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|title=Then We Take Berlin

|author=John Lawton

|publisher=Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press

|date=December 2013

|website=http://www.johnlawtonbooks.com/

|summary=An elegantly told tale of house breaking, safe cracking and smuggling as an MI6 man tries to make his fortune in occupied Berlin.

}}

Do we really need another Cold War-era thriller? Especially one that also covers the already saturated Second World War years? Well yes, if the thriller in question is John Lawton's new offering, 'Then We Take Berlin'. Despite sounding like a chant from a mob of England football fans rampaging through Germany in the 1980s, Then We Take Berlin tells the story of cockney John 'Joe' Holderness, better known as Wilderness to all of his female acquaintances.

In Wilderness, John Lawton has created a believable central character, one that meets the conventions of a thriller but never lapses into stereotype. The action moves along at a decent lick and the portrayal of occupied post-war Berlin is thoroughly convincing. The supporting cast add plenty to the proceedings and the book is very well written. So what was it that made Then We Take Berlin ever so slightly disappointing? In short, the ending. Let's just say that there's plenty of scope for a follow up. That conclusion aside, Then We Take Berlin has plenty to offer. In addition to a sequel, I wouldn't be surprised to see a TV version appear in the not too distant future.

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