Sek Votka

Faith Zanetti #3

by Anna Blundy

Faith Zanetti alkole, sigaraya ve hayatı uçlarda yaşamaya bağımlı olsa da, aynı zamanda bir noktada bir şeylerin değişmesi gerektiğini bilecek kadar da zekidir. Moskova muhabiridir ve on dokuz yaşında bir kız olarak bu işe seçilmesinin nedeni bir Rusla evli olmasıdır. Votkanın yaşattığı zihin bulanıklığı yüzünden o günlere ait her şeyi hatırlayamasa da, çoğunun kötü olduğunu bilmektedir...

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Russia

344 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

'I was born in 1970 and grew up on my own with my mum while dad flew around the world to wars and summits. It was odd in those days, when most people didn’t go abroad, to be watching the news (in black and white) and taking it personally. Mum had shabby boyfriends and Dad had beautiful and glamorous girlfriends. I hated both lots. I spent most holidays in New York and Washington staying in foreign correspondent flats – not much furniture but lots of bottles of spirits.

I was a show-off at school and was always form captain, always in the plays and musicals. When I was fifteen I fell in love with Communist Russia and a black marketeer I met on Red Square. It was minus twenty and we were followed by the KGB. He lives in Frankfurt now.

I went to Westminster for the sixth form and showed off some more.

My dad was killed at the end of the war in El Salvador in 1989, the beginning of my second year at Oxford. I hadn’t much liked it anyway and after that I just drank until it was over.

I had done O’Level and A’ Level Russian and I did it at university too. Afterwards I moved to Moscow and worked for an American TV company making coffee and fancying the correspondent. In the evenings I sang in a blues band.

Back in London when I was 23 I started writing for newspapers and tried to travel as much as possible. I went to Russia all the time and to America, the Middle East and Africa. I wrote a column for the Times Magazine about my love life for four years. Not so fashionable now, but it was my column and that of Zoe Heller (we started at the same time) that Helen Fielding satirised in Bridget Jones.

In 1997 I went to El Salvador and wrote a book about my dad, Every Time We Say Goodbye, about bereavement, about fathers and daughters. That same year I got married, got pregnant and got a job as Moscow correspondent for the Times. Now I’m still married (surprisingly) and have two children. I write books about Faith Zanetti and am trying to stop the roof leaking on my house in Italy.

Reviews

[La Petite Américaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why oh why did I ever read this horrible, trite, crappy excuse for a book?

Don't be fooled by the back cover blurb about the "thriller tale" of an alcoholic journalist who must relive her days in Soviet Moscow in order to clear her name of murder. The writing sucks (describing characters as "dirty" or "cool" is about as deep as she gets with adjectives), the plot is stupid (i.e., not a mystery, nor a thriller), and it's filled with two-dimensional stock characters. UGH.

The best part? This is the first book ... in a SERIES.

God help us all.

[Christine Zibas · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Faith Zanetti returns to Russia as a foreign correspondent for a British newspaper after a long hiatus, she has little idea of how quickly the past will catch up with her. Almost immediately after arriving, the hard-drinking Zanetti is accused of the murders of a couple who once lived next door to Zanetti and her Russian husband, a black marketeer whom she married when she was just a teenager. That was fifteen years before; now, she must relocate her estranged Russian husband to have any chance of finding out who committed the crime and why.

The journey to that discovery is the centerpiece of this mesmerizing story, with the brilliant (if jaded and often drunk) Zanetti leading the chase through the streets of post-Cold War Russia. Along the way, she will discover things about herself and others, as well as her past life in Russia, all of which seem unimaginable. This captivating snapshot of the modern Russia (blended with a youthful recklessness seen through the eyes of an adult Zanetti) is what makes this thriller so compelling.

Few writers today can evoke a sense of place better than Anna Blundy. She transports her readers to the Russia of today, a land that embraces the excesses of capitalism even while it fails to shake off the misery and ennui of its Communist past. She takes us behind the scenes of Russian institutions, obliquely examining the failure of Russian democracy. Blundy also inhabits perfectly the life of the hard-boiled war correspondent, set down in a foreign country with little more than wits to act as a guide.

While the expository plot line of the murders, the motivation, and the individuals surrounding the situation are all tightly drawn, with details teased out judiciously over the course of the novel, it is the setting of Russia itself that makes this book resonate. Similarly well done is the flawed heroine, Zanetti, a foul-mouthed, hard drinking, tough broad who is oddly endearing, holding in just enough of her emotions to enable her to do her work, even while readers long for her to allow herself some real happiness. It's the perfect combination of plotting and character development to raise this novel from a mere genre novel to something extraordinary.

Vodka Neat, in short, is a wonderfully evocative thriller with a lot to say about modern day Russia, the world of journalism, and the internal lives of the people who staff those international correspondent roles. Within the context of one novel, author Anna Blundy has given her readers a thrilling plot line, fascinating characters, and the perfect setting for a truly unforgettable novel.

[Patriciagoodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good descriptions of Russia in the 80's. An unusual story but which held me

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

.My first and last Faith Zanetti "thriller." It wasn't very thrilling. Did not care about the self centered, alcohol soaked, shallow characters, especially Faith, who's 35, behaves like a 15 year old, and is a make it up yourself journalist. I hoped for Aisha Tyler and got Chelsea Handler. Really stupid plot about an axe murder Faith may have committed 15 years ago in Russia when married to gangster Dimitri (did we think she was going to end up in a Soviet prison and the series would continue behind bars?) She is assigned to Russia as a journalist and taken in by police for the murder. Not even allowed to put shoes on in the snow. Major pet peeve about many thrillers: people running around in sub arctic temps, about to freeze off body part but never do. There's a scene in a tank that's ludicrous. No mystery here except why people like these books. One star for first ever murder by chicken.

[Lisa Regan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite sure what to make of this one...Faith Zanetti is a messed up character but I kind of liked her and her quirky outlook on everything that happened. The book itself is a kind of whodunnit - it starts with a past crime and works towards a denouement that almost, but not really, feels like it's not the actual point of the book. The journey there is a thoroughly enjoyable trip around post-Soviet (pre-current-bonkers) Russia, and I think that's what I enjoyed most about it - although many of the characters are likeable too. Honestly, my feelings about the book are as all-over-the-place as this review!

[Anne Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. My version is called Neat Vodka. Bought and read a long time ago, just gave it a re-run. Best parts - descriptions of 1980s-90s Russia and ex-pat life. The crazy and comedic moments as Faith circles her understanding of events which happened over a decade earlier, slowly revealing the deeply sinister side of her ex husband. All that alcohol feels a bit dated now from a western perspective, but is only a smidgeon hyperbolic from my recollection of the times in expat eastern Europe along with all its incumbent drama. "The youth of today" are too busy preening online to be worried by all that messy stuff.

[Liubomir Topaloff · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was mildly entertaining book, at teenage sophistication level. The characters are flat, single dimensional and with no real depth. The only interesting element is the female (author's) point of description of what seems to be the equivalent of a male femme fatal. Reading a book is never waste of time for me. But I am not sure I will read another one from that author. Her soviet lifestyle insights were good though.

[Gabrielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like it at all, no suspens, no sens...

[Murat Turfan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehhhh

[Snail Guy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the back of the book: "The dead twins stole my chicken!" That's the least of the revelations to greet Faith Zanetti on her return to Moscow, a city she last lived in some fifteen years ago. A lot has changed since then, but a lot hasn't. The dead-eyed thugs who arrest Faith before she's had time to unpack may no longer call themselves KGB, but they dance to that old, familiar music. And while Faith is now a (semi) respectable journalist, rather than the tearaway teen bride of a Russian bootlegger, she's about to learn a lesson that the Russians themselves have known all along: the past is never so deeply buried that it can't reach out and bite you in the back.


I can't completely decide if I liked this book. It was funny and it was serious and it was gray and gloomy like Moscow itself. You get a real feeling for the city from this place, but not necessarily a good one. This book is the second in a series of five or six books. Do I want to read more? I'm not sure yet.

[Janet]

I read the first few books of of the Faith Zanetti series several years ago, and just got back to it again. Faith is a refreshingly non-cozy mystery heroine. She's a journalist who is typically running around a war zone, drinking and smoking too much, and generally behaving badly. She breaks proper behavior taboos right and left. I think Blundy must have a little checklist next to her keyboard, and ticks them off as she goes.[return]In this book, she's in Moscow, which is supposed to be a cushy job, except that she turns out to have a past there. As a headstrong 19-year-old, she met and married a charismatic young black marketeer. She left him fairly soon, but upon returning, she finds that he's still alive, is quite successful, and is still in love with her.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I picked this book up I was unaware that this was the third in a series. I imagine that I missed a few things for this fact but I still enjoyed the book.

The story is a mystery of a British War journalist who had lived in the USSR some 15 years prior to her return in this book. She confronts a past made vague by vodka, a mental break down and time and stumbles into truths that determine her future.

I did struggle with finding a rhythm at the start of this book. In retrospect, perhaps it's because I joined the story three books in. After a little more than 50 or 60 pages, I found the rhythm to the book and enjoyed it for the quick read that it was.

I don't know that I'd go back to read the first two or on to read more but this book was decent on its own.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This turned out to be a gripping, quick, and very good read. It took the first 65 pages to get into the book because of the author going back and forth in time. Once I picked up the rhythem it all fell into place perfectly ready to be filmed for a movie starring Charice Theron as the lead. If you liked Gorky Park you will enjoy this captivating mystery about a British war journalist with a past life in the USSR to return to Russia 15 years later. The historical references are visually pleasing and provacative.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good thriller set in Russia - I enjoyed it because I've worked in newspapers and it has a newspaper background, which feels authentic. I also liked the feistyseries heroine, Faith Zanetti. There's a lot about alcoholism, which tends to take over the story too much at times. I found the plot a bit hard to follow in places, which is often the case for me with thrillers, but was also irritated by one plot element which was rather too obvious!

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. It's really hard to write a review. It's kind of a chick-lit shocker. Most of the characters are pretty confused and dysfunctional. It was a great read. I was 20 pages from the end and couldn't figure out how Blundy could end the book in 20 pages. Faith, the main character, was still in a serious muddle. Lots of short scenes showing the miseries of the Russian people during the cold war and now.

[Rusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faith is a cynical hard living tough journalist whose assignment in Russia brings back the past she would rather forget forever and much of which she has. Then she finds herself arrested upon arrival to her hotel. What happens could only happen to a woman who is determined to discover the truth at last about a murder that she encountered at age nineteen in this country.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The action takes place in present-day Moscow. The author, Anna Blundy, lived and worked in Russia and consequently is familiar not only with the culture and customs of present day Putin Russia but Stalin era Russia as well. Good story, well told.

[Judith Yeabsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but would have loved it way more if it wasn't so similar to the other one of her books I read. The characters, setting, female lead from damaged background meeting Russian boy on school trip .....were all the same. Shame as aside from that it was a good holiday read.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wasn't that impressed with this book - yeah, there were some interesting depictions of Russia, but I felt no affinity for the characters.

[Tania · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a little confused as my book is entitled "Neat Vodka". Average read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anna Blundy does Russia as well as or better than Kaminsky or Cruz Smith.

[Cloda Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Often funny and often sad but a great read... Will be looking for more of her books

[Renate · Rating 2 out of 5]

maybe it was the dutch translation, but I had a hard time finishing it. I rushed trough it, to get it over with.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable and fast paced read. Faith Zanetti kicks some serious ass in this.