What do you think?
Rate this book
Captain Alexei Dimitrevich Korolev #1
Ο ιερόσυλος
Μόσχα, 1936. Η Μεγάλη Εκκαθάριση του Στάλιν ξεκινά. Μια νεαρή γυναίκα βρίσκεται δολοφονημένη σε μια παροπλισμένη εκκλησία, με το ακρωτηριασμένο της σώμα εκτεθειμένο σε δημόσια θέα πάνω στην Αγία Τράπεζα. Την υπόθεση καλείται να διερευνήσει ο αστυνόμος της Διεύθυνσης Ποινικών Ερευνών; και Λοχαγός της Πολιτοφυλακής της Μόσχας, Αλεξέι Ντμιτρίεβιτς Κόρολεφ, ακριβώς τη στιγμή που έχει επιτέλους αρχίσει να απολαμβάνει τους καρπούς των πολύ καλών του επιδόσεων στην εξιχνίαση εγκλημάτων. Όταν όμως ανακαλύπτει ότι το θύμα είναι Αμερικανή πολίτης, στην ;έρευνά του παρεμβάλλεται η ΝιΚαΒεΝτέ, η σκληρή και τρομακτική μυστική αστυνομία της Ρωσίας. Το κάθε βήμα του Κόρολεφ ελέγχεται ασφυκτικά από τη ΝιΚαΒεΝτέ και η παραμικρή λάθος κίνηση μπορεί να τον στείλει στη Ζώνη - το σύστημα φυλακών και στρατοπέδων καταναγκαστικής εργασίας στην παγωμένη Σιβηρία, όπου καταλήγουν όλοι οι εχθροί, πραγματικοί και φανταστικοί του Σοβιετικού Κράτους. Αποφασισμένος να διαλευκάνει αυτό τον αποτρόπαιο φόνο και να φτάσει στη ρίζα της αλήθειας, ο Κόρολεφ εισχωρεί στο βασίλειο των Ληστών, των ανθρώπων που κινούν τα νήματα του υποκόσμου της Μόσχας. Καθώς όμως οι φόνοι πληθαίνουν και τα πτώματα συσσωρεύονται, ο Κόρολεφ αρχίζει να αναρωτιέται ποιους μπορεί πραγματικά να εμπιστευτεί και ποιοι, σ' αυτή τη Ρωσία, όπου βασιλεύουν ο φόβος, η αβεβαιότητα και η πείνα, είναι οι πραγματικοί ένοχοι. Πολύ σύντομα ο Κόρολεφ θα ανακαλύψει ότι απειλούνται όχι μόνο οι ηθικές αρχές και τα πολιτικά του ιδανικά, αλλά και αυτή η ίδια η ζωή του... (ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΠΑΡΟΥΣΙΑΣΗ ΣΤΟ ΟΠΙΣΘΟΦΥΛΛΟ ΤΟΥ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΥ)
488 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
173 people are currently reading
3076 people want to read
About the author
William Ryan
9 books258 followersWilliam Ryan is the Irish author of six novels, including the Moscow Noir series, The Constant Soldier and, as W.C. Ryan, The Winter Guest and A House of Ghosts. They have been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Irish Fiction Award, the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year, the Endeavour Historical Gold Crown and the Crime Writer Association’s Gold, Steel, Historical and New Blood Daggers. His latest novel, The Winter Guest, set in the Irish War of Independence, has been described as ‘a gem of a novel’.
William lives in London and is a licensed mudlarker and keen cyclist. Not both at the same time.
William lives in London and is a licensed mudlarker and keen cyclist. Not both at the same time.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 368 reviews
July 14, 2018
Realmente me ha gustado. Es una muy buena novela sobre Rusia y su particular visión del mundo.
March 17, 2012
In 1936, Captain Alexei Korolev is a rising star in the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Militia. He's called to the scene of a murder in a former church that now serves as a community center. There, a young woman has been tortured to death on the (former) altar. Korolev, is shocked by the brutality of the crime and by the fact that it occurred in the former church. Although a devoted citizen of the new Soviet Union, Korolev still has some religious inclinations and hides a Bible beneath the floorboards of his small bedroom.
Alexie soon discovers that the victim is an American and a nun, and given the political implications of the crime, Col. Gregorin of the NKVD takes an interest. It soon becomes apparent that something very deep and sinister is going on here. Alexei must report everything he learns to Gregorin, but it's a one-way street. Gregorin clearly has information that Korolev believes would be useful to his investigation, but Gregorin is obviously holding back, claiming that he is protecting important state secrets.
Korolev is determined to solve the crime, even if it means overstepping the limits placed on his activity. He becomes entangled with elements of the Moscow underworld and before long, places himself at great physical and political risk.
This is a well-told story, although most readers will see where it's going early on. But what's really fascinating is the character that Ryan has created in Alexei Korolev. Korolev, a veteran of the harsh fighting in World War I, is not naive. But he does truly believe that, despite all the problems the country and its citizens are suffering at the moment, the Soviet Union will soon be a model for the rest of the world to emulate. He's also ready to accept the fact that sacrifices must be made to attain that goal and that the authorities might sometimes have to take actions that would otherwise seem inexplicable and indefensible.
Alexei Korolev is a good man caught up in the machinations of a deeply troubled authoritarian state. And, unfortunately, things are not about to get better. The reader knows that just ahead are the horrors of Stalin's purges and the Second World War, all of which will make the suffering that Alexei and his fellow citizens suffer in 1936, seem like child's play. Alexei, of course, cannot see them coming and the reader can only shudder at the thought of what's waiting for him just around the bend.
This book was originally published in England and I wound up with a numbered signed first edition. All the more disappointing then, is the fact that this is the most poorly manufactured book I have bought in some time. The binding feels cheap and the pages are rippled. It looks for all the world like someone dumped it in a tub of water and then set it out to dry in the sun. I assume that this didn't happen, but this is certainly not a good advertisement for the publisher.
Alexie soon discovers that the victim is an American and a nun, and given the political implications of the crime, Col. Gregorin of the NKVD takes an interest. It soon becomes apparent that something very deep and sinister is going on here. Alexei must report everything he learns to Gregorin, but it's a one-way street. Gregorin clearly has information that Korolev believes would be useful to his investigation, but Gregorin is obviously holding back, claiming that he is protecting important state secrets.
Korolev is determined to solve the crime, even if it means overstepping the limits placed on his activity. He becomes entangled with elements of the Moscow underworld and before long, places himself at great physical and political risk.
This is a well-told story, although most readers will see where it's going early on. But what's really fascinating is the character that Ryan has created in Alexei Korolev. Korolev, a veteran of the harsh fighting in World War I, is not naive. But he does truly believe that, despite all the problems the country and its citizens are suffering at the moment, the Soviet Union will soon be a model for the rest of the world to emulate. He's also ready to accept the fact that sacrifices must be made to attain that goal and that the authorities might sometimes have to take actions that would otherwise seem inexplicable and indefensible.
Alexei Korolev is a good man caught up in the machinations of a deeply troubled authoritarian state. And, unfortunately, things are not about to get better. The reader knows that just ahead are the horrors of Stalin's purges and the Second World War, all of which will make the suffering that Alexei and his fellow citizens suffer in 1936, seem like child's play. Alexei, of course, cannot see them coming and the reader can only shudder at the thought of what's waiting for him just around the bend.
This book was originally published in England and I wound up with a numbered signed first edition. All the more disappointing then, is the fact that this is the most poorly manufactured book I have bought in some time. The binding feels cheap and the pages are rippled. It looks for all the world like someone dumped it in a tub of water and then set it out to dry in the sun. I assume that this didn't happen, but this is certainly not a good advertisement for the publisher.
May 15, 2016
Having recently been introduced to the writing of this author by the lovely Sophie when she sent me a review copy of his new novel coming later this year – The Constant Soldier – which I liked a little bit, maybe (Yes I know I’ll shut up soon about it. Soon as in never) I immediately went and got his previous 3 novels. Because in book love as in real love sometimes you just know.
The Holy Thief is a very different type of story, but turns out that The Constant Soldier was not a fluke so I refer you back to the “sometimes you just know” comment.
Anyway that aside, admittedly I know little to nothing about Stalin’s Russia or that time period in general so the world that William Ryan threw me into here was entirely intriguing, brand new and utterly compelling. Also very very scary, violently intense and the writing here once again is so beautifully immersive that reading it felt like it was right now in the moment. I LOVE books that can do that. Bookish deliciousness of the highest order.
Korolev as a character I just adored, was immediately engaged by and he just had such a layered and often conflicted personality that following along with him was a joy (although often very nail biting with an edge of worry and a touch of oh God) The Holy Thief is very much driven by the main protagonist, through whose eyes you get a real feel for the political landscape, the challenges people living there and then faced, the very real danger they were all in all of the time. Crime fiction with a heavy dose of brutal reality thrown in for good measure, taking you back in time in style – no need for that Delorean, just a pen and a touch of creative genius.
That would be enough but the story unfolding is incredibly addictive (and descriptive, blimey Mr Ryan thanks for THAT particularly vivid nightmare) and has enough twists and turns to keep the most avid crime fan happy. I’m not one for taking plots apart the next reader just needs the sense of it so I’ll say – the scene setting is perfect, many thought provoking themes running through the narrative and overall just, you know, yes. All the Yes.
I’ll be onto the next book in this series quick smart.
Highly Recommended.
The Holy Thief is a very different type of story, but turns out that The Constant Soldier was not a fluke so I refer you back to the “sometimes you just know” comment.
Anyway that aside, admittedly I know little to nothing about Stalin’s Russia or that time period in general so the world that William Ryan threw me into here was entirely intriguing, brand new and utterly compelling. Also very very scary, violently intense and the writing here once again is so beautifully immersive that reading it felt like it was right now in the moment. I LOVE books that can do that. Bookish deliciousness of the highest order.
Korolev as a character I just adored, was immediately engaged by and he just had such a layered and often conflicted personality that following along with him was a joy (although often very nail biting with an edge of worry and a touch of oh God) The Holy Thief is very much driven by the main protagonist, through whose eyes you get a real feel for the political landscape, the challenges people living there and then faced, the very real danger they were all in all of the time. Crime fiction with a heavy dose of brutal reality thrown in for good measure, taking you back in time in style – no need for that Delorean, just a pen and a touch of creative genius.
That would be enough but the story unfolding is incredibly addictive (and descriptive, blimey Mr Ryan thanks for THAT particularly vivid nightmare) and has enough twists and turns to keep the most avid crime fan happy. I’m not one for taking plots apart the next reader just needs the sense of it so I’ll say – the scene setting is perfect, many thought provoking themes running through the narrative and overall just, you know, yes. All the Yes.
I’ll be onto the next book in this series quick smart.
Highly Recommended.
January 17, 2022
Loved the author's later novels,specially The Winter Guest,so I'm glad he distilled his prose,and can now weave a tight,interesting plot.If I' d read this one first,I wouldn't have given him another chance.
Pompous,slow moving,clichèd.
Pompous,slow moving,clichèd.
September 28, 2017
This - along with a number of solid history tomes and some Russian literature - was on the introductory reading list for a Masters module on Soviet and recent Russian history. [Before friends ask, I'm not actually studying it, but I would if in more suitable circumstances and able to afford it comfortably.] With this provenance, the historical accuracy would probably be a cut above your average detective novel set in the past. I also got into reading Nordic thrillers the same way, beginning with some that were on an old UCL Scandinavian Studies reading list.
And everything about the general atmosphere and background behaviour of characters rings true with what I've read previously about Stalinist Russia. As in all but the most ploddingly realistic of procedurals, there are scenes that stretch credulity a bit, but having a main character with a history of dumb luck certainly helps. Besides it was often thanks to improbable luck that real people survived times like that. It does feature some scenes of torture, but, because they fit the setting completely, I find them less unpleasant and gratuitous than in a contemporary mystery about a serial killer written just for the hell of it. It's interesting to see how the traditional fictional detective template (Korolev is divorced, in his forties and doesn't mind a drink) is adjusted to the environment of Russia in 1936, because no one could really be too much of a maverick and get away with it, and it would be too ridiculous to pretend otherwise.
This is better written than the average procedural, though it's still not one for those who insist only on the very finest of writing. I thought the author struck the right balance in using his research without excess infodumping, interesting, a bit of exposition for the reader unfamiliar with some of the circumstances, but not overly forced, (and there's a great list of books in the back about daily life under Stalin). The main irritation was the amount of physical description of characters. New person appears, we get a paragraph on what they look like. It's not sexualised or overly idealised; there's just too great a quantity. But at least it doesn't use characters looking into mirrors as a device. Readers who get tired of sexism in historical mysteries may be pleasantly surprised that there's very little here, without its making a point of being overly modern. It also doesn't let the reader get too comfortable: the characters whom, in a contemporary procedural, you'd look forward to seeing in the next book... not all of them survive; they wouldn't have. It also manages to have more nuance than many would write in fiction about this era, as there are some more reasonable individuals among the police and Chekha; it's not as if everyone except the protagonist is evil, and some characters turn out to have dimensions you wouldn't expect. (Although the basics of one plotline proved guessable.)
Isaac Babel is a supporting character with a significant role. I have only read his Odessa Stories, so I'm not sure how much Ryan is paying tribute to Babel for having inspired some of The Holy Thief via later stories set in Moscow. If he was, I thought it was quite elegantly done. It's an affectionate and characterful portrayal of the writer, so I would think that as a fan one would have to be rather humourless to mind it, and also to have missed the point of a genre novel like this one.
Sometimes wondered if I ought to give it 3/3.5 because not everyone I know on GR would think it their cup of tea, but there are two people to whom I'd actively recommend it (for the combination of procedural and Russian history) - and I enjoyed it throughout, and was looking at others in the series before I was anywhere near finished.
And everything about the general atmosphere and background behaviour of characters rings true with what I've read previously about Stalinist Russia. As in all but the most ploddingly realistic of procedurals, there are scenes that stretch credulity a bit, but having a main character with a history of dumb luck certainly helps. Besides it was often thanks to improbable luck that real people survived times like that. It does feature some scenes of torture, but, because they fit the setting completely, I find them less unpleasant and gratuitous than in a contemporary mystery about a serial killer written just for the hell of it. It's interesting to see how the traditional fictional detective template (Korolev is divorced, in his forties and doesn't mind a drink) is adjusted to the environment of Russia in 1936, because no one could really be too much of a maverick and get away with it, and it would be too ridiculous to pretend otherwise.
This is better written than the average procedural, though it's still not one for those who insist only on the very finest of writing. I thought the author struck the right balance in using his research without excess infodumping, interesting, a bit of exposition for the reader unfamiliar with some of the circumstances, but not overly forced, (and there's a great list of books in the back about daily life under Stalin). The main irritation was the amount of physical description of characters. New person appears, we get a paragraph on what they look like. It's not sexualised or overly idealised; there's just too great a quantity. But at least it doesn't use characters looking into mirrors as a device. Readers who get tired of sexism in historical mysteries may be pleasantly surprised that there's very little here, without its making a point of being overly modern. It also doesn't let the reader get too comfortable: the characters whom, in a contemporary procedural, you'd look forward to seeing in the next book... not all of them survive; they wouldn't have. It also manages to have more nuance than many would write in fiction about this era, as there are some more reasonable individuals among the police and Chekha; it's not as if everyone except the protagonist is evil, and some characters turn out to have dimensions you wouldn't expect. (Although the basics of one plotline proved guessable.)
Isaac Babel is a supporting character with a significant role. I have only read his Odessa Stories, so I'm not sure how much Ryan is paying tribute to Babel for having inspired some of The Holy Thief via later stories set in Moscow. If he was, I thought it was quite elegantly done. It's an affectionate and characterful portrayal of the writer, so I would think that as a fan one would have to be rather humourless to mind it, and also to have missed the point of a genre novel like this one.
Sometimes wondered if I ought to give it 3/3.5 because not everyone I know on GR would think it their cup of tea, but there are two people to whom I'd actively recommend it (for the combination of procedural and Russian history) - and I enjoyed it throughout, and was looking at others in the series before I was anywhere near finished.
March 16, 2017
Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο το διάβασα και 2η φορά ευχάριστα. Η ατμόσφαιρα της εποχής περιγράφεται αρκετά καλά κατά την γνώμη μου. Ρωσία και συγκεκριμένα Μόσχα την εποχή που ο Στάλιν ξεκινάει την μεγάλη εκκαθάριση λοιπόν. Η πείνα, η εξαθλίωση, ο φόβος, η απογόρευση των θρησκευτικών πεποιθήσεων. Το κύριο θέμα στο βιβλίο θα έλεγα πως είναι η παράνομη μεταφορά έργων τέχνης αλλά και θρησκευτικών κειμηλίων εκτός της χώρας. Και πιο συγκεκριμένα έχουμε την ιστορία της περίφημης εικόνα της Παναγίας του Καζάν, κοινώς την Καζανσκάγια, πολύ ιερή και θαυματουργή εικόνα της Παναγίας, προστάτιδας όλης της Ρωσίας αλλά και των ληστών, που μεταφέρθηκε στην Αμέρικη και πουλήθηκε σε αμερικάνικη οικογένεια. Σίγουρα θα διαβάσω σύντομα και τα επόμενα της σειράς. Τον συμπαθείς πολύ εύκολα τον Κόρολεφ!
September 30, 2017
I rarely give works of fiction a 5-star rating. But in this case I was compelled to do so.
Superbly narrated, richly atmospheric, with a great sense of place and period (Moscow 1936, during the Stalin's Great Terror period), and mostly with believable characters, this book has been a very enjoyable reading experience. The plot is admittedly a bit predictable, but this does not detract from its enjoyment. I am going to explore more of this author's books.
Highly recommended, especially if you are interested in recent Russian history.
Superbly narrated, richly atmospheric, with a great sense of place and period (Moscow 1936, during the Stalin's Great Terror period), and mostly with believable characters, this book has been a very enjoyable reading experience. The plot is admittedly a bit predictable, but this does not detract from its enjoyment. I am going to explore more of this author's books.
Highly recommended, especially if you are interested in recent Russian history.
February 10, 2012
Copy received from the Author.
Alexei Korolev is a criminal investigator with Moscow’s Militia in 1936. When he is told to investigate the murder of a young woman who was found, horribly mutilated, in a disused church he has no idea how much trouble he is going to end up finding himself in.
Although this is a criminal investigation, a political investigator from the NKVD takes an active interest in the case and the investigation, demanding daily updates from Korolev and providing titbits of information when he feels like it.
When it turns out the woman was American, the case gets a whole lot trickier. And then another body is found, mutilated in a similar way but this time the victim is a member of the Thieves, the rulers of Moscow’s underworld. Now the case is not only a political minefield but also highly confusing. What could possibly be the connection between the American woman and the seasoned criminal?
Korolev and his young partner Semionov slowly gather clues and try to make sense of them while around them political power-games are played out and one false move on their part could send them into exile or an even worse end.
This was a very good mystery. Korolev is a plausible main character. He is likeable, but not too good. He really wants to be a loyal communist and believe in the system, although he’s not blind to its faults and has some feelings which don’t quite fit the new doctrine.
A credible picture is painted of the fear and uncertainty that ruled everybody’s lives in those days, although it doesn’t make this a depressing read.
The mystery itself is well plotted and credible. The story provides tension as well as lighter moments in exactly the right balance and the pace of the story makes this a book that is very hard to put down.
I haven’t read any other reviews for this book, but without a doubt comparisons will have been made to Tom Rob Smith’s trilogy. And to some extend those comparisons would be right. However, I prefer this story over the ones by Smith.
While Smith’s books felt more like political stories build around a man who happened to be an investigator, this is first and foremost a mystery, despite its setting. Underneath it all, the book is about a police detective trying to solve horrendous murders as best he can despite the circumstances he has to investigate under and the political minefield he finds himself in.
And although the politics of the time and the ways in which they determine what people can say, do and even think are always present, the mystery remains the main focus of the story. And that for me made this book a fascinating and riveting read.
I’m going to have to get my hands on the next Korolev mystery, The Bloody Meadow, real soon. This is a mystery series I will be following faithfully from now on.
Alexei Korolev is a criminal investigator with Moscow’s Militia in 1936. When he is told to investigate the murder of a young woman who was found, horribly mutilated, in a disused church he has no idea how much trouble he is going to end up finding himself in.
Although this is a criminal investigation, a political investigator from the NKVD takes an active interest in the case and the investigation, demanding daily updates from Korolev and providing titbits of information when he feels like it.
When it turns out the woman was American, the case gets a whole lot trickier. And then another body is found, mutilated in a similar way but this time the victim is a member of the Thieves, the rulers of Moscow’s underworld. Now the case is not only a political minefield but also highly confusing. What could possibly be the connection between the American woman and the seasoned criminal?
Korolev and his young partner Semionov slowly gather clues and try to make sense of them while around them political power-games are played out and one false move on their part could send them into exile or an even worse end.
This was a very good mystery. Korolev is a plausible main character. He is likeable, but not too good. He really wants to be a loyal communist and believe in the system, although he’s not blind to its faults and has some feelings which don’t quite fit the new doctrine.
A credible picture is painted of the fear and uncertainty that ruled everybody’s lives in those days, although it doesn’t make this a depressing read.
The mystery itself is well plotted and credible. The story provides tension as well as lighter moments in exactly the right balance and the pace of the story makes this a book that is very hard to put down.
I haven’t read any other reviews for this book, but without a doubt comparisons will have been made to Tom Rob Smith’s trilogy. And to some extend those comparisons would be right. However, I prefer this story over the ones by Smith.
While Smith’s books felt more like political stories build around a man who happened to be an investigator, this is first and foremost a mystery, despite its setting. Underneath it all, the book is about a police detective trying to solve horrendous murders as best he can despite the circumstances he has to investigate under and the political minefield he finds himself in.
And although the politics of the time and the ways in which they determine what people can say, do and even think are always present, the mystery remains the main focus of the story. And that for me made this book a fascinating and riveting read.
I’m going to have to get my hands on the next Korolev mystery, The Bloody Meadow, real soon. This is a mystery series I will be following faithfully from now on.
March 31, 2020
Review to follow.
May 6, 2025
Ubistvo u Staljinovoj Rusiji. Solidno.
October 3, 2011
THE HOLY THIEF by William Ryan © 2010 was captivating with some clever twists.
For years I’ve complained that anyone whose life was not solely focused on a story would benefit from the help of a Cast of Characters, maps, and an index. Most memorably, William Tapply wrote that the presence of a Cast of Characters was an indicator to him of a poorly written book. THE HOLY THIEF is a case in point, and it’s further complicated by the apparent Russian tendency to use the last, first and middle names in various combinations depending upon the intimacy between speakers. As it was, my attention skipped over any number of names whose history and relevance I couldn’t quite remember.
The setting is Moscow in 1936 where persecution of anti-Communists is pervasive and ordinary citizens are terrorized. Further, it’s the onset of winter and nobody has quite enough to eat or wear. Truthfully, this is an utterly miserable place to visit. If this is reasonable portrayal of pre-war Soviet Union, then I’m demmed glad to be an impoverished capitalist. Fair warning: the crimes are gruesome.
The most redeeming factor is the protagonist, Captain Alexei Dimitriyevich Korolev of the Moscow CID, a man whose charm becomes more endearing as the story wends.
An usual story with a disturbing setting, but I’m glad I read THE HOLY THIEF.
Theresa de Valence
http://www.reviewsbytdev.com/content/...
For years I’ve complained that anyone whose life was not solely focused on a story would benefit from the help of a Cast of Characters, maps, and an index. Most memorably, William Tapply wrote that the presence of a Cast of Characters was an indicator to him of a poorly written book. THE HOLY THIEF is a case in point, and it’s further complicated by the apparent Russian tendency to use the last, first and middle names in various combinations depending upon the intimacy between speakers. As it was, my attention skipped over any number of names whose history and relevance I couldn’t quite remember.
The setting is Moscow in 1936 where persecution of anti-Communists is pervasive and ordinary citizens are terrorized. Further, it’s the onset of winter and nobody has quite enough to eat or wear. Truthfully, this is an utterly miserable place to visit. If this is reasonable portrayal of pre-war Soviet Union, then I’m demmed glad to be an impoverished capitalist. Fair warning: the crimes are gruesome.
The most redeeming factor is the protagonist, Captain Alexei Dimitriyevich Korolev of the Moscow CID, a man whose charm becomes more endearing as the story wends.
An usual story with a disturbing setting, but I’m glad I read THE HOLY THIEF.
Theresa de Valence
http://www.reviewsbytdev.com/content/...
August 30, 2019
Μου άρεσε πολύ η περιγραφή της κατάστασης που επικρατούσε στη Σοβιετική Ένωση εκείνη την εποχή, και το γενικότερο κλίμα φόβου, ανασφάλειας και απομόνωσης που επικρατούσε στους πολίτες όποιο και να ήταν το επάγγελμά τους. Μου άρεσε πολύ και ο Κορόλεφ, νομίζω είναι από τους συμπαθέστερους ντετέκτιβ που έχω πετύχει σε σειρές αστυνομικών βιβλίων. Δεν μου άρεσε όμως η πλοκή, καθόλου. Μάλιστα, στα σημεία που υποτίθεται ότι υπήρχε ένταση βαριόμουν.
Δεν ξέρω αν θα διαβάσω άλλο της σειράς, θα δείξει.
Δεν ξέρω αν θα διαβάσω άλλο της σειράς, θα δείξει.
August 30, 2014
A grisly murder. A Russian Detective in Moscow handed a hot potato of a case he knows he shouldn’t take. Especially as it’s 1936, you’re 42, your boss is Stalin, and he’s getting twitchy… But what are you gonna do? A nice new flat, is a nice new flat, no matter where it is, who you have to share it with and who might have just been kicked out of it to make way for you. When you’re in favour, you learn to take what you can get, ask questions later and hope the answers are what your bosses want to hear.
There’s been a murder. A horrible one (you’re going to need some steely nerves, to read about the murders and murderer here), a ritualistic-looking murder in a deconsecrated church. In Moscow, of all places. Where religion isn’t supposed to exist. Or is frowned upon at the best, can be bad for your career as well. Not something you shout about, or cross yourself while others are looking. But Korolev is a patient, careful, diligent and methodical man. A model Soviet citizen, by the looks of it (“The highest conviction rate in the division and you didn’t even beat the convictions out of them”). However, he prays to the God the Soviets say doesn’t exist. Just to be on the safe side, as it were. So, a mutilated woman is the case facing our Alexei Dimitrevich Korolev of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Militia. A case he knows is going to lead to problems and him into trouble. A case he knows he should run away screaming from. What could possibly go wrong? Oh yeah, the woman turns out to be an American. And the NKVD, the most feared of the most feared services in the new worker’s paradise that is the early Soviet Union, are involved. But don’t want any one to know. Unless they are crossed. But they’re not going to tell you when that is.
The story builds slowly, the investigation takes time to get going. This is both because an investigation like that, at that time, would have taken time to get going, but also because William Ryan is (in case you didn’t know it) getting started on a series of books about the investigative skills of Captain Korolev. So there’s a lot of background work to be put in. About him and about the Russia he was working in. This is done very well indeed. It did remind me of Sam Eastman’s 'Red…’ series I’ve read a couple of. They are perhaps even more bleak than these and his Inspector Pekkala has been a favourite of the Tzar’s before becoming involved under Stalin. Korolev is further down the revolutionary pecking order, isn’t working so closely with Stalin as Pekala, for example, and I don’t remember if William Ryan described his pre-Revolution background. Maybe that’s to come. Both are detectives and both are determined to solve the crime from the point of view that a murder has been committed, someone is responsible and they have been tasked with finding the perpetrator. They want to solve the crime without it spilling over into political recriminations. Though of course, in Soviet Russia of the 1930’s, that is largely out of their hands.
Korolev is totally a product of the Revolution. He supports it, enthusiastically, not in the ways you’re thinking, but perhaps more in its original principles and aims. Though I get the feeling, that William Ryan has intended that Korolev is behind the Revolution for what he, Korolev, thought it was for and would lead to. He hasn’t quite got to grips with what it became under Stalin. He is realistic and he sees signs of course (“The hotel might be owned by the People, but that didn’t mean the People were crazy enough to visit it”), he’s not an idiot and not blind, but seems still to be operating in something of a Revolutionary ‘glow.’ That’s the impression I got from his character anyway. It’s one I look forward to seeing develop in future Korolev stories. Other comparisons, in terms of the level of assimilation into Russian/Moscovian life in the 1930’s under Stalin can and should be made with the masterly work of David Downing. While Downing is of course in Germany before and during (so far for me) the Second World War, that is only a couple of years later than when this book is set, don’t forget. While I don’t think William Ryan is up to David Downing levels just yet, but he shows all the signs of getting there, quickly. I can’t praise the book higher than that.
It really felt a little like the start of a series, where there’s a lot of background and character work to be done and the story, or the danger/excitement/tension levels suffer a little as a result. Having said that, the scenes in the Lubyanka prison and some of the various confrontations were extremely tense and very well done. If anything, it showed that in Stalin’s Russia, at that time anyway, the criminals were a lot more dependable, predictable and honest in a way, than those working for a better future for the proletariat.
There’s been a murder. A horrible one (you’re going to need some steely nerves, to read about the murders and murderer here), a ritualistic-looking murder in a deconsecrated church. In Moscow, of all places. Where religion isn’t supposed to exist. Or is frowned upon at the best, can be bad for your career as well. Not something you shout about, or cross yourself while others are looking. But Korolev is a patient, careful, diligent and methodical man. A model Soviet citizen, by the looks of it (“The highest conviction rate in the division and you didn’t even beat the convictions out of them”). However, he prays to the God the Soviets say doesn’t exist. Just to be on the safe side, as it were. So, a mutilated woman is the case facing our Alexei Dimitrevich Korolev of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Militia. A case he knows is going to lead to problems and him into trouble. A case he knows he should run away screaming from. What could possibly go wrong? Oh yeah, the woman turns out to be an American. And the NKVD, the most feared of the most feared services in the new worker’s paradise that is the early Soviet Union, are involved. But don’t want any one to know. Unless they are crossed. But they’re not going to tell you when that is.
The story builds slowly, the investigation takes time to get going. This is both because an investigation like that, at that time, would have taken time to get going, but also because William Ryan is (in case you didn’t know it) getting started on a series of books about the investigative skills of Captain Korolev. So there’s a lot of background work to be put in. About him and about the Russia he was working in. This is done very well indeed. It did remind me of Sam Eastman’s 'Red…’ series I’ve read a couple of. They are perhaps even more bleak than these and his Inspector Pekkala has been a favourite of the Tzar’s before becoming involved under Stalin. Korolev is further down the revolutionary pecking order, isn’t working so closely with Stalin as Pekala, for example, and I don’t remember if William Ryan described his pre-Revolution background. Maybe that’s to come. Both are detectives and both are determined to solve the crime from the point of view that a murder has been committed, someone is responsible and they have been tasked with finding the perpetrator. They want to solve the crime without it spilling over into political recriminations. Though of course, in Soviet Russia of the 1930’s, that is largely out of their hands.
Korolev is totally a product of the Revolution. He supports it, enthusiastically, not in the ways you’re thinking, but perhaps more in its original principles and aims. Though I get the feeling, that William Ryan has intended that Korolev is behind the Revolution for what he, Korolev, thought it was for and would lead to. He hasn’t quite got to grips with what it became under Stalin. He is realistic and he sees signs of course (“The hotel might be owned by the People, but that didn’t mean the People were crazy enough to visit it”), he’s not an idiot and not blind, but seems still to be operating in something of a Revolutionary ‘glow.’ That’s the impression I got from his character anyway. It’s one I look forward to seeing develop in future Korolev stories. Other comparisons, in terms of the level of assimilation into Russian/Moscovian life in the 1930’s under Stalin can and should be made with the masterly work of David Downing. While Downing is of course in Germany before and during (so far for me) the Second World War, that is only a couple of years later than when this book is set, don’t forget. While I don’t think William Ryan is up to David Downing levels just yet, but he shows all the signs of getting there, quickly. I can’t praise the book higher than that.
It really felt a little like the start of a series, where there’s a lot of background and character work to be done and the story, or the danger/excitement/tension levels suffer a little as a result. Having said that, the scenes in the Lubyanka prison and some of the various confrontations were extremely tense and very well done. If anything, it showed that in Stalin’s Russia, at that time anyway, the criminals were a lot more dependable, predictable and honest in a way, than those working for a better future for the proletariat.
April 30, 2012
At the book’s heart is Captain Alexei Korolev of the Moscow Militia CID. When a girl is found murdered in a deconsecrated Moscow church, he struggles with his sense of outrage at the brutality of the killing and the ramifications for his career and indeed his life when it becomes apparent that the Russian hierarchy are taking an interest in the investigation. The victim is identified as an American citizen with an interest in Russian icons and is therefore deemed ‘political’ by the Moscow NKVD, the forerunners of the KGB. As more bodies emerge, Korolev also has to delve into the word of the ‘Thieves’, the Moscow underworld with their trademark killings and twisted honour to bring the case to a resolution of sorts.
Set in 1936 Moscow at the start of Stalin’s purges, this turned out to be a different book than I had expected to read. Details of the purges were there, with even police officers fearing for their lives, but the focus of the book was on the Moscow underworld and, interestingly, the trade in icons being sent out of Russia. The role of the Orthodox Church during the Soviet era is something I know nothing about and the book details how Russian émigrés arranged for icons and other religious artefacts to be sold to buyers in the United States with the collusion of the Soviet state who wanted them removed. This aspect of the plot doesn’t dominate but I found it fascinating how Korolev struggles with his Soviet atheistic convictions and his instinctive respect towards holy buildings and artefacts.
The police investigation has its own twists and turns as Korolev is himself watched by the fearful NKVD and some police personnel die in mysterious circumstances. Korolev is an interesting character with plenty of room for development over future books. His relationship with the pathologist Dr Chestnova in particular is well done. But what made this book stand out for me was intelligent writing married to an interesting plot set in a fascinating period. There are a few brutal passages that I winced over but given the period setting and cast of characters did not seem gratuitous.
Set in 1936 Moscow at the start of Stalin’s purges, this turned out to be a different book than I had expected to read. Details of the purges were there, with even police officers fearing for their lives, but the focus of the book was on the Moscow underworld and, interestingly, the trade in icons being sent out of Russia. The role of the Orthodox Church during the Soviet era is something I know nothing about and the book details how Russian émigrés arranged for icons and other religious artefacts to be sold to buyers in the United States with the collusion of the Soviet state who wanted them removed. This aspect of the plot doesn’t dominate but I found it fascinating how Korolev struggles with his Soviet atheistic convictions and his instinctive respect towards holy buildings and artefacts.
The police investigation has its own twists and turns as Korolev is himself watched by the fearful NKVD and some police personnel die in mysterious circumstances. Korolev is an interesting character with plenty of room for development over future books. His relationship with the pathologist Dr Chestnova in particular is well done. But what made this book stand out for me was intelligent writing married to an interesting plot set in a fascinating period. There are a few brutal passages that I winced over but given the period setting and cast of characters did not seem gratuitous.
January 12, 2013
As I was reading The Holy Thief I realized that Korolev reminds me of James Garner’s TV character in The Rockford Files. Both investigators just want to do their job and yet every assignment somehow gets horribly complicated. Both investigators want to do the right thing, and yet sometimes that means going outside the law. And both characters have been matured by life and yet still have a sense of optimism and humor. Ryan writes of a difficult political time in Russian history that can only be described with dread and yet the author is available to show how even at the worst of times people find humor and friendship that binds them together regardless of their struggles.
One of the things I found most interesting in this first book was Ryan’s obvious powers of observation. Korolev notes several times throughout the book how another character, Babel – who is a writer –watches people. Babel goes on to explain that writers are interested in how people do things. I feel this must be true of Ryan as well as he seamlessly adds small physical movements and character details into the story so that his characters come alive. You can feel their stress and the wear of life on them, but also you can feel the heartbeat of hope within them and their will to survive. It makes for a very enjoyable read.
Another interesting thought about Ryan’s work is that he has used children in both books as key supporting characters. Whether it is little Natasha who has clearly adopted Korolev as a father figure, the little redheaded orphan Kim Goldstein who has a great future as a thief already established, or a child actor who uses a movie set as his playground, Ryan portrays children with maturity beyond their years. Maybe it is a nod to the historical period they live in where children must grow up quickly to survive, but it is also efficient use of characters. Ryan gets the most out of every character he introduces regardless of their age and that makes for a very rich reading experience.
One of the things I found most interesting in this first book was Ryan’s obvious powers of observation. Korolev notes several times throughout the book how another character, Babel – who is a writer –watches people. Babel goes on to explain that writers are interested in how people do things. I feel this must be true of Ryan as well as he seamlessly adds small physical movements and character details into the story so that his characters come alive. You can feel their stress and the wear of life on them, but also you can feel the heartbeat of hope within them and their will to survive. It makes for a very enjoyable read.
Another interesting thought about Ryan’s work is that he has used children in both books as key supporting characters. Whether it is little Natasha who has clearly adopted Korolev as a father figure, the little redheaded orphan Kim Goldstein who has a great future as a thief already established, or a child actor who uses a movie set as his playground, Ryan portrays children with maturity beyond their years. Maybe it is a nod to the historical period they live in where children must grow up quickly to survive, but it is also efficient use of characters. Ryan gets the most out of every character he introduces regardless of their age and that makes for a very rich reading experience.
March 18, 2017
In general, I enjoy novels about Soviet-era Russia - books like Gorky Park, Child 44, etc. which is what originally lead me to this novel. I felt this novel was very well done with strong, well-rounded main characters. What I found different (and very interesting) was Korolev's general attitude towards the State apparatus. In other novels of this era, the characters all seem to be moral upstanding men who are stuck in a bad position because of the Communist leaders and try to make the best of it - but most of them seem to secretly hate the State. Korolev (at least for most of the novel) isn't like that. He sees things for what they are, he is moral and has is own code, but he also has an almost child-like faith in the State and in Stalin that things are only this way because the revolution hasn't finished. That they all need to just bare with it and things will soon be paradise on Earth. Overall, I enjoyed the murder mystery aspect and watching Korolev investigate an ever-widening conspiracy. Very entertaining read - I will be reading more books by William Ryan.
September 20, 2015
Αρκετά καλό αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα, που το μεγάλο του πλεονέκτημα έγκειται στη λεπτομερή περιγραφή μιας επαχθούς εποχής συγκαλλυμένης δικτατορίας, η οποία από μόνη της δημιουργεί μια κλειστοφοβική και αγχωτική ατμόσφαιρα. Ο συγγραφέας δημιουργεί έναν συμπαθή ήρωα ο οποίος δεν είναι Ηρακλής Πουαρώ, αλλά έχει τα ελαττώματά του και κάνει λάθη, ώστε να μοιάζει γνώριμος στον κάθε αναγνώστη. Η πλοκή εκτυλίσσεται βαθμιαία και η αγωνία κορυφώνεται σταδιακά, κρατώντας τον αναγνώστη σε επαγρύπνηση. Μόνο ψεγάδι ότι, τελικά, σαν συνολική εικόνα η αστυνομική ιστορία υπολείπεται σε σχέση με την ιστορική καταγραφή της ρωσικής κοινωνίας της εποχής του Στάλιν. Συστήνεται στους λάτρεις των νουάρ μυθιστορημάτων. (7/10)
November 26, 2018
Θα έβαζα 2.5 αν γινόταν... Καλογραμμένο αστυνομικό νουάρ άλλα λίγο αδιάφορη η βασική ιστορία.
March 22, 2019
An interesting insight into what life might have been like in Stalin's Russia, combined with a good detective story.
April 1, 2025
A TERRIFIC MURDER MYSTERY SET IN STALIN'S SOVIET UNION
With The Holy Thief, William Ryan joins Martin Cruz Smith (the Arkady Renko series) and Tom Rob Smith (the Child 44 Trilogy), whose compelling crime novels have illuminated the dark recesses of Stalin’s USSR.
However, Ryan’s new contribution is set not in the 1950s, the 80s, or more recently, as are those of the two Smiths. The setting is the 1930s during the peak of Stalin’s wide-ranging purges of the Communist Party and the military. It’s unusual for a novel to include a list of sources, but The Holy Thief ends with a long one, testament to the thoroughness with which Ryan approached his subject. The picture that emerges is much darker than those painted by the two Smiths—which is only natural, since untold millions died on Stalin’s orders in the 1930s.
Conveying the pervasive paranoia of Stalin’s regime
What’s most distinctive, and most rewarding, about this engrossing novel is the adroit way Ryan conveys a sense of the pervasive paranoia fostered by Stalin’s reign of terror. The abject poverty of the USSR comes through clearly as well. Yet only a handful of freethinkers see the flaws in the system. Virtually everyone else is convinced that the Soviet Union will triumph under the brilliant leadership of Joseph Stalin, and all will be well in a future Communist state.
Judging from the popularity of Vladimir Putin in today’s Russia, it’s not hard to believe the acceptance of Stalin’s lies. Putin doesn’t have on his hands the blood of millions, at least not yet, and his government falls short of totalitarianism, but the kleptocracy over which he presides matches the scale of Stalin’s regime.
Stalin’s USSR is a grim place
The story is complex. It’s 1936. A young woman turns up the victim of a gruesome murder in one of the few churches left standing in Moscow. Local police call Detective Captain Alexei Dmitriyevich Korolev of the Moscow Militia’s Criminal Investigation Division to the scene. (The Militia, the Soviet counterpart to Scotland Yard, is the junior partner to the much-feared NKVD—predecessor to the KGB—within the state security apparatus.)
Shortly after Korolev undertakes his investigation into the baffling crime, a Colonel Gregorin, one of the most senior officers in the NKVD. approaches him. Gregorin volunteers the information that the murdered woman is of Russian birth but American citizenship. She is an Orthodox nun, Gregorin explains. It soon transpires that the nun was apparently part of a conspiracy to steal a highly prized icon and spirit it away to the US, safe from the predations of the Soviet government.
Then a second murder victim, a Thief, surfaces at a soccer stadium, clearly butchered by the same person. (The Thieves are a tightly knit network of murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals who essentially run the prisons in the Gulag and lord it over lesser underworld figures in Russia’s cities.) Somehow, the two murders are connected—and Korolev must figure out how.
The Holy Thief is suspenseful and full of surprises. Any fan of crime novels, detective fiction, or thrillers—or, for that matter, historical fiction—will likely find this book rewarding.
About the author
William Ryan is the Irish author of six novels, including the Captain Korolev series, set in 1930s Moscow. The books have appeared on the shortlists for numerous awards. Ryan was born in 1965 in London and lives there now.
With The Holy Thief, William Ryan joins Martin Cruz Smith (the Arkady Renko series) and Tom Rob Smith (the Child 44 Trilogy), whose compelling crime novels have illuminated the dark recesses of Stalin’s USSR.
However, Ryan’s new contribution is set not in the 1950s, the 80s, or more recently, as are those of the two Smiths. The setting is the 1930s during the peak of Stalin’s wide-ranging purges of the Communist Party and the military. It’s unusual for a novel to include a list of sources, but The Holy Thief ends with a long one, testament to the thoroughness with which Ryan approached his subject. The picture that emerges is much darker than those painted by the two Smiths—which is only natural, since untold millions died on Stalin’s orders in the 1930s.
Conveying the pervasive paranoia of Stalin’s regime
What’s most distinctive, and most rewarding, about this engrossing novel is the adroit way Ryan conveys a sense of the pervasive paranoia fostered by Stalin’s reign of terror. The abject poverty of the USSR comes through clearly as well. Yet only a handful of freethinkers see the flaws in the system. Virtually everyone else is convinced that the Soviet Union will triumph under the brilliant leadership of Joseph Stalin, and all will be well in a future Communist state.
Judging from the popularity of Vladimir Putin in today’s Russia, it’s not hard to believe the acceptance of Stalin’s lies. Putin doesn’t have on his hands the blood of millions, at least not yet, and his government falls short of totalitarianism, but the kleptocracy over which he presides matches the scale of Stalin’s regime.
Stalin’s USSR is a grim place
The story is complex. It’s 1936. A young woman turns up the victim of a gruesome murder in one of the few churches left standing in Moscow. Local police call Detective Captain Alexei Dmitriyevich Korolev of the Moscow Militia’s Criminal Investigation Division to the scene. (The Militia, the Soviet counterpart to Scotland Yard, is the junior partner to the much-feared NKVD—predecessor to the KGB—within the state security apparatus.)
Shortly after Korolev undertakes his investigation into the baffling crime, a Colonel Gregorin, one of the most senior officers in the NKVD. approaches him. Gregorin volunteers the information that the murdered woman is of Russian birth but American citizenship. She is an Orthodox nun, Gregorin explains. It soon transpires that the nun was apparently part of a conspiracy to steal a highly prized icon and spirit it away to the US, safe from the predations of the Soviet government.
Then a second murder victim, a Thief, surfaces at a soccer stadium, clearly butchered by the same person. (The Thieves are a tightly knit network of murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals who essentially run the prisons in the Gulag and lord it over lesser underworld figures in Russia’s cities.) Somehow, the two murders are connected—and Korolev must figure out how.
The Holy Thief is suspenseful and full of surprises. Any fan of crime novels, detective fiction, or thrillers—or, for that matter, historical fiction—will likely find this book rewarding.
About the author
William Ryan is the Irish author of six novels, including the Captain Korolev series, set in 1930s Moscow. The books have appeared on the shortlists for numerous awards. Ryan was born in 1965 in London and lives there now.
August 9, 2017
Ryan has done a fairly good job in recreating the realities of Moscow in 1936, and the plotting is ok, though nothing extraordinary. But the way how people talk is just awful. As if the slogans would actually have dominated everyone's consciousness. Watching a few Soviet films (the ones from 1950s would do) might have given the author a few glimpses into the mentality, even though these, too, were based on a grossly oversimplified psychology and used carefully censored language. And when it comes to interior monologues - where the stuffy officialese often dominates over personal feelings and fears just as well - the human credibility of the characters suffers even more. The most interesting people in the novel, as a result, are those we are told less about, and who do not matter as much to the story itself. Thus in this first volume at least captain Korolev is no match for Arkady Renko of Martin Cruz Smith. Which is not to say he has no potential.
February 23, 2023
Δύο αστέρια και μισό, άντε και το μισό υπέρ του συγγραφέα.
Ένα βιβλίο που δεν είναι το κύριο θέμα που τραβάει την προσοχή σου, αλλά η ατμόσφαιρα της εποχής. Έχει αρχίσει η μεγάλη εκκαθάριση του “πατερούλη” και σε όλο το βιβλίο επικρατεί ξανά και ξανά η εξαθλίωση του ρωσικού λαού, η πείνα και ο πανταχού παρών φόβος. Και μέσα σε όλο αυτό το κλίμα έρχεται ένας αστυνομικός να εξιχνιάσει κάποιους φόνους και την αιτία τους. Οι προσπάθειές του, τον καθιστούν συμπαθή στον αναγνώστη λόγω όλης αυτής της ζοφερής κατάστασης μέσα στην οποία κινείται. Ειλικρινά πάντως, βλέπω το βιβλίο περισσότερο σαν ένα αντικομμουνιστικό, αντιρωσικό κείμενο παρά σαν ένα αστυνομικό.
Ένα βιβλίο που δεν είναι το κύριο θέμα που τραβάει την προσοχή σου, αλλά η ατμόσφαιρα της εποχής. Έχει αρχίσει η μεγάλη εκκαθάριση του “πατερούλη” και σε όλο το βιβλίο επικρατεί ξανά και ξανά η εξαθλίωση του ρωσικού λαού, η πείνα και ο πανταχού παρών φόβος. Και μέσα σε όλο αυτό το κλίμα έρχεται ένας αστυνομικός να εξιχνιάσει κάποιους φόνους και την αιτία τους. Οι προσπάθειές του, τον καθιστούν συμπαθή στον αναγνώστη λόγω όλης αυτής της ζοφερής κατάστασης μέσα στην οποία κινείται. Ειλικρινά πάντως, βλέπω το βιβλίο περισσότερο σαν ένα αντικομμουνιστικό, αντιρωσικό κείμενο παρά σαν ένα αστυνομικό.
August 6, 2023
Μόσχα,φόνοι,ρουφιάνοι,ασφαλίτες και ένας ωραίος τύπος για πρωταγωνιστής.Όλα αυτά λίγο πριν τον Β Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο.Δροσερότατο αντίδοτο στον καύσωνα.
March 18, 2017
Good story, nice to read about about somewhere else in the world. A good detective story, certainly not the biggest climax, but well written. Had to read the names over a few times, not use to Russian names. I did notice a few items related to the north america experience, certainly smoking was very prominent, everyone with stylish hats and the era of music, Jazz which fits the time period of 1936.
July 24, 2014
Το πρώτο βιβλίο της σειράς με ήρωα τον Αλεξέι Ντιμιτρίεβιτς Κόρολεφ.
Μόσχα 1936. Η μεγάλη εκκαθάριση του Στάλιν που αγωνίζεται να καθιερωθεί στο χώρο της προεδρίας της χώρας. Ο κομμουνισμός και η Επανάσταση έχουν επιφέρει τα αποτελέσματά τους: πείνα, εξαθλίωση, ανέχεια, φτώχεια και άφθονη βότκα, που φέρνει με τη σειρά της σωρεία βίας: βιασμοί, δολοφονίες, κλοπές. Μέσα σε αυτό το ζοφερό περιβάλλον ζει και ερευνά ο αστυνόμος της Διεύθυνσης Ποινικών Ερευνών και Λοχαγός της Πολιτοφυλακής της Μόσχας ("Μιλίτσια") Αλεξέι Ντιμιτρίεβιτς Κόρολεφ, χωρισμένος με παιδί που έχει να δει από το τότε που χώρισε με τη γυναίκα του.
Μιλίτσια ή Πολιτοφυλακή των Εργατών και των Αγροτών ήταν η Αστυνομία της πρώην Σοβιετικής Ένωσης. Τις ποινικές υποθέσεις διερευνά η αντίστοιχη Διεύθυνση στην οποία ανήκει ο Κόρολεφ ενώ τις πολιτικές η ΝιΚαΒεΝτε (NKVD), δηλαδή η Κρατική Ασφάλεια (NKVD = Λαϊκό Κομισαριάτο Εσωτερικών Υποθέσεων) με έδρα τα γραφεία της Λουμπιάνκα. Η Μιλίτσια και η ΝιΚαΒεΝτε υπάγονται στο Υπουργείο Κρατικής Ασφάλειας, όπου νέος κομισάριος αναλαμβάνει ο Γιέζοφ. Πρόδρομος της NKVD είναι η ΤσεΚά και συνέχειά της είναι η γνωστή σήμερα KGB.
Στο βιβλίο ζούμε επακριβώς την ατμόσφαιρα της εποχής, με τις ουρές για το ψωμί, με τα κάρα, με τις εκδηλώσεις για την επιτυχία της Επανάστασης, με την απαγόρευση θρησκευτικών πεποιθήσεων (θρησκεία είναι το Κόμμα), με την κοινωνική ένδεια των Ρώσων, με τους γαβριάδες και τα ορφανά παιδιά που πλημμύρισαν τους δρόμους της Μόσχας, με την απίστευτη φοβιστική ατμόσφαιρα όπου ο καθένας καταγγέλλει τον γείτονά του, τον φίλο του, τον αδερφό του για το παραμικρό, έστω και αν αυτό δεν ισχύει, μόνο και μόνο για να δημιουργηθούν προβλήματα, με τη σωρεία ανθρώπων που αυτοκτονούν μην αντέχοντας άλλο αυτήν την εκπεσμένη μορφή ζωής. Και το Κόμμα εκεί, να επιμένει στο σωστό της γραμμής και της σκέψης του! Η Σιβηρία να είναι το πιο έντονο φόβητρο, οι φυλακές της Λιουμπιάνα να είναι οι χειρότερες και πιο απάνθρωπες κλπ. Και σα να μη φτάναν όλα αυτά έπρεπε ο δόλιος ο λαός να προστατευτεί από ενδεχόμενους αεροπορικούς βομβαρδισμούς σε περίπτωση πολέμου και οι αντι-αεροπορικές ασκήσεις είναι σε καθημερινή βάση!
Σύμφωνα με την ιατροδικαστή που εξετάζει τα πτώματα των αυτοχείρων: "Αυτό που ξέρω εγώ είναι πως μου φαίνεται αντισοβιετικό να βά��εις μόνος σου τέλος στη ζωή σου σε μια εποχή εθνικής απειλής. Αν είσαι δυστυχισμένος, καλά θα κάνεις να βρεις παρηγοριά σε κάποια χρήσιμη εργασία. Αυτοί οι άνθρωποι ήταν εγωιστές. Ατομιστές. Έβαλαν όλοι τον εαυτό τους πάνω από το κράτος" (σελ. 81-82).
Ο Κόρολεφ αναζητά λοιπόν έναν κατά συρροήν δολοφόνο και μπλέκεται σε μια συνωμοσία λαθρεμπορίου πολύτιμων εικόνων, με κορυφαία τη μοναδική "Παναγία Καζάνσκαγια" (εικόνα της Παρθένου Μαρίας και του Ιησού νηπίου, που είχε πάρει το όνομά της από την πόλη Καζάν, όπου είχε θαυματουργά ανακαλυφθεί από τη Ευλογημένη Ματρόνα κι από τότε είχε προστατεύσει τη Ρωσία σε κάθε ώρα ανάγκης) να είναι στο μάτι όλων. Γιατί δολοφονούνται αυτά τα θύματα; Τι ξέρουν; Ποιος έχει την αυθεντική Καζάνσκαγια; Γιατί κινδυνεύει η ζωή του Κόρολεφ; Ποιος κρύβεται πίσω από τη συνωμοσία και γιατί κάποια στιγμή ο Κόρολεφ απομακρύνεται από την υπόθεση; Πόσο αναμεμιγμένος είναι ο ανώτερός του, συνταγματάρχης Γκρεγκόριν και γιατί; Ποια είναι η αλήθεια πίσω από αυτόν τον ιστό; Ποιος θα βγει κερδισμένος και ποιος θα χάσει; Μια περιπέτεια κατασκοπίας και ανελέητου κυνηγητού στους χιονισμένους δρόμους της Μόσχας και ο Κόρολεφ αγωνίζεται να παραμείνει άνθρωπος πιστός στις θρησκευτικές του πεποιθήσεις, κάτι που δεν πρέπει να μάθουν οι ανώτεροί του!
Η αρχή μιας πολύ καλής και ξεχωριστής σειράς αστυνομικών βιβλίων!
Στα ελληνικά από τη Διόπτρα το 2011.
Μόσχα 1936. Η μεγάλη εκκαθάριση του Στάλιν που αγωνίζεται να καθιερωθεί στο χώρο της προεδρίας της χώρας. Ο κομμουνισμός και η Επανάσταση έχουν επιφέρει τα αποτελέσματά τους: πείνα, εξαθλίωση, ανέχεια, φτώχεια και άφθονη βότκα, που φέρνει με τη σειρά της σωρεία βίας: βιασμοί, δολοφονίες, κλοπές. Μέσα σε αυτό το ζοφερό περιβάλλον ζει και ερευνά ο αστυνόμος της Διεύθυνσης Ποινικών Ερευνών και Λοχαγός της Πολιτοφυλακής της Μόσχας ("Μιλίτσια") Αλεξέι Ντιμιτρίεβιτς Κόρολεφ, χωρισμένος με παιδί που έχει να δει από το τότε που χώρισε με τη γυναίκα του.
Μιλίτσια ή Πολιτοφυλακή των Εργατών και των Αγροτών ήταν η Αστυνομία της πρώην Σοβιετικής Ένωσης. Τις ποινικές υποθέσεις διερευνά η αντίστοιχη Διεύθυνση στην οποία ανήκει ο Κόρολεφ ενώ τις πολιτικές η ΝιΚαΒεΝτε (NKVD), δηλαδή η Κρατική Ασφάλεια (NKVD = Λαϊκό Κομισαριάτο Εσωτερικών Υποθέσεων) με έδρα τα γραφεία της Λουμπιάνκα. Η Μιλίτσια και η ΝιΚαΒεΝτε υπάγονται στο Υπουργείο Κρατικής Ασφάλειας, όπου νέος κομισάριος αναλαμβάνει ο Γιέζοφ. Πρόδρομος της NKVD είναι η ΤσεΚά και συνέχειά της είναι η γνωστή σήμερα KGB.
Στο βιβλίο ζούμε επακριβώς την ατμόσφαιρα της εποχής, με τις ουρές για το ψωμί, με τα κάρα, με τις εκδηλώσεις για την επιτυχία της Επανάστασης, με την απαγόρευση θρησκευτικών πεποιθήσεων (θρησκεία είναι το Κόμμα), με την κοινωνική ένδεια των Ρώσων, με τους γαβριάδες και τα ορφανά παιδιά που πλημμύρισαν τους δρόμους της Μόσχας, με την απίστευτη φοβιστική ατμόσφαιρα όπου ο καθένας καταγγέλλει τον γείτονά του, τον φίλο του, τον αδερφό του για το παραμικρό, έστω και αν αυτό δεν ισχύει, μόνο και μόνο για να δημιουργηθούν προβλήματα, με τη σωρεία ανθρώπων που αυτοκτονούν μην αντέχοντας άλλο αυτήν την εκπεσμένη μορφή ζωής. Και το Κόμμα εκεί, να επιμένει στο σωστό της γραμμής και της σκέψης του! Η Σιβηρία να είναι το πιο έντονο φόβητρο, οι φυλακές της Λιουμπιάνα να είναι οι χειρότερες και πιο απάνθρωπες κλπ. Και σα να μη φτάναν όλα αυτά έπρεπε ο δόλιος ο λαός να προστατευτεί από ενδεχόμενους αεροπορικούς βομβαρδισμούς σε περίπτωση πολέμου και οι αντι-αεροπορικές ασκήσεις είναι σε καθημερινή βάση!
Σύμφωνα με την ιατροδικαστή που εξετάζει τα πτώματα των αυτοχείρων: "Αυτό που ξέρω εγώ είναι πως μου φαίνεται αντισοβιετικό να βά��εις μόνος σου τέλος στη ζωή σου σε μια εποχή εθνικής απειλής. Αν είσαι δυστυχισμένος, καλά θα κάνεις να βρεις παρηγοριά σε κάποια χρήσιμη εργασία. Αυτοί οι άνθρωποι ήταν εγωιστές. Ατομιστές. Έβαλαν όλοι τον εαυτό τους πάνω από το κράτος" (σελ. 81-82).
Ο Κόρολεφ αναζητά λοιπόν έναν κατά συρροήν δολοφόνο και μπλέκεται σε μια συνωμοσία λαθρεμπορίου πολύτιμων εικόνων, με κορυφαία τη μοναδική "Παναγία Καζάνσκαγια" (εικόνα της Παρθένου Μαρίας και του Ιησού νηπίου, που είχε πάρει το όνομά της από την πόλη Καζάν, όπου είχε θαυματουργά ανακαλυφθεί από τη Ευλογημένη Ματρόνα κι από τότε είχε προστατεύσει τη Ρωσία σε κάθε ώρα ανάγκης) να είναι στο μάτι όλων. Γιατί δολοφονούνται αυτά τα θύματα; Τι ξέρουν; Ποιος έχει την αυθεντική Καζάνσκαγια; Γιατί κινδυνεύει η ζωή του Κόρολεφ; Ποιος κρύβεται πίσω από τη συνωμοσία και γιατί κάποια στιγμή ο Κόρολεφ απομακρύνεται από την υπόθεση; Πόσο αναμεμιγμένος είναι ο ανώτερός του, συνταγματάρχης Γκρεγκόριν και γιατί; Ποια είναι η αλήθεια πίσω από αυτόν τον ιστό; Ποιος θα βγει κερδισμένος και ποιος θα χάσει; Μια περιπέτεια κατασκοπίας και ανελέητου κυνηγητού στους χιονισμένους δρόμους της Μόσχας και ο Κόρολεφ αγωνίζεται να παραμείνει άνθρωπος πιστός στις θρησκευτικές του πεποιθήσεις, κάτι που δεν πρέπει να μάθουν οι ανώτεροί του!
Η αρχή μιας πολύ καλής και ξεχωριστής σειράς αστυνομικών βιβλίων!
Στα ελληνικά από τη Διόπτρα το 2011.
April 18, 2017
I first discovered William Ryan's writing with his amazing book, The Constant Soldier. This book is the start of a trilogy and I am hooked. Beautiful prose, depicting a terrible time in Russian history.. trust no one. Brilliant book
Read
December 2, 2010Reviewed by June Uloski
The tense atmosphere of mid-1930s Stalinist Moscow, where virtually everyone and anyone can be a government spy, gives a special chill to first-time novelist William Ryan's can't-put-down thriller The Holy Thief. In a world where the
NKVD, precursor to the KGB, is everywhere, police Captain Alexei Korolev balances precariously as he attempts to solve a series of gruesome murders without stepping on the wrong toes. And wrong toes can be everywhere. Readers will find Korolev a particularly appealing protagonist, and one with all the angst and philosophical musings for which Russian novels are famous. While trying desperately to believe in the new athiest, post-Revolution Russia, Korolev hides a Bible under his apartment floorboards and displays an old-fashioned belief in justice. Caught between a group known as the Thieves, believers in God yet outlaws, and possibly corrupt NKVD officials, Korolev proves himself a master of intrigue as he attempts to shield his fellow officer!
Readers will relucantly turn the last page, hoping Ryan, who clearly did much research for this novel, will again mine this uniquely closed, fearful society and that Korolev will be doing the digging.
Order this book today.
The tense atmosphere of mid-1930s Stalinist Moscow, where virtually everyone and anyone can be a government spy, gives a special chill to first-time novelist William Ryan's can't-put-down thriller The Holy Thief. In a world where the
NKVD, precursor to the KGB, is everywhere, police Captain Alexei Korolev balances precariously as he attempts to solve a series of gruesome murders without stepping on the wrong toes. And wrong toes can be everywhere. Readers will find Korolev a particularly appealing protagonist, and one with all the angst and philosophical musings for which Russian novels are famous. While trying desperately to believe in the new athiest, post-Revolution Russia, Korolev hides a Bible under his apartment floorboards and displays an old-fashioned belief in justice. Caught between a group known as the Thieves, believers in God yet outlaws, and possibly corrupt NKVD officials, Korolev proves himself a master of intrigue as he attempts to shield his fellow officer!
Readers will relucantly turn the last page, hoping Ryan, who clearly did much research for this novel, will again mine this uniquely closed, fearful society and that Korolev will be doing the digging.
Order this book today.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2011
As a former student of all things Soviet and "Eastern Bloc" I found this a very good read in the sense that Ryan chose the time and place that he did. Reading between the lines one gets a very good indication of the confusion surrounding the time - would this relatively new Communist system thrive, especially as many of the characters had the 'foresight' to see bad times coming. And as we know they did - in spades!
The characters were well developed for the most part, even those who only appeared briefly in the story. The plot flowed well, with not too many breaks for side-tracking personal biographies like I see in many historical fictions out there. Some parts were predictable, but then it is difficult to be surprised around every corner and still fir it in a manageable storyline. I especially liked the use of the patronymics, as Russians have always done. Some reviews have complained about the names of people and places, but then they are probably too used to "Bob" and "Joe" characters. Tough beans i say.
In all a decent novel set in a time and place out of the ordinary, but which seems to be its own growing genre.
I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction and certainly look forward to the next Korolev installment, "The Bloody Meadow", which I understand is due out in September
The characters were well developed for the most part, even those who only appeared briefly in the story. The plot flowed well, with not too many breaks for side-tracking personal biographies like I see in many historical fictions out there. Some parts were predictable, but then it is difficult to be surprised around every corner and still fir it in a manageable storyline. I especially liked the use of the patronymics, as Russians have always done. Some reviews have complained about the names of people and places, but then they are probably too used to "Bob" and "Joe" characters. Tough beans i say.
In all a decent novel set in a time and place out of the ordinary, but which seems to be its own growing genre.
I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction and certainly look forward to the next Korolev installment, "The Bloody Meadow", which I understand is due out in September
December 27, 2012
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.
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.
July 31, 2015
Ovo je povijesni krimić čija se radnja odvija u SSSR-u za vrijeme Staljinovog režima. Povijesni dio romana je bio prilično dobar, cijeli taj režim jako dobro prikazan, ali kriminalistički slučaj i istraga mi nisu bili pretjerano zanimljivi.
Radnja je dosta usporena pa nema neke pretjerane napetosti, tek se pred kraj stvari malo ubrzaju. Fali mi i malo detaljnijeg objašnjenja zašto je ikona zbog koje je u događaje romana upleteno baš toliko različitih strana svima njima i na koji način baš tako dragocjena (osim onog očitog razloga - novca). Naznaka da je važna zbog religioznih razloga mi je nekako preslaba i ne objašnjava upletanje svih aktera koji su se u događaje oko ikone upleli, a tu mislim prvenstveno na Lopove i samog grofa Kolju.
Glavni lik, Koroljev, mi se svidio, kao i neki od sporednih, ali ne mogu reći da tu postoji neka duboka karakterizacija.
Sve u svemu, ok roman, koji me, budući da je 1. u trilogiji, sasvim dovoljno zainteresirao da nastavim čitati i pratiti Koroljeva, te da vidim što mu je William Ryan pripremio u idućim romanima.
Radnja je dosta usporena pa nema neke pretjerane napetosti, tek se pred kraj stvari malo ubrzaju. Fali mi i malo detaljnijeg objašnjenja zašto je ikona zbog koje je u događaje romana upleteno baš toliko različitih strana svima njima i na koji način baš tako dragocjena (osim onog očitog razloga - novca). Naznaka da je važna zbog religioznih razloga mi je nekako preslaba i ne objašnjava upletanje svih aktera koji su se u događaje oko ikone upleli, a tu mislim prvenstveno na Lopove i samog grofa Kolju.
Glavni lik, Koroljev, mi se svidio, kao i neki od sporednih, ali ne mogu reći da tu postoji neka duboka karakterizacija.
Sve u svemu, ok roman, koji me, budući da je 1. u trilogiji, sasvim dovoljno zainteresirao da nastavim čitati i pratiti Koroljeva, te da vidim što mu je William Ryan pripremio u idućim romanima.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 368 reviews