In this electrifying prequel to Dead Hand and the fifth installment in The Snake Eater Chronicles, James Stejskal plunges readers into the shadowy origins of a clandestine American Special Forces unit operating behind enemy lines at the height of the Cold War.Berlin, 1957. A city split in two, teetering on the edge of conflict. Soviet and Allied forces glare at each other across barbed wire and crumbling streets, while spies, traitors, and assassins move unseen in the murky half-light. When a brutal murder threatens to ignite an international crisis, an uneasy alliance is forged: a hardened CIA officer and a Special Forces operative, each with his own secrets, must track the killer through the deadliest streets in Europe-those of communist East Berlin.In a world where trust is a commodity and betrayal is currency, the hunt will force them into a high-stakes game of deception, where every move could be their last. Gunpowder, treason, and plot-in a city where no one is innocent.The Ratcatcher of Berlin delivers a pulse-pounding blend of espionage, danger, and betrayal, cementing Stejskal's reputation as a master of the espionage thriller.