A thriller that draws on modern issues and weaves them into a complex and thought-provoking plot. Just what I love. The intriguing characters include the main character, Gregori, a mayor who was once a concert violinist. I'm drawn to stories about 'ordinary' people especially when they are involved in high-stakes mystery and intrigue. Setting it in Siberia adds a great sense of place. The harsh and cold conditions had me shivering as I read. I skipped some of the more gruesome descriptions, but I had to keep reading to the end.
A man lies dead, sprawled in the bedroom of apartment #8. Rock music blares as two militiamen follow the bloody trail upstairs. . . and into the quick, cold slice of a razor-edged blade.
The victim was a criminal. But two honest cops were killed with him. Gregori Nowek, mayor of the small Siberian town, is ordered to investigate. Armed with only a few clues--a fragment of cloth, American bullets, an unidentified bone--Nowek is shocked when a prime suspect is named.
Dr. Anna Vereskaya came to Siberia to study the endangered tiger. Instead, she stumbled on the dangerous edge of…
The storyline is snatched from everyday headlines.This book is a complex, layered, page-turner with compelling charcters - flaws and all - and a plot that pokes at our concepts of justice, the nature of evil, obsession, and criminality. The kind of thought-provoking story I enjoy most. It started as a slow burn but then intrigued and disturbed me as I read. I was hooked. It starts in London then moves to postwar Sarajevo, a place I knew little about. The explosive ending doesn't disappoint.
Albert William Packer is the supreme baron of London crime. He rules his manor with a cruel, ruthless fist. To those around him, on whatever side of the law, he is the Untouchable.
When another criminal case against him collapses, Packer turns his attention to expanding his heroin empire abroad. Where better to cut out the middle man than at the historic smuggling crossroads of Europe, the Balkans? New men and women are drafted into Customs & Excise unit dedicated to convicting Packer. Only one from the old team survives: the most junior, Joey Cann, retained solely for his obsessional…
I started to read this book many years ago and gave up. I decided to pick it up again this year after reading yet another rave review. (To be fair, readers appear to either love or hate this book). The violent passges can be a turn off - I skip them, but the complex and layered plot has elements that are strangely prescient of issues in our current world. That makes it a thought-provoking read. It's thrilling and an epic story that kept me turning the page. The main character is likeable, although perhaps a little too clever (in the style of traditional FBI/CIA thrillers) but he also has some human traits which can be a liability in his role.
The astonishing story of one man's breakneck race against time to save America from oblivion. _______________ A FATHER PUBLICLY BEHEADED. Killed in the blistering heat of a Saudi Arabian public square. A YOUNG WOMAN DISCOVERED. All of her identifying characteristics dissolved by acid.
A SYRIAN BIOTECH EXPERT FOUND EYELESS. Dumped in a Damascus junkyard.
SMOULDERING HUMAN REMAINS. Abandoned on a remote mountainside in Afghanistan.
PILGRIM. The codename for a man who doesn't exist. A man who must return from obscurity. The only man who can uncover a flawless plot to commit an appalling crime against humanity. _____________
In this multi-layered political mystery thriller, ordinary people uncover an extraordinary conspiracy. Their choice is to stay silent and condone unspeakable injustice or risk everything to speak out.
A suspicious death. A dark web of deceit. Will she risk everything for the truth?
The sudden death of her refugee friend sets off a chain of events that will change Shelley’s quiet life forever. The federal police have shrouded her case in secrecy.
Her new friend Adrian, a medical researcher, is researching a mystery illness affecting outback communities. There’s no obvious cause although suspicious mining activity in the area is worth investigating.
Shelley is reluctant to jeopardise her safe career and comfortable life, but it soon becomes clear that she will have to break rules and risk everything to uncover the truth. She is drawn into a sinister world of police cover-ups, organised crime, corporate greed, and government corruption. Her burning desire for the truth uncovers a web of conspiracy that reaches all the way to the top.
Can ordinary people really make a difference in a world where powerful forces hold all the cards?
