A Review of “The Berlin Package,” by Peter Riva

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Peter Riva’s Latest Suspense Thriller is Out

If you want a book to grab you from the first page, I suggest you read this one. On a flight over Iceland in a twin engine plane, one engine fails. Then the next. What a great beginning to The Berlin Package. Author Peter Riva has another hit!

A sequel to Murder on Safari (review link below), Pero Baltazar and Mbuno are back. This time the well known film producer heads to Berlin.

The Story

In Germany to produce a film, he hasn’t even left the airport when he is given a package. No instructions, no direction. His contact within the State Department knows about the package, but too many details are missing.

The package is tied to Nazi gold from a horrible concentration camp source, one that involves the U S Treasury, the CIA and the Stasi. That begins a race to keep ahead of those who want it, and a constantly changing plan to get it to the right people. Because strangely, it may not be the gold itself they are after. There is something far more deadly in play, something that could affect millions.

Characters return from Murder on Safari, including the wise Mbuno. Some would think he would not relate out of the bush in a big city. But as one who know animals of all kind, so he can read a man’s actions. Will it be enough to find the answers they need so quickly?

It’s good to see Pero at work again, with not only his talent for producing film, but also for his other skills. He is a man who quickly assesses a situation and comes up with a plan—often a movie worthy plan—to achieve his goals. Once again he will need all that skill. Threats to his friends, his associates, and even his family make it a dangerous game with a very short deadline.

I’m growing more and more fond of Mr. Riva and his books with each one I read. The characters are unique and very likable, the settings interesting and entertaining, and the writing tight and fast paced. Very enjoyable. I’m already looking forward to the next one.

The Author

Mr. Riva writes both mystery/suspense and science fiction. I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing his prior books, along with interviewing the author. You can find our previous reviews and articles below.

An Interview with Peter Riva 

Murder on Safari, by Peter Riva

The Real Mbuno from Murder on Safari 

An Author’s View of The Future 

Book Review: The Path, by Peter Riva 

The Path, by Peter Riva 

The Tour

Book Description for The Berlin Package (Book 2):

Film producer Pero Baltazar thought he was taking a Berlin filming assignment. He needed the work, needed to get back in the saddle after fighting off a life-threatening experience in East Africa—alShabaab had attacked his crew, intent on a much larger terrorist attack. Suddenly he finds himself under orders from his part-time employers at the State Department and the CIA when he is handed a mysterious package. It’s an assignment he doesn’t want. The problem is, it’s a job contracted by mysterious patrons who are prepared to kill him if he doesn’t deliver.

Pero—now in far too deep—turns to friends, old and new, to help him unravel the mystery of the package, uncover connections to Nazi concentration camp gold recently sold by the US Treasury, and thwart the ex–Stasi chief, now head of a powerful banking group.

In this fast-paced sequel to Murder on Safari, Pero calls on Mbuno, his friend and East African safari guide, to anticipate the moves of his enemies as if they were animals—dangerous vermin—who have kidnapped both the film star and director. Mbuno’s tracking skills may keep them from getting killed—provided Pero can rope in more help and keep the CIA at bay.

Exhilarating and expertly crafted, The Berlin Package (Yucca Publishing; April 2016) is a gripping, page-turning thriller set in post–German reunification Europe.

Praise for Berlin Package

“An explosive radioactive thriller written with intelligence. . . . The reluctant spy motif works grandly. . . . An extremely thoughtful and terrifying exposure of the dangers inherent in a nuclear world.”

—Ron Lealos, author of Pashtun and Don’t Mean Nuthin’

Buy the book: Amazon   Barnes & Noble   Book Depository   Chapters / Indigo

For those of you who are also reviewing the first book:

Book Description of Murder on Safari (Book 1):

Only a reality TV producer and an expert safari guide can stop a terrorist attack.

Every adventure starts at the fringes of civilization. For expert safari guide Mbuno and wildlife television producer Pero Baltazar, filming in the wild of East Africa should have been a return to the adventure they always loved. This time they’d be filming soaring vultures in northern Kenya and giant sea crocodiles in Tanzania with Mary, the daughter of the world’s top television evangelist, the very reverend Jimmy Threte.

But when a terrorist cell places them in the crosshairs, there is suddenly no escape and they must put their filming aside and combine all their talents to thwart an all-out al-Shabaab terrorist attack on Jimmy Threte’s Christian gathering of hundreds of thousands in Nairobi, Kenya.

Buy the book: Amazon    Barnes & Noble    Chapters/Indigo

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Author’s Bio:

Peter Riva has spent many months over 30 years travelling throughout Africa and Europe. Much of this time was spent with the legendary guides for East African hunters and adventurers. He created a TV series in 1995 called Wild Things for Paramount. Passing on the fables, true tales, and insider knowledge of these last reserves of true wildlife is his passion. Nonetheless, his job for over forty years has been working as a literary agent. In his spare time, Riva writes science fiction and African adventure books. He lives in Gila, New Mexico.

Connect with the author:   Website   Twitter   Facebook

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Merry Citarella, often writing as Merrci, writes on a wide range of topics. Recently relocated to the Oregon Coast in the northwest United States, she frequently writes travel features on the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She specializes in health and aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, food, lifestyle, and book reviews. For more information you can see her on The Writers’Door. You can read more articles here or at her websites Alzheimers HQ and Simple Living Ideas

Author: Merry Citarella

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