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The Scientist of Berlin

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The Scientist of Berlin

By: Daniel Pembrey
Narrated by: George Blagden, Stephan Grothgar
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About this listen

From LA to Berlin, from present day to the 1940s, journey from glamorous Santa Monica to the deepest darkest corners of Nazi Germany.

David Collins, a British private investigator living in LA, is hired by Geoff Hoffman, a billionaire tech magnate running for the US Senate in California. As his campaign is threatened by rumours of a past scandal, Hoffman tasks David with discovering the truth. And soon David uncovers troubling facts - ones that lead back as far as Hoffman’s Jewish grandfather during World War II.

An alternating narrative contrasts the dark, depraved world of Nazi Germany with the corporate, sun-scorched landscapes of Los Angeles in 2019.

As these two stories come together, we become engulfed in a gripping combination of contemporary thriller and historical novel.

Daniel masterfully weaves themes of identity, belonging, and heritage into a historical thriller peppered with revelations.

©2018 Daniel Pembrey (P)2019 Audible, Ltd. Political Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Exciting Scary

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I found the early chapters confusing and couldn't at first get into the story so I went back to the beginning and listened to the first four chapters again and then got the hang of what the book was about. I had to concentrate to keep track of when the narrative was set in the present and when it went back to the years of the second world war: having narrators with different accents helped. In the end it turned out to be a intriguing story and I enjoyed the unexpected ending.

After a slow start became more interesting

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The intertwined past/present stories were Interesting and the topic of gene manipulation quite timely in both. The narrator for present was also good, managing American accents without seeming as though his tongue was uncooperative as is often the case with Brits. Did not like the WWII period narrator-- read too many characters as sniveling. What did not hang for me was the conclusion. It seemed to have nothing to do with what had been developed in the WWII story. But maybe I simply missed key clues...

Did not quite hang together

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I persevered with this rather than enjoying it as I don't like to leave a book unfinished. it was just ok, I never felt a build up of tension, just quite dull. it never really started, and then was over.

just about ok

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I thought this would be a time travel detective story but was not disappointed when it became a dual timeline narrative. Nicely told and quite thought provoking. I would have liked more of the war period stuff but I'm not going to quibble. Nicely read too. 5 star

A very nice surprise.

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A good easy listen story. Left me guessing to the end.
No real action events, a good old fashioned thriller/ drama.

An easy Listen

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