Customer Reviews

Destination: Berlin

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After reading the back of this book, I was feeling a little iffy as I started it. Sometimes military stories catch my attention, and other times I get overwhelmed by the lingo and the violence and quickly lose interest. "Destination: Berlin," kept my rapt attention from the first page through to the last though. As I finished the story I realized with a smile that I actually quite enjoyed it.

Sharon Cates is a model American soldier stationed in Germany. On her way to attend a routine orientation tour in Berlin, she meets a Russian soldier named Dimitri. The two share a meal and agree to put aside their military and political differences and "be friends for the day."

Shortly thereafter, an explosion derails the train, mildly injuring Cates. After overhearing a conversation by the train bombers, Dimitri quickly realizes that Cates is carrying more than just her identification papers in her briefcase. Somewhere in that case, unbeknownst to her, are nuclear launch codes that people are willing to kill to get their hands on.

Injured and completely confused, Cates finds herself with few options other than following the enemy soldier to safety. From here we follow Cates and Dimitri as they attempt to get to a safe and neutral part of the country; all the while hoping to guard the codes and prove Cates had no knowledge of the codes being in her briefcase at all.

There's a little bit of everything mixed into this story. There's history, adventure, suspense, romance and of course so military jargon. The author does a good job though, of simplifying the military lingo, so that it never becomes a burden to understand. The story flows well, and moves along quickly. If you're looking for a good story to keep you occupied for a night or two, I'd highly recommend this one.

Honorable mention winner of the 75th annual Writer's Digest Competition S. G. Cardin presents Destination Berlin, a suspenseful novel set in Cold War Germany. When Corporal Sharon Cates finds her train to Berlin derailed in the middle of communist East Germany, she discovers a top-secret document in her briefcase, that both the KGB and Stasi are willing to kill for. A race to Berlin ensues, and Sharon receives help from the unlikeliest of sources, Russian soldier Jr. Sgt. Dimitri Nagory. Inspired by the author's own experiences taking a trip to Berlin, serving the Army's Military Police Corps, and studying history, Destination Berlin is a tautly written saga of mistrust, determination, and survival.

In Destination: Berlin, Ms. S. Cardin takes the reader, as well as her characters, on a creative yet realistic journey through Cold War Germany. With its action-packed and compelling storyline, this book is near-impossible to put down! The characters quickly become real to the reader; the tension created between them adding a great deal to the excitement and strong impact of the plot.
Ms. Cardin's knowledge and experience of the military and 1988 Germany are quite clear throughout this book. She combines plain language with military and German terms with ease; the reader can easily understand what is being said at all times.
This novel is sure to keep any reader guessing; the combination of mystery and action with a dash of romance guarantees enjoyment for any reader. Destination: Berlin easily draws the reader in and holds their attention far beyond the end, leaving the reader entranced by the characters' lives and futures.
Overall, this novel offers a delightful story and amazing plot! It is a true display of talent that will have you hooked from beginning to end. Ms. Cardin's talent for bringing readers into her story is just astounding and Destination: Berlin will prove it to even the most skeptical reader!

A quick-paced, almost Modern Historical, this novel opens with a respectable lead heroine serving in 1980's Germany for the U.S. Army. Hiding her vulnerability behind impressive bravado, Corporal Cates must escape both the German and Soviet government when the train she is on explodes, and she realizes someone has planted top security documents in her briefcase. On the run with a Soviet soldier she met aboard the train, Cates must follow her instincts to survive, even if that means trusting the "enemy".

I did not have the opportunity to read straight through this novel, so I found it difficult to keep up with the large cast, foreign names and multiple points of view. That being said, once I hit the second half of the story and the setting became more familiar to me, my admiration for Cates carried me straight through to the final pages. She is confident in what she knows and what she can do, but Cates retains a respectable air of femininity, without ever being helpless. I like the way she thinks and was rooting for her from the very opening pages.

Cardin plots a military suspense with ease. The detail of setting and history ring authentic, enough that more than once, I forgot I was reading fiction rather than a story with autobiographical elements. DESTINATION is not the usual type of story I would pick up, but I was intrigued to find out more about the politics during this time, and Cardin made it easy for me to understand. A glossary and additional details in the back of the novel made for interesting reading. I enjoyed and appreciated the additions.

I would definitely try another Cardin military suspense, especially if it explored another country. Using Corp. Cates once again as a heroine, I don't think the author could go wrong.

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (9/07)


Ms. Cardin's "Destination: Berlin" takes the reader back to 1988, when Germany was still a divided country and Berlin Wall still stood strong. In the days of the Cold War espionage was a well and alive, and numerous people engaged in it - some willingly and some much less so.

The story begins on a duty train, where U.S. Army Corporal Sharon Cates, headed to Berlin for an orientation tour, meets Russian Junior Sergeant Dimitri Nagory, an assistant to a high-ranking Soviet officer in USSR embassy in England. The two engage in conversation while in the dining car, but that is soon interrupted by an explosion. Sharon has no clue that she is carrying some top-secret documents in her briefcase and that Stasi, the Eastern German secret police, blew up the train to recover them while killing her in the process.

The explosion goes badly wrong. Sharon and Dimitri are thrown out of the dining car. Dimitri decides to help Sharon make her way to the West to return the top-secret documents and the chase begins. Sharon realizes her country probably thinks she stole the documents. This is a shocking realization for the honorable person that she has always been. She tries to figure out who planted those documents in her briefcase and why. Dimitri goes against everything that he was taught about the Americans being his enemy and risks his life on several occasions to protect the young woman that he clearly is beginning to care for more than he though possible.

But all is not what it seems on the surface. Who are the truly bad guys? And who are the honorable ones? Will Sharon make it alive to the West? Will Dimitri come with her?

The undoubtedly engaging story left me very bewildered. On one hand it is clear that Ms. Cardin's personal military background enabled her to write a book from the uniquely personal perspective of a female in the U.S. Army. Her knowledge of the day-to-day operations and army procedures adds an interesting layer to the story, as do the very directly expressed views on the role of women in the military as well as some quite frank opinions of the past political situations. I enjoyed those parts greatly.

On the other hand I found the main characters strangely two dimensional, especially Sharon. I just could not warm up to her - she sounded too good to be true and not human enough. I also winced at some of the strategic points in the story - I found it rather unbelievable that Army would treat serious injuries with nothing stronger than Midol and that a prisoner exchange in those dark and suspicious-laden days could have been arranged and executed in only three days. Being personally familiar with the situation in Berlin in the 80's, the plan Dimitri and Sharon came up with to cross over to the Western side sounded very weak - to say the least.

While I truly found Ms. Cardin's point of view refreshing, I would like to see the story professionally edited.

Received book free of charge.

Destination Berlin is a military thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Soviet soldier Dimitri and American Corporal Sharon find themselves thrown together by circumstance and each is challenged to defy their beliefs for the other in order to survive. Full of action and suspense, this book is a must read for fans of the genre.