What do you think?
Rate this book
Revol Rossel #2
A Traitor's Heart
Winter, 1952: Leningrad's icy streets are haunted by a murderer. The name is whispered everywhere – Koshchei has returned, the people say, Koshchei the Immortal. Koshchei, named after a sinister figure from Slavic folklore, is an invisible killer who cuts out the tongue of his victims and replaces it with a scroll of paper containing a few lines of what seems to be Italian verse.
Three thousand kilometres away in a labour colony above the Arctic Circle, threatened by the Thieves who rule the camp, former militia lieutenant Revol Rossel is close to death. As helicopter blades whip the snow into hallucinatory flurries, Rossel watches the arrival of a saviour he hates: Major Nikitin, the man who once cut off the former virtuoso violinist's fingers.
Along with skilled aviator Tanya 'Vassya' Vasilievna, the two men must hunt Koshchei down. On the trail, they uncover more riddles, including one centred on the ruins of Hitler's bunker, the Fuhrer's own copy of a Renaissance manual for tyrants, and secret code hidden within that leads to a weapon of unimaginable power. A weapon coveted by the scheming plotters of Stalin's Kremlin.
What Rossel and Nikitin do not know is that the mystery and the murderer are inextricably linked. And to save themselves they must not only catch Koshchei but also uncover the identity of another ghost – a ghost hiding among the remnants of Hitler's once all-powerful Third Reich.
Three thousand kilometres away in a labour colony above the Arctic Circle, threatened by the Thieves who rule the camp, former militia lieutenant Revol Rossel is close to death. As helicopter blades whip the snow into hallucinatory flurries, Rossel watches the arrival of a saviour he hates: Major Nikitin, the man who once cut off the former virtuoso violinist's fingers.
Along with skilled aviator Tanya 'Vassya' Vasilievna, the two men must hunt Koshchei down. On the trail, they uncover more riddles, including one centred on the ruins of Hitler's bunker, the Fuhrer's own copy of a Renaissance manual for tyrants, and secret code hidden within that leads to a weapon of unimaginable power. A weapon coveted by the scheming plotters of Stalin's Kremlin.
What Rossel and Nikitin do not know is that the mystery and the murderer are inextricably linked. And to save themselves they must not only catch Koshchei but also uncover the identity of another ghost – a ghost hiding among the remnants of Hitler's once all-powerful Third Reich.
Paperback
First published October 28, 2021
30 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 16, 2025
Jak coś jest Polska edycja (czemu na goodreads tego nie ma? Nie wiem)
Świetna kontynuuacja - bardziej wciągający tom niż pierwszy. Dalej dobrze wykreowany świat w realiach zimnej wojny, a dokładnie w ZSRR. Bohaterowie? Wszyscy dobrze napisani? Fabuła? Trzyma w napięciu i wszystko ma sens. Akcja przebiega sprawnie. Znajomość historii przez autora? Na najwyższym poziomie.
Świetna kontynuuacja - bardziej wciągający tom niż pierwszy. Dalej dobrze wykreowany świat w realiach zimnej wojny, a dokładnie w ZSRR. Bohaterowie? Wszyscy dobrze napisani? Fabuła? Trzyma w napięciu i wszystko ma sens. Akcja przebiega sprawnie. Znajomość historii przez autora? Na najwyższym poziomie.
April 13, 2022
Coming from a close country to the old Soviet union, I can see and understand all the events from this novel, be there fictional or reality facts.
The first book ended with Rossel being taken prisoner in a work camp in the Arctic Circle.
Nikitin, the major who incarcerated him, is ready to negotiate his freedom for finding a criminal on the loose in Leningrad.
Rumor has it that there’s a legendary villain that is hunting veterans and torture them by cutting their tongues and other unthinkable practices.
I’ve always heard about not trusting anyone around you, not even your family members. All because the government has ears and eyes everywhere. And many scenes in the story seem to be taken out of the cruel reality that was hidden behind an iron curtain, unfortunately.
I really enjoyed this second installment in the series and I’m looking forward to read more in the future.
It’s twisted and gripping, with many unlikable characters but with a cruel dose of reality.
The first book ended with Rossel being taken prisoner in a work camp in the Arctic Circle.
Nikitin, the major who incarcerated him, is ready to negotiate his freedom for finding a criminal on the loose in Leningrad.
Rumor has it that there’s a legendary villain that is hunting veterans and torture them by cutting their tongues and other unthinkable practices.
I’ve always heard about not trusting anyone around you, not even your family members. All because the government has ears and eyes everywhere. And many scenes in the story seem to be taken out of the cruel reality that was hidden behind an iron curtain, unfortunately.
I really enjoyed this second installment in the series and I’m looking forward to read more in the future.
It’s twisted and gripping, with many unlikable characters but with a cruel dose of reality.
June 28, 2022
Hell’s sniper
This is the second Revol Rossel thriller, and a worthy successor to the first. While it can be enjoyed on its own terms, I read the first for continuity’s sake.
I find myself currently knee deep in novels featuring Josef Stalin, The Outfit and Sell us the Rope (young), Katastrophe and A Traitor’s Heart (old). In all of them his shrewd and ruthless cruelty are evident. Life in the Gulag also seems to have made a comeback – A Traitor’s Heart opens with ex-policeman Rossel concealing his past to survive the gangster lords of his Siberian prison camp. His unlikely rescuer is his erstwhile enemy/ ally Major Nikitin from the first novel.
Sprung from his prison camp, he works with Nikitin to track down a serial killer in Leningrad, whose trademark is to shoot the victim twice in the head with a sniper rifle. All the victims appear to have been in the past part of a crack brigade of soldiers from Stalingrad and present at the fall of Berlin. This is all gory stuff, spiced up with a hint of Nazi atomic secrets and a heroic general from WW2 who may still have high ambitions for himself.
I confess I did not find the plot of this thriller entirely coherent, but that might just be me. What it delivers with notable success is a breakneck narrative and a 1950s Leningrad suffused with fear and paranoia. There is again a musical theme to solution of the story, as in Rossel’s first case. And with the introduction of Khrushchev to the political mix, I can foresee more dangers for Rossel and Nikitin in future volumes.
This is the second Revol Rossel thriller, and a worthy successor to the first. While it can be enjoyed on its own terms, I read the first for continuity’s sake.
I find myself currently knee deep in novels featuring Josef Stalin, The Outfit and Sell us the Rope (young), Katastrophe and A Traitor’s Heart (old). In all of them his shrewd and ruthless cruelty are evident. Life in the Gulag also seems to have made a comeback – A Traitor’s Heart opens with ex-policeman Rossel concealing his past to survive the gangster lords of his Siberian prison camp. His unlikely rescuer is his erstwhile enemy/ ally Major Nikitin from the first novel.
Sprung from his prison camp, he works with Nikitin to track down a serial killer in Leningrad, whose trademark is to shoot the victim twice in the head with a sniper rifle. All the victims appear to have been in the past part of a crack brigade of soldiers from Stalingrad and present at the fall of Berlin. This is all gory stuff, spiced up with a hint of Nazi atomic secrets and a heroic general from WW2 who may still have high ambitions for himself.
I confess I did not find the plot of this thriller entirely coherent, but that might just be me. What it delivers with notable success is a breakneck narrative and a 1950s Leningrad suffused with fear and paranoia. There is again a musical theme to solution of the story, as in Rossel’s first case. And with the introduction of Khrushchev to the political mix, I can foresee more dangers for Rossel and Nikitin in future volumes.
May 25, 2022
I was really looking forward to this second book and found it a tough read but very much worth the effort. It’s complicated and there is a great deal of history and the majority of the characters are less than likeable HOWEVER living in Stalinist Russia would not be the place for kind caring people. I’m looking forward to book 3.
I listened on audible as well as reading the kindle version.
I listened on audible as well as reading the kindle version.
September 19, 2024
I picked this up in a charity shop and didn't realize it was a sequel.? Anyway, I found it quite hard to follow all the characters that kept appearing and by the end I was as a bit confused.
However, the writing is excellent, serious but with some humour. It makes you very happy to live in a free, democratic country, with some issues but nothing like the USSR had and Russia still has.
However, the writing is excellent, serious but with some humour. It makes you very happy to live in a free, democratic country, with some issues but nothing like the USSR had and Russia still has.
May 10, 2022
A beautiful work of historic fiction, with many twists and turns.
May 3, 2022
A Traitor’s Heart by Ben Creed was published April 28th with Welbeck Publishing. It is the second book in a trilogy featuring conservatoire-trained violinist turned state militia lieutenant Revol Rossel. Described as ‘an intelligent, atmospheric historical thriller' it follows on from the very exciting and gripping City of Ghosts
Set in 1952, A Traitor’s Heart sees Revol Rossel imprisoned in ‘a Corrective Labour Camp, under the jurisdiction of the GULAG, or Main Camps Directorate’, put there by his nemesis Major Nikitin. Life in the camp is truly abysmal, each day bringing death a step closer. The barbaric living conditions combined with the merciless actions of the soldiers on duty drive some inmates to extreme behaviour. There is a hierarchy within the camp with vicious threats and cold-blooded murder a daily experience. Survival is a constant challenge as, both mentally and physically, all prisoners are suffering from starvation leaving them weakened and their endurance levels close to non-existent. Revol Rossel has been through some extraordinary and treacherous experiences, with the memories of the Siege of Leningrad, the city he dearly loves, always a shadow in his life. He has witnessed pure horror and has been through his own personal hell but he refuses to be downtrodden and has an incredible will to survive.
An unexpected visitor to the labour camp requesting his presence throws Rossel in a spin. Major Oleg Nikitin, the man who tortured Rossel and cut off his fingers, ending any ambition of a career as a violinist, wants to strike a deal with Rossel. A murderer is forging a sinister path in Leningrad with a mounting body count. The victims are shot twice with their tongues cut out and a scroll of paper stuffed in its place instead, covered with a few lines of Italian script.
Nikitin had once been an interrogator with the MGB but was now under the instruction of the GRU.* He has his own personal demons placing a constant threat to his, and his family’s, safety. He is a desperate man in need of results fast.
(*Historical Note – The MGB (Ministry for State Security) was the name of Josef Stalin’s intelligence agency and secret police force from 1946 to 1953 and the predecessor to the KGB. According to a recent BBC article the ‘GRU stands for Main Intelligence Directorate – outlasted the KGB when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and appears to be flourishing today. The GRU is probably Russia’s most effective spy agency.’)
Rossel had a reputation for being a top-class investigator and now Nikitin needs him to help find this mysterious executioner. Frightening the citizens of Leningrad, they now call this enigma ‘Koshchei the Immortal’, named after a figure from Slavic folklore. An elusive figure, Nikitin hopes that together they can investigate the case and discover the identity of this killer. Rossel rightfully lacks trust in Nikitin and all that he stands for but his options are limited. His choice is either to assist in the investigation or to remain forever behind the fence of this Siberian nightmare.
Rossel returns with Nikitin to a bitter cold Leningrad. He is placed in temporary accommodation, fed and watered but there is a constant threat over his life. With the information that Nikitin has available to date, he pieces together the evidence in front of them and he starts to get a better picture of who they are looking for. A high-staked hunt ensues as they get ever closer to their prey and a very complicated web of deceit unravels, one that stretches back to the Third Reich.
A Traitor’s Heart is a very sophisticated thriller, one that brings the reader right into the complexities and hierarchy of Stalinist Russia. Music and culture is a very noticeable element throughout Revol Rossel’s story with his studying of music running in parallel with that of Barney Thompson (one half of this writing duo) who also studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. This knowledge from one of the trilogy’s co-creators adds a very authentic edge to the plot. A Traitor’s Heart is a fascinating and original tale set against the ever pervasive Russian authorities of the 1950s. A complex thriller, A Traitor’s Heart is a dark and intense read with a great central protagonist in Revol Rossel, an uncompromising hero who has been toughened by atrocious experiences yet carries a strong determination to survive.
Set in 1952, A Traitor’s Heart sees Revol Rossel imprisoned in ‘a Corrective Labour Camp, under the jurisdiction of the GULAG, or Main Camps Directorate’, put there by his nemesis Major Nikitin. Life in the camp is truly abysmal, each day bringing death a step closer. The barbaric living conditions combined with the merciless actions of the soldiers on duty drive some inmates to extreme behaviour. There is a hierarchy within the camp with vicious threats and cold-blooded murder a daily experience. Survival is a constant challenge as, both mentally and physically, all prisoners are suffering from starvation leaving them weakened and their endurance levels close to non-existent. Revol Rossel has been through some extraordinary and treacherous experiences, with the memories of the Siege of Leningrad, the city he dearly loves, always a shadow in his life. He has witnessed pure horror and has been through his own personal hell but he refuses to be downtrodden and has an incredible will to survive.
An unexpected visitor to the labour camp requesting his presence throws Rossel in a spin. Major Oleg Nikitin, the man who tortured Rossel and cut off his fingers, ending any ambition of a career as a violinist, wants to strike a deal with Rossel. A murderer is forging a sinister path in Leningrad with a mounting body count. The victims are shot twice with their tongues cut out and a scroll of paper stuffed in its place instead, covered with a few lines of Italian script.
Nikitin had once been an interrogator with the MGB but was now under the instruction of the GRU.* He has his own personal demons placing a constant threat to his, and his family’s, safety. He is a desperate man in need of results fast.
(*Historical Note – The MGB (Ministry for State Security) was the name of Josef Stalin’s intelligence agency and secret police force from 1946 to 1953 and the predecessor to the KGB. According to a recent BBC article the ‘GRU stands for Main Intelligence Directorate – outlasted the KGB when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and appears to be flourishing today. The GRU is probably Russia’s most effective spy agency.’)
Rossel had a reputation for being a top-class investigator and now Nikitin needs him to help find this mysterious executioner. Frightening the citizens of Leningrad, they now call this enigma ‘Koshchei the Immortal’, named after a figure from Slavic folklore. An elusive figure, Nikitin hopes that together they can investigate the case and discover the identity of this killer. Rossel rightfully lacks trust in Nikitin and all that he stands for but his options are limited. His choice is either to assist in the investigation or to remain forever behind the fence of this Siberian nightmare.
Rossel returns with Nikitin to a bitter cold Leningrad. He is placed in temporary accommodation, fed and watered but there is a constant threat over his life. With the information that Nikitin has available to date, he pieces together the evidence in front of them and he starts to get a better picture of who they are looking for. A high-staked hunt ensues as they get ever closer to their prey and a very complicated web of deceit unravels, one that stretches back to the Third Reich.
A Traitor’s Heart is a very sophisticated thriller, one that brings the reader right into the complexities and hierarchy of Stalinist Russia. Music and culture is a very noticeable element throughout Revol Rossel’s story with his studying of music running in parallel with that of Barney Thompson (one half of this writing duo) who also studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. This knowledge from one of the trilogy’s co-creators adds a very authentic edge to the plot. A Traitor’s Heart is a fascinating and original tale set against the ever pervasive Russian authorities of the 1950s. A complex thriller, A Traitor’s Heart is a dark and intense read with a great central protagonist in Revol Rossel, an uncompromising hero who has been toughened by atrocious experiences yet carries a strong determination to survive.
August 31, 2022
I can’t believe it’s nearly two years since I read Ben Creed’s first book in his Revol Rossel series City of Ghosts, as I remember it so well. A Traitor’s Heart is the second in the series, and sees the return of Revol Rossel, part of the militia, Major Nikitin, his nemesis, and Vassay, Rossel’s love interest from the first book, and some wonderful new characters. A Traitor’s Heart sees Rossel serving an undetermined sentence in one of Russia’s Labour camps, at the behest of his nemesis Major Nikitin, the man who tortured him resulting in him losing two fingers. Life is hard, and Rossel is surprised and suspicious when Nikitin comes to the camp to free him to help solve the murders of two men in Leningrad, and he brings Vassay to help convince him to help. Together Rossel and Nikitin find themselves chasing a killer, referred to as ‘Koshchei the Immortal’ a figure from Russian Folklore as he murders, cuts out the tongues of his victims, replacing the tongue with a scroll of paper, with Italian script from The Mandrake by Machiavelli. Rossel and Nikitin find themselves in a race against time to find the elusive killer, which takes them from Leningrad to East and West Germany in search for answers.
I really enjoyed being back in 1950’s Leningrad with Revol Rossel, Major Nikitin; it felt like returning to old friends in a strange way. Rossel finds himself in the Artic in one of the Labour Camps, moving rocks so Russia can have a new railway. What I love about Rossel is his strength of character, he has the ability to adapt to the situation he finds himself in, not complain, but just get on with it. In the camp it is cold, there is little food and he respects the hierarchy of the other prisoners. Obviously when Major Nikitin offers him a way out, to have food and warmth, he takes it, even if he doesn’t trust Nikitin’s motives. Nikitin himself finds himself in different circumstances, no longer part of the frightening MGP, later known as the KJB, but is working for the Ministry of Defence, and finds himself the enemy of his old boss. The relationship between Rossel and Nikitin is fascinating; Nikitin’s torture of Rossel left him unable to pursue his career as a violinist after removing a couple of his fingers. It is surprising though how well they work together to investigate this case. Nikitin ia able to gain access to those in power and Rossel excels at putting the clues together to solve the puzzle. Into this strange dynamic, Ben Creed also brings in actor Tarkovsky, whom they meet as part of the murder investigation, and who accompanies them on their trip to Germany; a more unlikely triumvirate you will never meet.
Ben Creed’s writing and plotting of this book is amazing, I really enjoyed how the many different and disparate threads came together; Machiavelli’s Mandrake and The Prince, missing Nazi gold, the score of Wagner’s The Ring Cycle, and a hidden code. Ben Creed also captures the atmosphere and landscape of 1950’s Russia, a place where people still live in fear of being reported for saying or doing the wrong thing, sending them to prison or the harsh labour camps. Leningrad is still scarred by the war, derelict buildings, and has no colour in it, a grey and bleak place where there seems no joy, only fear. Politically there is also mistrust between the different ministerial departments, setting minister against minister, and the power play to run Russia after Stalin, all impacting on the murder investigation.
A you can probably tell I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Traitor’s Heart. What I loved most was the intelligent plotting of this book, it really had my mind working overtime, and kept me on the edge of my seat with the fast paced. The other aspect that makes this book such a brilliant read is the relaionship between the characters, especially Rossel and Nikitin, two very different men but who work well together. This is a fascinating that captures the zeitgeist of post war Russia, the fear and mistrust of the citizens that makes the perfect setting for this suspenseful and menacing thriller.
I really enjoyed being back in 1950’s Leningrad with Revol Rossel, Major Nikitin; it felt like returning to old friends in a strange way. Rossel finds himself in the Artic in one of the Labour Camps, moving rocks so Russia can have a new railway. What I love about Rossel is his strength of character, he has the ability to adapt to the situation he finds himself in, not complain, but just get on with it. In the camp it is cold, there is little food and he respects the hierarchy of the other prisoners. Obviously when Major Nikitin offers him a way out, to have food and warmth, he takes it, even if he doesn’t trust Nikitin’s motives. Nikitin himself finds himself in different circumstances, no longer part of the frightening MGP, later known as the KJB, but is working for the Ministry of Defence, and finds himself the enemy of his old boss. The relationship between Rossel and Nikitin is fascinating; Nikitin’s torture of Rossel left him unable to pursue his career as a violinist after removing a couple of his fingers. It is surprising though how well they work together to investigate this case. Nikitin ia able to gain access to those in power and Rossel excels at putting the clues together to solve the puzzle. Into this strange dynamic, Ben Creed also brings in actor Tarkovsky, whom they meet as part of the murder investigation, and who accompanies them on their trip to Germany; a more unlikely triumvirate you will never meet.
Ben Creed’s writing and plotting of this book is amazing, I really enjoyed how the many different and disparate threads came together; Machiavelli’s Mandrake and The Prince, missing Nazi gold, the score of Wagner’s The Ring Cycle, and a hidden code. Ben Creed also captures the atmosphere and landscape of 1950’s Russia, a place where people still live in fear of being reported for saying or doing the wrong thing, sending them to prison or the harsh labour camps. Leningrad is still scarred by the war, derelict buildings, and has no colour in it, a grey and bleak place where there seems no joy, only fear. Politically there is also mistrust between the different ministerial departments, setting minister against minister, and the power play to run Russia after Stalin, all impacting on the murder investigation.
A you can probably tell I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Traitor’s Heart. What I loved most was the intelligent plotting of this book, it really had my mind working overtime, and kept me on the edge of my seat with the fast paced. The other aspect that makes this book such a brilliant read is the relaionship between the characters, especially Rossel and Nikitin, two very different men but who work well together. This is a fascinating that captures the zeitgeist of post war Russia, the fear and mistrust of the citizens that makes the perfect setting for this suspenseful and menacing thriller.
April 9, 2022
I would like to thank Netgalley and Wellbeck Publishing UK for an advance copy of A Traitor’s Heart, the second novel to feature investigator Revol Rossel, set in Leningrad, 1952.
Rossel is a prisoner in a work camp in the Arctic Circle when Major Nikitin, the man who put him there, arrives to free him in return for help in an investigation in Leningrad. Someone is killing veteran soldiers, cutting out their tongues and leaving scraps of Italian poetry in their place. The locals call the killer Koshchei, a mythical figure with limitless capabilities.
I am in two minds about A Traitor’s Heart. I can admire the amount of research that went into the novel and the clever mixture of fact and fiction, but I felt that the plot got a bit lost in all that detail. I never felt that I had a firm grasp of it, and, yet, that may be the point as everyone was on shaky ground in the Stalinist regime.
I like the plot premise, a serial killer in a country that ostensibly has no crime, but it gets taken over by power politics and the attendant treachery and back stabbing, which interest me less. I was impressed by how the authors got from point A to point B and even more so by all the twists in the latter part of the novel.
The historical detail is very interesting and led me to my friend Google to get some background on the unfamiliar era, not so much the terrorisation of the populace and how it was done, but the characters and where they fit in and the alphabet soup of competing law enforcement (?) agencies. I’m still not sure of the latter and I found it confusing.
Overall I found the read muggy. I didn’t understand all of it and the shifting allegiances and lack of trust between the characters contribute to this, but on the other hand this impression seems to sum up exactly the situation the comrades found themselves in.
Rossel is a prisoner in a work camp in the Arctic Circle when Major Nikitin, the man who put him there, arrives to free him in return for help in an investigation in Leningrad. Someone is killing veteran soldiers, cutting out their tongues and leaving scraps of Italian poetry in their place. The locals call the killer Koshchei, a mythical figure with limitless capabilities.
I am in two minds about A Traitor’s Heart. I can admire the amount of research that went into the novel and the clever mixture of fact and fiction, but I felt that the plot got a bit lost in all that detail. I never felt that I had a firm grasp of it, and, yet, that may be the point as everyone was on shaky ground in the Stalinist regime.
I like the plot premise, a serial killer in a country that ostensibly has no crime, but it gets taken over by power politics and the attendant treachery and back stabbing, which interest me less. I was impressed by how the authors got from point A to point B and even more so by all the twists in the latter part of the novel.
The historical detail is very interesting and led me to my friend Google to get some background on the unfamiliar era, not so much the terrorisation of the populace and how it was done, but the characters and where they fit in and the alphabet soup of competing law enforcement (?) agencies. I’m still not sure of the latter and I found it confusing.
Overall I found the read muggy. I didn’t understand all of it and the shifting allegiances and lack of trust between the characters contribute to this, but on the other hand this impression seems to sum up exactly the situation the comrades found themselves in.
September 30, 2022
This is the 2nd Revel Rossel book and I’m reading in close order to the first so was well prepared for the style writing.
This atmospheric and macabre feeling thriller begins in the frozen Siberian Tundra where Rossel has has been cast out to Gulag by Captain Nikitin. The man who sent him there at the end of first book. Nikitin arrives to break Rossel free as he needs his assistance with a serial killer who is loose in Leningrad.
As with the first book there is a strong Musical influence throughout that though interesting sometime feels a bit too much as does some of the descriptive writing, However that doesn’t really detract from what is an extremely well written, strongly paced, brutal thriller.
Some of the plot doesn’t stitch together quite right, but looking past that it’s a quite enjoyable, intelligent read and Rossel is a character who I have enjoyed reading and a series I shall continue on with if there are future books.
This atmospheric and macabre feeling thriller begins in the frozen Siberian Tundra where Rossel has has been cast out to Gulag by Captain Nikitin. The man who sent him there at the end of first book. Nikitin arrives to break Rossel free as he needs his assistance with a serial killer who is loose in Leningrad.
As with the first book there is a strong Musical influence throughout that though interesting sometime feels a bit too much as does some of the descriptive writing, However that doesn’t really detract from what is an extremely well written, strongly paced, brutal thriller.
Some of the plot doesn’t stitch together quite right, but looking past that it’s a quite enjoyable, intelligent read and Rossel is a character who I have enjoyed reading and a series I shall continue on with if there are future books.
April 9, 2024
I really tried, but I just can't get into this. Everything's just so bleak and slow and leaden, in all possible respects, and then there's all those people to keep track of, and the politics, and all those different types of agendas... I finally realized that picking this book up was like taking a trip to the dentist, every single time. So no, I'm not finishing this.
Too bad, because subject-wise this was right up my alley, and the two MCs are great -- I just wish the authors knew how to infuse their sentences with life. I was expecting a nice juicy sandwich, and then Netgalley handed me rusk. I might return to this one later, but for now, I'd rather read something else.
Too bad, because subject-wise this was right up my alley, and the two MCs are great -- I just wish the authors knew how to infuse their sentences with life. I was expecting a nice juicy sandwich, and then Netgalley handed me rusk. I might return to this one later, but for now, I'd rather read something else.
May 16, 2022
In 1952 Leningrad is a bleak and forbidding city even more so as tortured and murdered bodies are turning up with monotonous regularity. In the far north Gulag Revol Rossel thinks things can’t get much worse. He’s freezing, hungry and brutalised by the guards, then the helicopter goes arrives…
What follows is a fascinating thriller, full of twists and turns and marvellously researched. Highly recommended
What follows is a fascinating thriller, full of twists and turns and marvellously researched. Highly recommended
May 7, 2024
4.5*
I was eager to start reading the next book in the Revol Rossel series. Even though the book met my expectations with twists and turns, I still like the first one better.
History, music, and Russian culture are again present and notable in this book, which makes it not just a thriller novel, but also an educational one.
Revol Rossel is becoming one of my favorite heroes, can't wait for the third part of the sequel.
Audiobook, English
I was eager to start reading the next book in the Revol Rossel series. Even though the book met my expectations with twists and turns, I still like the first one better.
History, music, and Russian culture are again present and notable in this book, which makes it not just a thriller novel, but also an educational one.
Revol Rossel is becoming one of my favorite heroes, can't wait for the third part of the sequel.
Audiobook, English
October 31, 2024
I enjoyed this, but wasn’t completely absorbed into the story. The start in the gulag is excellent, then it sort of went into a lull before the solid ending. I will go back and read bk1 at some point. I seem to have been reading about Stalin’s successors - and the battle to be the One - a lot recently.
June 17, 2025
3/10 4% A decent concept but if ever proof were needed that more doesn’t always mean better, in this case two writers, this is it. Jumbled, confusing, not an enjoyable read at all. For me the best bit was the cover artwork. One for the charity shop
November 10, 2022
Good but ....
This book continues Devil's story. Not as good as the first, some nice twists and little prices of humour, but something is missing.
This book continues Devil's story. Not as good as the first, some nice twists and little prices of humour, but something is missing.
February 6, 2023
The lead character in the series, Rossel, is quite engaging. I would have given it a 5 if I'd understood more of what was going on!
January 1, 2024
A gripping thriller set in Lenningrad
September 15, 2024
Martin Cruz Smith has a successor. A cracking read with some Sam Eastland thrown in for good measure.
December 9, 2025
It's okay, but not entirely my type
May 28, 2024
My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
Quality research and writing throughout, a totally absorbing mystery gripping from first to last page. Atmospheric clever descriptive, and intelligent storytelling with totally believable mix of fictional and real historical characters. With a genuinely real feel for time and place.
Completely and utterly recommended.
Quality research and writing throughout, a totally absorbing mystery gripping from first to last page. Atmospheric clever descriptive, and intelligent storytelling with totally believable mix of fictional and real historical characters. With a genuinely real feel for time and place.
Completely and utterly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews