The Holy Thief (edition 2010)

I tried and tried to get through this story and it bore me. I read the first 100 pages of the book and the story barely developed. The author uses too many words to describe or explain a simple subject or scene. I give it a two-star rating simply because the author is very creative with his writing, but excessively verbose. ( )

This is a really page-turning thriller, set in Moscow in the 1930s. The protagonist, Korolev, is a wonderful, engaging character. He's certainly not an angel, but you are immediately on his side. I'm no historian, so I can't tell you how accurate the author's depiction of Moscow at that time is, but it feels authentic and immersive. Even the incidental characters are nicely drawn.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was the torture scenes. I really can't handle torture depicted on screen or on the page, so I had to skip over those parts. I don't doubt that they were well written, but it was just too much for me.

Other than that, a very engaging read, and I'll be looking out for more in the series. ( )

Step into 1930s Moscow, with everyone afraid of Stalin's Secret police, the regular citizens as well as the Komsomol and the Militia. When a woman and a thief are both found horribly tortured before they were killed, Captain Korolev is called upon to investigate the murders. When General Gregorin of the NKVD summons Korolev and shows an interest in these murders as well, demanding daily reports, Korolev knows he's potentially stepping into a minefield, with one misstep leading to his arrest and incarceration in Lubianka.

His investigations lead him to the underground network of Thieves, a gang of street urchins, an author with surprising connections, an American broker of Russian artifacts, and unknown assailants with a penchant for hitting him on his head.

While trying to uncover not just the identity of the murderer and the reason why the woman, who turns out to have been a nun, the thief and later a member of the NKVD were murdered, Korolev's investigations leads him to discover the identity of the item that they gave up their lives for.

This is a wonderful thriller from start to finish. The bonus for me in reading this is knowing this is the first in a series ...I can't wait to get to the next one. ( )

Step into 1930s Moscow, with everyone afraid of Stalin's Secret police, the regular citizens as well as the Komsomol and the Militia. When a woman and a thief are both found horribly tortured before they were killed, Captain Korolev is called upon to investigate the murders. When General Gregorin of the NKVD summons Korolev and shows an interest in these murders as well, demanding daily reports, Korolev knows he's potentially stepping into a minefield, with one misstep leading to his arrest and incarceration in Lubianka.

His investigations lead him to the underground network of Thieves, a gang of street urchins, an author with surprising connections, an American broker of Russian artifacts, and unknown assailants with a penchant for hitting him on his head.

While trying to uncover not just the identity of the murderer and the reason why the woman, who turns out to have been a nun, the thief and later a member of the NKVD were murdered, Korolev's investigations leads him to discover the identity of the item that they gave up their lives for.

This is a wonderful thriller from start to finish. The bonus for me in reading this is knowing this is the first in a series ...I can't wait to get to the next one. ( )

Well there goes eight quid I'll never get back :( ( )