Many a Berlin-set spy novel comprises a tale of two cities that plays out during the heated tensions of the Cold War. Dan Fesperman’s latest spy thriller, “Winter Work,” offers a refreshing variant on this by immersing its reader in the murky corners and wooded surroundings of the German capital at a brief yet pivotal stage in the city’s history seldom depicted in fiction.

It is February 1990 and the Cold War is thawing. The Wall has recently fallen, East Germany is coming undone, and Stasi agents are either lying low or selling state secrets. One disaffected Stasi agent, Emil Grimm, finds himself with other matters to think about when he comes across the body of his neighbor and colleague, Lothar Fischer, near his dacha in a forest north of Berlin.

Two officers on the scene reveal their differences: One young detective is determined to catch a killer; the other is more concerned about fighting the new political order. Emil’s priorities are twofold: He needs to complete a high-stakes mission he and Lothar started, and he has to find a CIA agent he can trust. That agent turns out to be Claire Saylor, who is in Berlin as part of a “mop-up action” against her agency’s defeated enemies. When she first makes contact with Emil, there is discomfort — they are “two people trained to mistrust, searching for any sign that it might be safe to do otherwise.”

“Winter Work” is a gripping, tightly plotted, old-school spy novel. It’s also fiction born of historical fact: One plot strand takes its origins from a genuine CIA operation, and some of the characters, such as spy supremo Markus Wolf, are incarnations of real-life figures. Claire makes a welcome return from Fesperman’s last book, “The Cover Wife,” as does another character whose true identity is cannily kept under wraps until a decisive moment.

Despite all the dark deeds and cloakand-dagger intrigue, the book lacks both the subtlety and the complexity of a more nuanced John le Carré work. However, there is still a great deal to relish, Berlin is vividly rendered, as is a time of convulsive change.

DETAILS

“Winter Work” by Dan Fesperman; Alfred A. Knopf (352 pages, $28)