will capture you from page one,
never let go untill the last word in the book.Spy fiction is Berlin. The story quickly becomes a wall of mirrors whoses reflections are not what they seem to be . With the Stasi and the Soviet Union , the President of the United States, and a plot that is as hair raising as a great spy novel should be,
the action comes fast, and the characters are unforgettable.
The Berlin Conspiracy has set a new standard and Tom Gabbay
is the next great spy [espionage] writer of our day.

Tom Gabbay's fertile mind has created a grabber right out of the gate. I would dare anyone to read the first few pages of this masterfully crafted spy novel and then put it aside. Compared to Le Carre by others, it does indeed have some very intriguing twists and turns, but is written in a much clearer style. And Tom's imagination might have come closer to an actual occurrence than the general public will ever know. I can see this story becoming a movie or TV special sometime in the future

This spy novel has shades of LeCarre, but with more twists and turns, and plenty of action. The setting is Berlin in the early 60s and the characters are very believable and not caricatures. The plot was gripping, and I found it hard to put down. I hope this is the first of a series, featuring the main character.

"The Berlin Conspiracy" is a remarkable debut that introduces us to a likeable and genuine hero. The first-person narrative creates a compelling story that the reader gets completely wrapped up in. I couldn't put the book down! A perfect balance between history and story-telling, loaded with plot twists and character development. A truly enjoyable read.

This is a novel that grabs you on the very first page and doesn't put you down until the very last.

Gabbay's stunning debut is a high octane mix of compelling three-dimensional characters, gripping narrative and masterful story-telling, set in the cold war period. Gabbay evokes such powerful mental images with his writing that it can only be a matter of time before the Berlin Conspiracy is optioned by the studios.

A great read and a great new writer. Highly recommended.

This book is bound to be considered a classic. I have truly read a couple of thousand mystery/thrillers and have only a handful of books in this genre that I would consider either equal or better than this. Tom Gabbay has brought forth a book that is not `original' in any mainstream sense of the word (Such as `Motherless Brooklyn' by Letham). This is a story that is laid out very traditionally, sort of like Ludlum, only better. That is what is so nice about `Berlin Conspiracy.' This is the book that a lot of the authors I have enjoyed reading over the years would have given a kneecap to have written. From the first chapter to the last page, the prose (though not literary) leaps off of the page and drags you along for a very intelligent spy caper.

I first heard of this book on NPR, where the reviewer said that even though they knew in advance that Kennedy would make it out of Berlin alive (of course). The sheer suspense that builds up over the pages kept the reviewer on the edge of their seat, turning pages, needing to find out its conclusion. That's the way it is. An awesome tour de force. I can't wait for Gabbay's next novel.

Yeow! Get this book if you enjoy mystery/thrillers. Top of the heap reading material.

The Berlin Conspiracy is Tom Gabbay's debut Cold War thriller that takes place in Berlin in 1963 just prior to, during and shortly after JFK's historic visit at the Berlin Wall.

The Berlin Conspiracy's plot focuses on Jack Teller, an ex-CIA operative hoping to live a quiet life on a remote beach in south Florida. His peaceful life is interrupted when he is asked to come to Berlin by the CIA's station chief there as a result of a mysterious message received from a Colonel in the East German Stasi. A message whose content will only be disclosed to Jack Teller. If true, the intelligence provided by the Stasi official exposes a plot originating from the higest levels of the U.S. government. From this point on, the story is a search for what is true or not; and if true, who is behind it and how it can be stopped. Without stating here what the treacherous plot is, it won't be hard for readers to figure out; and, once they do, the book's surprise factor gets somewhat watered down.

For a first-time novelist, Gabbay does a good job in creating an interesting and, for the most part, exciting story. For me, however, Gabbay spent too much time -- over one-third of the book --getting his story out of first gear. Further, although Jack Teller is a likeable and interesting enough character, Gabbay does just an acceptable job in making this reader feel that Teller is a character I'd like to see featured in future books. Further, while several of Gabbay's more secondary characters are serviceable enough to keep the story moving along at a decent pace, they are not particularly well-developed and come across as largely one-dimensional.

Despite what, to me, are the book's flaws, The Berlin Conspiracy is a fun read and Gabbay is an author with a good amount of potential.

I picked up this book by chance with no preconceived notions about the book or the author Tom Gabbay. Turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. Only 291 pages, the plot develops quickly and the action is brisk. Fairly straight-forward plot without extraneous characters or confusing tangents. Enjoyable enough to finish in a sitting or two.

Turn back the calendar to 1963 where retired CIA agent Jack Teller is asked to come out of retirement to make contact with an East Germany agent. Curiously, the East German agent will only give his information to Jack Teller. The "why" is a mystery at first. But the information passed pertains to a vague plot to assassinate President Kennedy while on his scheduled trip to West Berlin. Is this plot real? Who is behind it? How will it work? And why was Jack Teller the sole conduit for this information? All of this is unveiled in this well-crafted and crisp espionage thriller. I look forward to reading more works by Tom Gabby.

The year is 1963. Jack Teller is a disillusioned former C.I.A. agent who is called back in the game by an unknown informant who has key information regarding a plot to assassinate President Kennedy during his visit to Berlin. He will only speak to Jack. When Jack re-enters the spy world, he finds that it is sometimes hard to decipher the good guys from the bad.
After a slow start, this novel evolves into an interesting tale of espionage.