Loved reading this book as it was interesting to get a glimpse in life behind the wall in germs when it was up. It was mainly set in Canada but it gave a brief insight to Germany at that time.
The characters were strong, love the slightly flawed Father Brennan, and his interaction with the other characters. I didn't realise at first that this was part of a series of books, it is a good stand alone book, but I will have to read the previous ones, they are so good!
Thank you netgalley.

A relatively easy book to read, but I found myself continually being confused as to when the book was taking place. There was nothing I can recall that indicated the exact timeframe, but by multiple references in the story we are able to determine that the book was taking place sometime in the late 1980s to early 1990s. I know this is not really a problem, but it does help me with that chronological point of reference. Found that I enjoyed the character of Father Brennan Burke and the portrayal of him being a flawed human being even with being a member of the clergy. He was an approachable character and one I felt the reader could identify with. Overall enjoyed the book but felt that the ending and the wrapping up of the mystery was too quick and neat, it felt rushed. Would recommend this book and would read more by this author.

Honest Review given in exchange for early copy of this story. Father Brennan Burke is returning home to Halifax, Nova Scotia after finding himself interred in a prison in Belfast, Ireland. After a judge overturned his conviction, Father Burke returns to his duties. When a parishioner of his well known in town shows up dead in the harbor, Burke is overcome with guilt because this woman showed up at his home on the night she died seeking Father Burke’s help. Having forgotten about the appointment, Burke feels compelled to dig into the life of Meika Keller, in hopes he can understand what happened to her. What he learns is that Meika Keller was a woman with a tarnished past, who had more than her fair share of dirty secrets. Set in varied environments ranging from Halifax to Berlin, Burke goes to every length imaginable to understand who Meika Keller really was and what could possibly have happened to her. This story is somewhat of a slow burn, who’s strengths lie in the vivid descriptives of the scenic places described. The plot is a little slow to unravel, but there is enough complexity to the story and the characters that this can be excused. A worthy read for fans of this genre and fans of Anne Emery’s prior works. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. Review posted to Goodreads, and LibraryThing.

Despite really liking the priest at the center of this crime novel, Fr Brennan .. the novel is so meandering, hoping to break stereotypes while in fact asserting the drunken Irishman figure that I was pt off. The mystery is in the past of a gifted teacher .. who is unable to manage rancor from the past. I'm afraid this had little bite for me

I had never read this author before. Thank you so much for intriducing me to Anne Emery. This story was very compelling. I wanted to know more about each of the characters. War can cause so many hardships during and many years after. This story takes place in Halifax Nova Scotia and in Berlin, during and after the war.
A woman has died in Halifax, under some very strange circumstances, and Father Brennan Burke, feels responsible. He was to have met with her at 10:00 pm. at the church. Instead, he was out drinking with his brother. And the mystery unfolds I hope, dear reader, you enjoy the history and mystery, as much as I did.
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review this book.

Brennan Burke, a priest from Halifax Nova Scotia, was too drunk one night to meet with a parishioner, Meika, who had reached out to him for help. When she washed up on the shore the next morning, he felt responsible and determined to find out if in fact she had committed suicide or been murdered. His quest brought him to East Germany from which Meika had escaped before the Wall came down. It turned out that Meika had several secrets, both in Germany and back home in Nova Scotia, and people in her life were less than forthcoming about revealing them. This is the latest in a series of mysteries involving Burke and his lawyer friend Collins, and this one stands alone. However, the pacing and character development make me look forward to reading the earlier ones for the back story.

My thanks to NetGalley and Publisher ECW Press for the ARC.

After spending 6 years in jail in Belfast - following an ill-advised adventure there, Father Brennan Burke returned to Halifax Nova Scotia a week ago. Drinking heavily and worried about the future of his school of music, he forgets about a 10pm appointment with Meika Keller, a parishioner who said she needed to speak to him urgently.
The next morning he's told that her body had been washed ashore that morning. Wracked with guilt he determines to find out why she was so desperate to speak to him - was he to blame?

Meika had escaped Berlin in the 1970s with a daughter who didn't survive her escape to Canada. Married to the Fleet Commander she was a university professor and well-respected socially for her charitable works. The police investigation leads to the arrest of Lt Col Alban MacNair with whom, it was thought, she was having an affair. Monty Collins, his defence lawyer is determined to get her death ruled as suicide.

In company with his brother Terry, Brennan travels to Berlin to try to get to the truth. We are taken into the murky world of the Stasi as well as the architectural beauty of Germany and gradually different 'truths' emerge.

I really had to plod through this book. I got bored with the amount of music references and lengthy passages on history and amalgamation of the Services in Nova Scotia which made it all too lengthy.

Father. Brennan. Burke drinks too much.. Is it to forget his time in a brutal Belfast prison? Is it to excuse inadequacy in his vocation? Or is it to assuage his guilt over ignoring a plea for counsel from a woman who ends up drowned? When he seeks the answer to whether her death was suicide or murder, he becomes embroiled in her past life in East Berlin. Basing his investigation on a postcard she had received, he delves deeply into a life that was not as it had appeared and discovers a respected woman has fabricated a past and abandoned loved ones to a cruel fate. The resolution is satisfactory, but getting there is tedious at times, at least for this reader. The plot lags in attempting to break a code and too many characters weigh in. The movement picks up but a little too late for my taste. Anne Emery uses the idea of confession as being good for the soul and in this work as a means of revelation.

Father Brennan Burke has returned to his parish, after a spell in prison in Ireland having been wrongly arrested but later released. He returns home to his Canadian parish, drowning his sorrows. After a drunken night he hears of the murder of one of his parishioners, one he should have met at 10pm the night before, but had forgotten all about.

Meika Keller came to Canada after fleeing East Berlin. An army officer is charged with her murder and his lawyers defence for him is that she committed suicide. Brennan can’t bear the thought that she might have killed herself especially as he let her down badly. He is determined to try to find more answers, which eventually leads him to cities in the old East Germany where the information found turns things on its head.

This is a very well written book, taking place in Canada and Germany. It is beautifully descriptive, the characters well written and likeable, showing Brennan’s priestly and fatherly sides. I thoroughly enjoyed this murder - mystery, and will definitely look for this authors work again

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Many thanks to NetGalley and ECW Press for the Postmark Berlin ARC. I have been a longtime fan of the Collins-Burke mysteries. Monty Collins is a defence lawyer, a devoted family man, and plays in a Blues Band. Father Brennan Burke is a compassionate priest along with his teaching and other duties. He loves church music and classical music by great composers. Unfortunately, he loves liquor too much. This is book number 11 in the Collins-Burke series. Most of the mysteries are set in and around Halifax, Nova Scotia, where both men live. These great friends have worked together in the past solving crimes. Unfortunately, they are now estranged due to events that occurred in Belfast, Ireland in the previous book.

Anne Emery has created two compelling characters and it is evident that much historical research has gone into this book. I found the plot very complicated, but it all made sense at the end. The story begins with a parishioner, Meika Keller, coming to see Father Burke, at a scheduled time. Unfortunately, Burke is out drinking with his brother and has forgotten all about the appointment. She leaves in a seemingly distressed state. This highly respected university teacher and patron of the arts is next found drowned.

The story mostly takes place in Nova Scotia but has its roots in Berlin in 1974. Her story was that during the Cold War, she made her escape with her young daughter from Soviet-controlled East Berlin into West Berlin. She told about being shot at during her escape, and that her daughter later took sick and died. She moved to Canada and has been living a successful, comfortable life with her Canadian military husband and stepchildren.

Father Burke is overwhelmed by guilt when he learns of her death. He does not know what was disturbing her and feels it was his duty to be there for her. If he hadn't been getting drunk and might have prevented her suicide. Or was she murdered? Witnesses saw a heated argument between a prominent army colonel and Meika shortly before her body was found. Monty prepares to defend the military colonel of murder and is convinced it was suicide and that his client is innocent.
Father Burke feels the motive for her suicide or murder may be discovered in Berlin. He and his brother travel to Berlin. They discover tales of spies, treason, duplicity, fears about informers and brutal imprisonments during the Soviet Control over the Eastern Section of Berlin. Lies and Military secrets that extend all the way back to Canada are uncovered.

This is a gripping historical mystery, both complex and informative about treachery during the Cold War and how innocent civilians suffered.

This series, as I surmised, features an Irish priest who lives up to several stereotypes, dark haired, handsome and an alcoholic. The setting is Halifax so that is unusual.. there are not many mysteries set there. That does add to its appeal. The plot was developed well and the musical and operatic references were interesting. Father Burke is certainly a Renaissance man. He is more of a thinker than a detective so the details were revealed in a different manner. I enjoyed the book and would probably read a sequel.

Being quite familiar with Halifax the landmarks and locations made the book more visually appealing to me. I could picture St. Mary’s and Dalhousie universities, Point Pleasant Park, Bedford,and some of the local drinking establishments. The historical details in this book whether a reference to Halifax, the opera, Berlin, the navy etc. was sometimes painstakingly described which was sometimes tedious for me. My lack of knowledge of the opera, music , architecture and East /West Berlin and Germany was apparent while reading . I did enjoy the descriptions of Berlin and may have to visit . The mystery component was enjoyable and for the most part the characters were likeable . Brennan seems like a progressive priest , although his fondness for the drink gets a little carried away at times. A decent read with lots going on . The reader will be entertained and educated on various topics after reading.