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The Wolf of Sarajevo
A riveting novel of international suspense from acclaimed author and veteran diplomat Matthew Palmer.
Twenty years after the Srebrenica massacre that claimed the life of his friend and colleague, Eric Petrosian is back in Sarajevo at the American embassy, and the specter of war once again hangs over the Balkans. The Bosnian Serb leader, who had for a time been seeking a stable peace, has turned back to his nationalist roots and is threatening to pull Bosnia apart in a bloody struggle for control . . . and behind him is a shadowy mafia figure pulling the strings. As Eric is dragged deeper into the political maelstrom and uncovers a plot of blackmail and ruthless ambitions, Eric is faced with an impossible use the information he’s uncovered to achieve atonement for the past or use it to shape the future.
Twenty years after the Srebrenica massacre that claimed the life of his friend and colleague, Eric Petrosian is back in Sarajevo at the American embassy, and the specter of war once again hangs over the Balkans. The Bosnian Serb leader, who had for a time been seeking a stable peace, has turned back to his nationalist roots and is threatening to pull Bosnia apart in a bloody struggle for control . . . and behind him is a shadowy mafia figure pulling the strings. As Eric is dragged deeper into the political maelstrom and uncovers a plot of blackmail and ruthless ambitions, Eric is faced with an impossible use the information he’s uncovered to achieve atonement for the past or use it to shape the future.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published May 24, 2016
39 people are currently reading
730 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Palmer
5 books75 followersMatthew Palmer is a twenty-five-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, currently serving as the director for multilateral affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of Asian and Pacific Affairs. Palmer has worked as a diplomat all over the world, but his ties to the Balkans are especially deep. In addition to a serving as the desk officer for rump Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) through the end of the 1999 Kosovo conflict, Palmer was posted twice to the American Embassy in Belgrade, initially as a first-tour officer at the height of the war in Bosnia and, more recently, as political counselor. In that position, he played a leading role in securing the “April 19 Agreement” that started Serbia and Kosovo down the road toward normalization. Palmer speaks fluent Serbo-Croatian, and his many experiences in the region served as inspiration for The Wolf of Sarajevo.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
April 6, 2016
Matthew Palmer’s newest release, The Wolf of Sarajevo, is a complex mix of history and international suspense fantastically written to keep the reader actively engaged and yet not bore those, like myself, who already know the history behind the Srebrenica massacre. The Wolf of Sarajevo takes place twenty years after the massacre where the reader is introduced to Eric Petrosian, who finds himself once again stationed in Sarajevo, at the American Embassy, in an unstable Balkans, where stability is hanging by a thread. As Eric works to uncover why the Bosnian Serb leader is suddenly changing his stance of peace, as well as ascertaining who the the main players are behind the political scenes, the more knowledge he collects, the more dangerous his situation becomes and he is forced to make a pivotal choice, personally and professionally. I have mentioned before, being a political scientist, I find Palmer’s works to be exceptional and on the mark. His writing is solid, the suspense is palpable, and I find myself unable to put down the book. I truly hope people are not put off by the deep historical backgrounds given in Palmer’s works, they are essential and it is history, I admit, a favorite subject of mine. I thoroughly enjoyed The Wolf of Sarajevo, and once again find myself once again eagerly waiting for Palmer’s next book. I would not hesitate to recommend his books to anyone who enjoys a very well thought out book of international suspense.
May 24, 2016
Few people remember the horrific Srebrenica massacre but the aftermath of that tragedy continues to haunt an unending conflict among Serbs, Croatians and Bosnians. Eric Petrosian lost a good friend, Meho Alimerovic, in that war and now he’s back on a mission to find out what the Bosnian leader is up to twenty years after Srebrenica. Eric is serving at the American Embassy in the Balkans. He has heard that the Bosnian Serb leader, who had sworn to live and influence his country toward peace, is now back to his old violent acts. Another war is looming, a continuation of hundreds of years of ethnic hatred.
Why is Zoran Dimitrovic turning to activities that will build and eventually explode in more war and ethnic cleansing? It turns out that another Mafia connected leader, Marko Barcelona, interested in only money and power, has some evidence that could turn Zoran Dimitrovic from a leader into a prisoner before a war tribunal trial.
Eric is approached by a former lover and now EUO diplomat, Annika Sondergaard, who knows that Eric has connections and in-roads that she can never hope to match. She begs him to become involved in finding out the reason for Dimitrovic’s change of heart.
The rest of the story is a historical thriller that probes the history of this conflict and an international thriller as Eric and Annika get closer and closer to the truth of the matter which just might put a halt on more pain and historical tragedy. For every decent act of these two investigators are other rabid characters who love to kill, who love the hunt for the sake of the violence, and those who love to enter the fray to increase the already simmering tensions waiting for the spark that will inflame the area into new civil war.
Matthew Palmer has his finger on the pulse of Balkan history and a keen understanding of the major personalities literally creating history in this part of Eastern Europe. The reader has to pay close attention, however, to keep pace with all the different names and which group each belongs to. Succeeding in that endeavor, the reader will enjoy this fast-paced, somewhat stereotypical, but all too real battle for the future of this part of the world. Very good historical fiction for sure!
Why is Zoran Dimitrovic turning to activities that will build and eventually explode in more war and ethnic cleansing? It turns out that another Mafia connected leader, Marko Barcelona, interested in only money and power, has some evidence that could turn Zoran Dimitrovic from a leader into a prisoner before a war tribunal trial.
Eric is approached by a former lover and now EUO diplomat, Annika Sondergaard, who knows that Eric has connections and in-roads that she can never hope to match. She begs him to become involved in finding out the reason for Dimitrovic’s change of heart.
The rest of the story is a historical thriller that probes the history of this conflict and an international thriller as Eric and Annika get closer and closer to the truth of the matter which just might put a halt on more pain and historical tragedy. For every decent act of these two investigators are other rabid characters who love to kill, who love the hunt for the sake of the violence, and those who love to enter the fray to increase the already simmering tensions waiting for the spark that will inflame the area into new civil war.
Matthew Palmer has his finger on the pulse of Balkan history and a keen understanding of the major personalities literally creating history in this part of Eastern Europe. The reader has to pay close attention, however, to keep pace with all the different names and which group each belongs to. Succeeding in that endeavor, the reader will enjoy this fast-paced, somewhat stereotypical, but all too real battle for the future of this part of the world. Very good historical fiction for sure!
March 21, 2016
Thanks to the publisher for an early release of this book! It was a decent fictional suspense novel woven around the history and fall out from the Srebrenica massacre and the conflict in the Balkans. It is particularly dense in the way of detail regarding what was once Yugoslavia, but Palmer does a decent job of pacing it well with story. The characters were a little flat, idealistic Dept of State/UN people at their most stereotypical, but the story clips along enough to keep it interesting.
A good beach read, especially if you have and/or want something of a 101 history of the Balkan conflict.
A good beach read, especially if you have and/or want something of a 101 history of the Balkan conflict.
August 15, 2021
This didn’t start out as the most gripping spy thriller, but the depth of political, cultural, and historical knowledge more than made up for it.
October 26, 2022
This made the story of Bosnia a bit more clear to me. The powder keg of unrest in the Balkans makes me very uneasy given the mess in Ukraine right now.
January 12, 2017
As often happens with fiction it brings to life the realities of history. This is a story where an American who was once a journalist in the Balkans who has moved professionally over to the foreign service. The Balkans are showing signs that the weaknesses in the Dayton accords are causing enough rifts to lead the RS back to a war setting that is likely to be as bloody and violent as the war that brought America in to force peace talks in the past.
It also involves a CIA officer who was once his lover and a UN negotiator who is trying to bring these desperate groups together to make changes to the Dayton Accords that would allow they parties to resolve some of the differences that would relieve the building pressure before the Serbs trigger a conflict.
While totally fictional it covers the emotions and feelings of grievance that have defined the long history in the Balkans where Serbs and Croats and Muslim have held onto past injustices real and imagined over their long subjugation of many occupying forces over centuries. To say more would give away too much of the plot. Well crafted and engrossing.
It also involves a CIA officer who was once his lover and a UN negotiator who is trying to bring these desperate groups together to make changes to the Dayton Accords that would allow they parties to resolve some of the differences that would relieve the building pressure before the Serbs trigger a conflict.
While totally fictional it covers the emotions and feelings of grievance that have defined the long history in the Balkans where Serbs and Croats and Muslim have held onto past injustices real and imagined over their long subjugation of many occupying forces over centuries. To say more would give away too much of the plot. Well crafted and engrossing.
June 27, 2016
Having served in a diplomatic post in Belgrade during the Bosnian War, Palmer is well suited to pen this espionage novel set in current day Bosnia.
Protagonist Eric Petrosian worked as a journalist in the during the Bosnian War (1992-1995). Now he's working for the State Department in Sarajevo. Assisting the European Union in a plan to head off a resurgence of conflict in the region, Petrosian is on the hunt for the shadowy mafia figure who is forcing a right-wing leader away from the proposed initiative. With insight into the region's ethnic cleansing, the paramilitary forces in the region, and the region's political machinations, Palmer has written a thriller that some might find more interesting than exciting. Recommended for fans of Alan Furst.
Protagonist Eric Petrosian worked as a journalist in the during the Bosnian War (1992-1995). Now he's working for the State Department in Sarajevo. Assisting the European Union in a plan to head off a resurgence of conflict in the region, Petrosian is on the hunt for the shadowy mafia figure who is forcing a right-wing leader away from the proposed initiative. With insight into the region's ethnic cleansing, the paramilitary forces in the region, and the region's political machinations, Palmer has written a thriller that some might find more interesting than exciting. Recommended for fans of Alan Furst.
February 24, 2017
It is evident early in Matthew Palmer's politically charged thriller THE WOLF OF SARAJEVO that he understands his subject matter. As a veteran diplomat, Palmer is able to place readers directly in the middle of Sarajevo and an explosive situation that harkens back to the Srebrenica massacre that occurred twenty years prior.
Eric Petrosian is at the American embassy in Sarajevo as the threat of war once again places its' shadow over the Balkan region. What is uncovered is a plot between Bosnian Serbs and a ruthless mafia crime-lord.
Eric Petrosian is at the American embassy in Sarajevo as the threat of war once again places its' shadow over the Balkan region. What is uncovered is a plot between Bosnian Serbs and a ruthless mafia crime-lord.
August 8, 2016
All about the wars in the Balkans, in particular, the break-up of Yugoslavia and the ethnic-cleansing massacres of the '90's, this book, written by a US diplomat posted at one point in the area, is oddly sterile in that one doesn't get a feeling for the setting, which is just as well, given the atrocities. Rather, one gets a close-up view of how, when self-interest dominates politics, absolutely anything can happen. A timely read.
July 6, 2016
Not as good as I was hoping, but that could be because I found it difficult to understand the political relationships and conflicts among the characters. And, well, it just wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be.
June 5, 2016
Excellent, this former Foreign Service Officer can write, and make something as complex as the Balkans manageable for the reader, a feat in and of itself. I also recommend his other books.
June 30, 2016
Super fun vacation read. Just wish the publisher had included some kind of map. But my husband and I loved it!
August 27, 2017
In prose that strikes as powerfully as a sniper’s bullet and in granular detail that reminds us that Palmer isn’t only imagining, he’s remembering, The Wolf of Sarajevo races through the twisting, booby-trapped pathways of ethnic conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. The reader is immediately made a spectator to genocide. Within ten pages the book’s opening epigrams have been transformed from detached observations into self-appointed executioners and victims whose still-warm bodies disappear beneath cascades of bulldozed earth.
The plot propels readers like a Formula One engine at full throttle. As its threads twist and entangle, only to separate and rejoin, Palmer treats us to memorable characters, suspense, and surprises. Occasionally he turns aside to comment deftly on the craft of diplomacy and its uneasy partnership with espionage and on the foibles of various nationalities, including his own. This is a novel with attitude, both the characters’ and the author’s.
Palmer’s characters are memorable and they range from inspiring to entertaining to chilling. A CIA covert ops team is a merry band of thugs, whose leader is more Butch Cassidy than Mitch Rapp. But there’s a Bosnian Serb sniper who is as devoted to the art of killing as some are devoted to God or their children. For him, killing from a distance is an act of worship. “Wolf” delivers the righteous-feeling use of violence and the smack-downs of bad guys by good guys that are part of the attraction of a good thriller, while also reminding readers of the actual genocides of the past century and this one. Preventing yet another genocide is the quest of the hero, Foreign Service Officer Eric Petrosian and this is clearly more than a plot device to the author, Foreign Service Officer Matthew Palmer.
As in his other books, Palmer keeps us in the gray area where much of diplomacy and, indeed, life operate. There are few situations where good and bad are separated by a straight, bright line. Petrosian and his co-protagonist, CIA field officer Sarah Gold, are keenly aware that both the state department and the CIA want foreign policy rewards without risk and that’s not possible in the Balkans. They appreciate the irony that individual acts of decency may in some cases undermine the greater good. They butt heads when their differing views of morality and law collide.
I enjoyed this book so much that I raced through it and then immediately read it again, savoring the complexity of the plot and the power of the author’s descriptions of settings and people. When I finished I had collected gems overlooked in my sprint. One example: Searching for clues, Petrosian tracks down a Serbian Orthodox priest, in youth a political firebrand, now a quiet keeper of souls and bees. He finds the priest near “an apple tree that was too old to produce fruit but that could still make good shade.” Only at second reading did I appreciate that this phrase is not only an evocative setting of scene, it’s also a metaphor for the priest’s life journey.
Thrillers don’t come any better!
The plot propels readers like a Formula One engine at full throttle. As its threads twist and entangle, only to separate and rejoin, Palmer treats us to memorable characters, suspense, and surprises. Occasionally he turns aside to comment deftly on the craft of diplomacy and its uneasy partnership with espionage and on the foibles of various nationalities, including his own. This is a novel with attitude, both the characters’ and the author’s.
Palmer’s characters are memorable and they range from inspiring to entertaining to chilling. A CIA covert ops team is a merry band of thugs, whose leader is more Butch Cassidy than Mitch Rapp. But there’s a Bosnian Serb sniper who is as devoted to the art of killing as some are devoted to God or their children. For him, killing from a distance is an act of worship. “Wolf” delivers the righteous-feeling use of violence and the smack-downs of bad guys by good guys that are part of the attraction of a good thriller, while also reminding readers of the actual genocides of the past century and this one. Preventing yet another genocide is the quest of the hero, Foreign Service Officer Eric Petrosian and this is clearly more than a plot device to the author, Foreign Service Officer Matthew Palmer.
As in his other books, Palmer keeps us in the gray area where much of diplomacy and, indeed, life operate. There are few situations where good and bad are separated by a straight, bright line. Petrosian and his co-protagonist, CIA field officer Sarah Gold, are keenly aware that both the state department and the CIA want foreign policy rewards without risk and that’s not possible in the Balkans. They appreciate the irony that individual acts of decency may in some cases undermine the greater good. They butt heads when their differing views of morality and law collide.
I enjoyed this book so much that I raced through it and then immediately read it again, savoring the complexity of the plot and the power of the author’s descriptions of settings and people. When I finished I had collected gems overlooked in my sprint. One example: Searching for clues, Petrosian tracks down a Serbian Orthodox priest, in youth a political firebrand, now a quiet keeper of souls and bees. He finds the priest near “an apple tree that was too old to produce fruit but that could still make good shade.” Only at second reading did I appreciate that this phrase is not only an evocative setting of scene, it’s also a metaphor for the priest’s life journey.
Thrillers don’t come any better!
May 14, 2018
Matthew Palmer uses his experience as a US Foreign Service veteran to create a taut and suspenseful thriller. In the Wolf of Sarajevo the Balkans are once again on the brink of war and Eric Petrosian, a diplomat based in the American embassy of Sarajevo is trying to avert the slide into another war against the backdrop of the Srebrenica massacre. The suspense was well constructed with Eric struggling to discover who he can trust as he works to support peace talks that are Bosnia's saviour.
My favourite parts of the book were multiple flashbacks that depicted the history of the Balkans, the story of two Serb cousins who were prisoners in Jasenovac concentration camp in 1942, imprisoned by Croatian Fascists Ustashe, and Mostar 1566 the night before the famous bridge is to be opened to the public, Sarajevo 1914 and the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand that started the war and many others.
The Wolf of Sarajevo is an engrossing thriller, while also being a multi-layered story giving an insight into the history of the region, and more importantly its current state of unrest.
My favourite parts of the book were multiple flashbacks that depicted the history of the Balkans, the story of two Serb cousins who were prisoners in Jasenovac concentration camp in 1942, imprisoned by Croatian Fascists Ustashe, and Mostar 1566 the night before the famous bridge is to be opened to the public, Sarajevo 1914 and the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand that started the war and many others.
The Wolf of Sarajevo is an engrossing thriller, while also being a multi-layered story giving an insight into the history of the region, and more importantly its current state of unrest.
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June 29, 2024A novel about war torn Balkans - it’s complicated ethnic and historical entanglements brought into the trauma faced by families, peace makers, war mongers and everyone else especially the silent majority.
A quote from Yeats towards the end is so telling : “the best all lack conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity” - for power and control in the name of history and correctness.
Eric (American) teams up with other passionate expats to stem the tide of ( another ) rising ethnic war between the Serbs , Croats and Bosnians. And they strive to do this within the “law” but the militias make their own laws - with guns and killings .
The massacre at Srebrenica should and hopefully continues to be the conscience of the nations - that history is not destiny.
A quote from Yeats towards the end is so telling : “the best all lack conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity” - for power and control in the name of history and correctness.
Eric (American) teams up with other passionate expats to stem the tide of ( another ) rising ethnic war between the Serbs , Croats and Bosnians. And they strive to do this within the “law” but the militias make their own laws - with guns and killings .
The massacre at Srebrenica should and hopefully continues to be the conscience of the nations - that history is not destiny.
August 13, 2021
Better than expected. I think the author (who works in my regional area though I don't know him personally) wanted more to write about the history and complexity of the region more than write a novel, but the suspense helped attract and keep the reader's attention. For someone like me who knows almost nothing about the country it was a great read and great intro in the area. Palmer almost acknowledges the impossibility of an actual State Department Foreign Service Officer doing the things Eric does in this story, but he also doesn't over-glamorize him or make him a superhero like most suspense thrillers do.
December 1, 2019
Unbelievably shallow for someone who has even -- say -- flown to a Balkan air hub to change planes twice, even if he is a Unitedstatesian, let alone for someone involved to some extent in the policy manipulation and polity change in the South-Eastern Europe's backwaters for decades as Matthew Palmer.
Methinks the author is not stupid, so I wonder why someone who is not would write this dumb piece of crap underlined with inherent Serbophobia and general disdain for the Balkan people overall throughout.
Methinks the author is not stupid, so I wonder why someone who is not would write this dumb piece of crap underlined with inherent Serbophobia and general disdain for the Balkan people overall throughout.
November 27, 2022
This book was hard to follow what with all the time-jumping. There were too many names and random stories added in which created more questions than answers for me. I also got the sense the author was prejudiced against people with dark skin based on both their physical and moral descriptions. Even though it was based loosely on facts, some parts felt so ridiculous I was saying out loud “come onnn”.
I wouldn’t read this again nor would I recommend it to anyone. The only thing I did get out of it was a renewed interest in visiting the Balkans again so…thanks?
I wouldn’t read this again nor would I recommend it to anyone. The only thing I did get out of it was a renewed interest in visiting the Balkans again so…thanks?
June 26, 2017
Picked this up on a lark and I'm glad I did. Totally solid political thriller that doesn't spend much time on being "thrilling" (thankfully) that provides loads of historical context for one of the bloodiest conflicts in history. The story, set in present day Balkans, is very much a "spy story", though the MC is a diplomat. Best of all, it feels real, and given the credentials of the author, it should. So much in this genre comes off as juvenile bang-bang. The Wolf of Sarajevo is serious stuff.
June 4, 2018
I received a copy of this for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Very well written spy thriller. I really enjoyed this and I dont generally like thrillers that take place in a different country as I dont understand the nuances. But with this you can tell the author did a great job of making everything flow and understandable. I would definately recommend this book to anyone who likes the genre.
Very well written spy thriller. I really enjoyed this and I dont generally like thrillers that take place in a different country as I dont understand the nuances. But with this you can tell the author did a great job of making everything flow and understandable. I would definately recommend this book to anyone who likes the genre.
June 1, 2018
In order to be great, an historical novel needs (1) robust history and (2) a compelling narrative that are (3) woven together in a way that 1 moves 2 forward. Otherwise you end up feeling like there are history lessons just inserted into the story. This book was outstanding with 1 and OK with 2, but fell very far short with 3
May 1, 2024
Written by an old colleague of mine, who was recently the US Special Envoy to the Balkans, so definitely knows what he is talking about. Great political thriller with plenty of living history. My one qualm with the book is the frequent gratuitous use of the f-word and other swears, and the sex. I just want a clean, historical, political thriller. Why is that so hard for authors?
December 18, 2020
Liked. The only issue I had was having to pay attention to the time period of each chapter. I learned some history of that part of the world. I like to learn about new things in an interesting story which this book did.
May 7, 2017
A fast-paced, non-nonsense thriller set in present-day Bosnia. The horrors of the past revisit this horribly scarred Balkan nation. I enjoyed it!
July 23, 2017
Didn't meet my expectations but was intriguing. The conflicting interests of Department of State and CIA was a different perspective.
September 7, 2017
A great piece of suspense for those interested in stories of that conflict.
September 12, 2017
A solid, well done political/spy thriller.
It's based solidly on history of Bosnia over the last 20-25 years; the author gives a brief summary of the real events in an afterword.
It's based solidly on history of Bosnia over the last 20-25 years; the author gives a brief summary of the real events in an afterword.
October 4, 2017
Really enjoyed it and especially the setting.
December 14, 2017
Intelligent
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews