Romeo Summer [Hardcover]

Julian Jay Savarin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

Featuring Muller and Pappenheim, heroes of A Cold Rain in Berlin A network of snipers, highly skilled professional killers, has been murdering apparently unconnected victims. The apparently happy family men who have been targeted share a secret from the past-they were all 'Romeos', the nickname given to operatives of the former DDR ordered to seduce lonely West German women working in sensitive areas of government and industry. Muller will discover that these are very special Romeos, a highly secret unit meant to remain active, even after the fall of the Wall - their long-term mission the insidious destabilization of the reunited Germany. But who is wiping them out? As hidden agendas proliferate around him, Muller must play a deadly game of hunter and hunted through an invisible network that is all around him. Muller and his compulsively networking assistant, Pappenheim - with their cynical take on authority, unconventional methods and sharp repartee - are on cracking form, and tough CIA agent Carey Bloomfield is back and once again sparring with the Hauptkommissar.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Despite reports of its imminent demise, the East-West spy thriller appears to be alive and flourishing-as shown in this slick, engaging and allusive second entry in Savarin's Muller and Pappenheim series (A Cold Rain in Berlin) about a contemporary pair of German detectives. The veteran British author's heroes are top cop Muller, with money of his own and a lavish lifestyle, and his tough and resourceful working-class assistant, Pappenheim. The team recalls Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, not to mention John Sanford's Lucas Davenport series, but Savarin manages to make both of his protagonists fresh and interesting. Their blustery superior officer, Kaltendorf ( "the Great White Shark"), who loathes Muller for his membership in the "faded aristocracy" and distrusts them both for their maverick ways, is also a spy thriller cliche, but Savarin uses him to considerable comic effect. And Savarin's plot line-the sudden killing off of a band of former East German "Romeos," secret agents with informant wives in the West as well as the East-has familiar overtones as well, harkening to Walter Wager's classic Telefon. But again, like a skilled chef working with tried and true ingredients, Savarin manages to whip up a book and a series that can best be described as wholesome comfort food for readers longing for the good old days.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In Germany, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a serial killer is at work. Family men are being killed, men who share a unique connection: years ago they were "Romeos," agents of the former DDR trained to seduce, then compromise, female government employees. Supposedly, these same men had been working more recently for the destruction of the newly destabilized Germany. Who is killing them off, and why? The task of finding this out falls to Hauptkommissar Muller and his sidekick, Pappenheim, the German cops who made their first appearance in A Cold Rain in Berlin [BKL N 15 02]. This is an extremely entertaining novel, with a plot that combines elements from both mystery and thriller conventions; a pair of protagonists who are a joy to watch; and an original setting that lends the proceedings an air of freshness. Savarin, author of a number of novels, is an accomplished storyteller; recommend his latest highly to fans of both traditional mysteries and spy thrillers. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727859579
• ISBN-13: 978-0727859570
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,384,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Julian Jay Savarin is a British author and musician. He writes in severals genres - in addition to science fiction, espionage, thriller, mystery, police procedural, and air combat. His complete Muller series (9 books) - about a Berlin policeman with English connections - will be available on Kindle soon. Currently, the fifth of that series - Hunter's Rain - is available. In future titles for Kindle the author returns to his science fiction roots with the centuries-long novel 'The Lost Eagle' and the motor racing novel 'The Last Corner'.