I hadn't read any of the other books in this series but I think I will go back and do so. You can enjoy the book as a stand-alone but I think it would be beneficial to have read the full series before picking this one up!
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Muller has resigned from the force but is dragged back into the regime to help solve a murder on an island currently locked in due to horrible winter conditions.
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Muller has a shared history with a girl called Imra and slowly but surely their threads come together once more in this story. Both of these women are strong-willed but Imra wants to escape to the West but what will she do to make that happen?
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Now, I studied USSR, east European history at university and the historical detail is spot on! I even remember reading about the people who crossed the ice during the 62’ winter. The atmosphere the author weaves during the ice chase is very emotive. I also couldn't help but hope that they made it to shore - well one certain character anyhow.
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I would definitely carry on reading this series and look forward to the next book!

Stasi Winter is the 5th outing for Major Karin Muller of the East German People's Police.,who at the start of this book is bribed/coerced into taking the job she thought she'd resigned from.
This book takes Karin back to the scene of the second book in the series, Stasi Wolf, and involves some of the same characters. As ever in this series all is not as it seems and the shadow of the Stasi with their own agenda lurks in the background.
The action takes place in the worst winter in German history and the weather p[lays a key part in the story.
As always in this book David Young addresses an issue that was relevant in the East Germany of the late 70's, this time it's that of those who risked their lives to escape to the West. It's a good story but it does get a bit silly in places and stretches belief in others. I read Stasi winter after reading the previous 2 books in the series first, then reading this from start to finish in just over 5 hours.
Karin Muller is no Bernie Gunther but the series is entertaining and I'd say has plenty of mileage in it yet and I'd love to see it go as far as "after the Wall coming down" to see how the regular characters fare.
You can read this as a standalone but I'd very much recommend reading the whole series in order to get the full benefit of the various, often quite convoluted, relationships, between Muller and her,sometimes not so faithful,sidekicks.

Stasi Winter is the latest book in the excellent Karin Muller series by David Young and once again he has written a superb crime novel based in the former East Germany.

The story is set in late 1978/ early 1979 and sees Muller returning to work after nearly a year away due to the fallout from her previous case. Needless to say not everything is above board

The author's knowledge of East Germany shines through in what is an outstanding addition to the series and Stasi a Winter is 109% recommended

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bonnier Zaffre for an advance copy of Stasi Winter, the fifth novel to feature DDR police major Karin Müller, set in 1979.

Having resigned from the police force Karin is coerced back into service to investigate the death of an unidentified woman on the island of Rügen on the North Sea, a place she has investigated before. It soon becomes apparent that the woman’s death is not the accident the State is claiming and, moreover, Karin recognises the victim.

I thoroughly enjoyed Stasi Winter which starts as a murder enquiry but soon develops into more of an adventure yarn on the frozen North Sea. The novel opens with Karin threatening to shoot a figure from her past, Irma Behrendt, and then backtracks to how they got to that situation. Told in the third person from Karin’s point of view and Irma’s first person account the novel paints a fascinating picture of the DDR at the height of its powers. The constant surveillance, the penalties for wrongdoing (although the definition of wrongdoing is very transactional) and the general sense of relentless fear pervade the novel, making it anything but cosy. And yet, it is not a depressing novel but rather full of hope and personal touches that defy the oppression.

Some parts of the novel, mostly the adventure elements, do require a certain amount of hard swallowing to accept but they are exciting and extremely atmospheric- the sense of fear on the ice is almost palpable, as is the power of nature. I liked the way the two women’s backstories gradually merge until the showdown brings them together. I really like that they are strong characters who aren’t perfect, have the ability to question their respective situations and take decisions based on emotion as much as fact. Of course, the State has its role to play in how they act and decide and it is a character on its own with its morally questionable decisions and decision makers. The last few pages really sum up the horror of life in the DDR and finish the novel in excellent style.

Stasi Winter is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Brilliantly evocative of the Cold War era.

This is the 5th book in the series of Karin Muller novels. In this latest instalment Karin Muller,a Major in the People's Police of East Germany, is in something of a dilemma. What is evidently a murder has been classified by the Stasi as an 'accidental death'. Of course, there is no such thing as murder in the socialist utopia of East Germany, this being a remnant of Western decadence wrought by the inequalities of Capitalism. Whilst this might make the idea of a criminal police force a misnomer in East Germany, Karin Muller attempts to navigate the constraints of the totalitarian state to shed light on the insidious events that led to the death of a young girl, codename 'Wildcat'.
This is a satisfying read from the immensely talented David Young. Deeply and often hauntingly evocative of the Cold War era, this novel holds its own with the works of Phillip Kerr and Tom Rob Smith. With wonderfully realised main protagonists and an engaging prose-style this author never disappoints. Always fast-paced and never boring, Young, with some style, uncovers the contradictions of socialist ideology and its role in the death of 'Wildcat'.

A thrill a minute journey through Cold War Era East Germany. A recommended read.

I have read the other books in the series and this was an easier story to get into. But the ending was a bit far fetched. Calling an ice breaker to cut off escapers? Perhaps it did happen in the cold war. Good read though