Moskau um Mitternacht

by Sally McGrane

Das fulminante Spionage-Debüt aus Russlands geheimnisvollen Tiefen. Max Rushmore, abgehalfterter Russland-Experte und eben von seinem Arbeitgeber, der CIA, wegrationalisiert, soll den Nachlass von Sonja Ostranowa ordnen. Ihre halbgefrorene Leiche wurde in einer eiskalten Januarnacht auf einer Parkbank am Moskauer Patriarchenteich aufgefunden. Angebliche Todesursache: Herzversagen. Doch Max entdeckt schnell Unstimmigkeiten und logische Lücken in den Dokumenten der Expertin für Nuklearabfall. Kann es sein, dass sie gar nicht tot ist? Was hat die russische Behörde für nukleare Sicherheit zu verbergen? Und was hat es mit dem sagenhaften, blau schimmernden Diamantring auf sich, den Sonja noch beiseiteschaffen konnte? Gerade erst von der CIA herabgestuft, erhält Geheimagent Max Rushmore einen unerwarteten Auftrag in Moskau. Er soll den aufgelaufenen Papierkram im Todesfall Sonja Ostranowa abwickeln, die offenbar an Herzversagen verstorben ist. Eine unspektakuläre Aufgabe. Doch schon bald merkt Max, dass in der Sache nichts so ist, wie es scheint: Das Sterbedatum im Totenschein deckt sich nicht mit den Aussagen von Sonjas Stiefmutter. Ist die Nuklearexpertin vielleicht noch am Leben? Und warum hat Sonja ihr kurz vor ihrem vermeintlichen Tod diesen mysteriös schimmernden Diamantring anvertraut? Gegen den Willen seines Auftraggebers schlittert Max den verwischten Spuren von Sonja hinterher, die ihn auf eine rasante Schnitzeljagd durch ganz Russland führen. Dabei kommt er nicht nur einem schmutzigen Geheimnis der russisch-französischen Atomlobby gefährlich nahe, sondern gerät auch mitten hinein in die Machenschaften des internationalen Diamantenkartells. Und Max ist nicht allein: Längst hat sich eine zwielichtige Gestalt an seine Fersen geheftet, die es ihrerseits auf den geheimnisvollen Diamanten abgesehen hat. Im exklusiven Moskauer Nachtclub Midnight kommt es schließlich zu einem unerwarteten Showdown. Intelligente Spannung in der Tradition von John le Carré und Frederick Forsyth - im besten Sinne ein Pageturner alter Schule.

312 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 14, 2016

Reviews

[Ann Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moscow at Midnight is a highly entertaining contemporary spy thriller. The fast-paced plot and the light, easy flow of the narrative are enhanced rather than weighed down by occasional poetic descriptions and McGrane’s skilful play with genre conventions.

Max Rushmore, a “downsized” CIA agent, is contracted to Moscow on an administrative errand which quickly spirals into a full-blown, self-generated truth-seeking mission. Max is old school, and we are subtly informed that the world, its secrets and its old ways of keeping them hidden have changed, leaving him stranded in the past.

The concept of linear time is central to the plot and all its dramatic reveals. An American woman has died in Moscow, an unconvincing reason is given, and Max is asked to sign off on the case. His habitual reflex, to follow the clues and solve the mystery, are also the reader’s, and the narrative gleefully mocks our expectations with its wry humour and clever, surprising twists. McGrane pays open tribute to Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel The Master and Margarita in her witty disruption of narrative time and convention.

McGrane’s style is deeply evocative. A taxi ride through Moscow reveals a “sudden, glittering borealis of church domes”, or a huge traffic jam with all cars “fitted with black-tinted windows, like a parade of the blind”. Washington Dulles airport has “the stale smell of fast food shops and broken people movers”, while the streets of St. Petersburg have “the unstable feeling of the swamps beneath [them]”. Her feel for Russian culture and colloquialism is deft and lightly worn, as is her sensitivity for the deep marks of twentieth century history on Russian collective memory.
Moscow at Midnight is a short novel at 250 pages. I would highly recommend it for a fun, entertaining read which raises questions in the reader’s mind long after the final page has been turned. A perfect gift!

[Mark Iliff · Rating 1 out of 5]

If espionage were a game of darts, the main protagonist, Max Rushmore, would be the dartboard. This is not espionage but klutzpionage: Max is a passenger throughout the story. Except in places where it’s less a story and more a series of implausible, inexplicable events, sometimes verging on full-blown whoo-whoo.

With two reviews likening McGrane to Le Carré, I had high hopes. They were misplaced. Le Carré should be deeply insulted.

[Ceil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This effort at an old-time Soviet espionage novel never quite finds its way. Lots of clever moments, as our hero, an aging American spy rapidly being put out to pasture whilst dealing with radiation poisoning, doggedly tracks down the super-weird evildoers in Russia. It's fun, and occasionally really engrossing, but it wanders off from time to time, as if the writer is trying to convey the drifting hero through an unfocused plot.

[Maureen Hetzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot line seemed disjointed as more and more characters were introduced. And the focus on the science and demands of safe disposal of nuclear waste was too much for this reader. I am still not sure the role of the time travelers yet they were key with the denouement. Well written with evocative prose but I’m left feeling Outside not really understanding what happened.

[Andrei Muchnik · Rating 2 out of 5]

A real mess of a thriller that almost turns into a sci-fi novel, but not quite, by its end. Great observations about Russian life and Moscow are interspersed with completely unbelievable situations and plot twists. Definitely not a "le Carré" level.

[Matthew M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wild ride of a spy story

I have never read a more mashup of characters, storylines, locales. The writing seemed to launch so many plotlines and characters, that I truly considered stopping. Never felt any connection nor understanding of motive of the main character.

[Ariela · Rating 2 out of 5]

The spy protagonist is an idiot. Everything just sort of seemed to “happen” to him with no explanation to the reader.