The Beast in the Red Forest by Sam Eastland

First Line: Boys, I am leaving today!

Although the charred body of Inspector Pekkala has been found at the site of an ambush, Stalin refuses to believe the man is dead. When Pekkala's assistant, Major Kirov, agrees, Kirov finds himself on the way into the heart of a wilderness where bands of partisans wage a brutal campaign against both Nazi invaders and the Red Army.

What Kirov doesn't know is that he's being led straight into a trap. He is not alone in searching for Pekkala, for a deadly killer is determined to make certain that the inspector is dead.

Sam Eastland's Inspector Pekkala series set in Stalinist Russia is another of my favorites, but I read it very slowly. Why? Because life in Russia during that time was so gray and grim and awful. But no matter how gray, grim, and awful it was, Eastland's stories are compelling. The Beast in the Red Forest is no exception.

From past books in the series, Inspector Pekkala has shown that he has an uncanny ability to stay alive. The character has almost mythical status. Who else could be Tsar Nicholas II's top investigator and survive to do the same job for Joseph Stalin? Pekkala's absolute honesty and relentlessness are two major reasons for his longevity, and throughout the series, Major Kirov has been learning from the master.

People aren't who they appear to be. Stalin, who has a love-hate relationship with regard to Pekkala, has more than one agenda. Others are trying to circumvent Stalin to ensure Pekkala's safety... there's a lot going on, and it makes for an engrossing story that's hard to put down.

There's also more than one narrative. The main action of the book takes place in 1944, but The Beast in the Red Forest begins with a letter from an American who's taking his family to Russia in the mid-1930s to work in a Ford Motor plant. The letters continue to break sporadically into the action in 1944. There are letters from Russian officials, from American ambassadors, from the American's wife, and as each one appears, readers wonder what in the world they have to do with the story in 1944. Then it all clicks into place and ratchets up the tension even more. 

A compelling story peopled with strong characters in a vivid setting. I feel as though I'm living in Stalinist Russia as I read these books. Eastland adds humorous lines from time to time to lighten the mood, and he also describes the landscape in beautiful, poetic language, one of my favorites being the origin of the "Red Forest." There was also a surprise for me at the conclusion. I felt a bit sorry for Joseph Stalin at the very end of The Beast in the Red Forest, but before you think I've lost my mind, let me tell you something. I'd also feel sorry for a rabid skunk, but I wouldn't come anywhere near it, and I'd never turn my back on it.

This is a superb historical mystery series that I highly recommend. Give it a try!

The Beast in the Red Forest by Sam Eastland

ISBN: 9780571281466

Faber & Faber © 2014

Paperback, 320 pages

Historical Mystery, #5 Inspector Pekkala mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet.


 

The Red Moth by Sam Eastland

First Line: A thousand feet above the Russian front, a German scout plane weaved among the clouds, searching for a place to land.

In August 1941 the German Army is a juggernaut, racing to lay waste to the cities of Stalingrad and Leningrad. During these crucial days, a German scout plane is forced down outside of Pushkin-- a town formerly known as Tsarskoye Selo, home of the summer palace of the Romanovs. The only thing in the briefcase of the German officer in the plane is an unimportant painting of a red moth.

Or is it inconsequential? With his country teetering on the brink of disaster, Stalin suspects some sort of German plot, and he has just the man to get to the bottom of it-- his old adversary Inspector Pekkala.

With the help of his assistant Kirov, Pekkala finds himself on the trail of the most formidable art thieves in history, whose target is a prized Romanov possession, once considered to be the eighth wonder of the world. In order to save this treasure, Pekkala will have to go behind enemy lines and outfox the invaders-- or face Stalin with his failure.

Sam Eastland's Inspector Pekkala novels have been among my favorite historical mystery series since the first book, Eye of the Red Tsar. The books' setting of Stalinist Russia tends to be cold, bleak, and brutal (in other words quite truthful) so I don't read them like potato chips. No, these books I hoard, pulling one out to savor every so often. I don't even read the synopsis; I just pull the next book in the series from the shelf, open it, and begin to read. Opening The Red Moth was like sitting down to a banquet prepared just for me: a setting I can see and touch and hear and taste, a strong, memorable main character, a fast-paced "how's-he-going-to-do-it?" story, and a treasure that I've always hoped would be found.

The indomitable Pekkala is a Finn who-- you would think-- would not be employed by Stalin at all for he first came to be known as the Eye of the Tsar, Nicholas II's private investigator. For that particular crime, Pekkala spent nine years in Siberia doing a solitary job that killed everyone else who did it in six months or less. But regardless of his history, Stalin recognizes the man's worth. Pekkala has always been the one man who can never be bribed or bought or threatened. As his assistant Kirov says, "Sometimes I think the reason Stalin gives you the worst assignments is not only because no one else can solve them, but because nobody else could survive them."

While Kirov is kept in Moscow to solve a mystery there, Pekkala joins forces with Stefanov the Soviet anti-aircraft gunner, and cryptoanalyst Lt. Churikova in Tsarskoye Selo to keep the fabled Amber Room out of Nazi hands. The two-headed approach is a good one because those readers who have been following the series need to know if Kirov can actually solve crimes or if he's just been riding Pekkala's coattails the entire time. And Pekkala trying to keep seven tons of amber worth ten times its weight in gold out of the hands of the worst art thieves the world has ever known? Ah, the part of me who loves Indiana Jones savored every twist and turn of the adventure.

The first three books in Sam Eastland's series were published in the U.S., but to go further you may find yourself tracking down the U.K. editions (which isn't difficult). Believe me, they are well worth it for their fantastic sense of place, for Pekkala the man of granite, and for the stories. If you enjoy historical mysteries, you definitely need to give these a try.

The Red Moth by Sam Eastland

ISBN: 9780571278480

Faber & Faber © 2013

Paperback, 384 pages

Historical Mystery, #4 Inspector Pekkala mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Book Depository.

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

First Line: Since Maria had decided to die her cat would have to fend for itself.

Leo Demidov is an idealistic war hero with a beautiful wife. He has an influential position with the MGB-- the State Security Force-- and can even afford to provide an apartment for his parents. All he has ever wanted to do is to serve his country, and with that aim in mind, Leo has arrested and interrogated many, many people. 

There may be those people who wish harm to the State, but every good Russian knows that there is no actual crime in Stalin's Soviet Union. In a move Leo could never have anticipated, he is demoted, denounced, and exiled from his home with only his wife Raisa at his side. It is now and only now that Leo realizes that there is indeed crime in Russia. That there is a mad man killing the innocent at will. The only way Leo can save his life and the lives of his family is to uncover the killer-- but it is a crime against the State to even admit that a murderer (much less a serial killer) exists. Walking a tightrope doesn't even begin to describe what Leo Demidov faces.

In the words of Emily Dickinson, Child 44 is a brilliantly plotted novel that had me feeling "zero at the bone" many times. From its staggering depiction of Stalinist Russia to the blood-chilling meaning behind its title, Tom Rob Smith's book grabbed me by the throat and refused to turn me loose. The devastating things Stalin's government did to the minds and bodies of its people almost beggars belief, and I have to admit that I did read this book in small sips until about the two-thirds mark simply because I wasn't quite in the mood for such a depressing book. The sips may have been small, but they were very frequent because Smith knows how to tell a tale, and once Demidov's investigation hits its stride, there was no way I could put Child 44 down.

However, this isn't merely a nose-to-the-window depiction of an era and an absorbing murder mystery. Smith's characterization is superb. Through the course of the book, Leo Demidov loses his innocence and grows up. His wife Raisa later shows depths undreamt of when readers first met her. The differences between city folk and country folk give readers hope for humanity, and there's a little girl named Nadya, who was probably my favorite character in the entire novel.

Tom Rob Smith's Child 44 made me say "Wow!" more than once while reading it, and I'm certainly looking forward to continuing Leo's story in the rest of the trilogy.
  

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

ISBN: 9780446402392

Grand Central Publishing © 2008

Mass Market Paperback, 528 pages

Historical Mystery, #1 Child 44 trilogy

Rating: A+

Source: Paperback Swap

  

 

Archive 17 by Sam Eastland

First Line: In a cave, deep underground, lit by the greasy flame of a kerosene lamp, the man knelt in a puddle, his empty hands held out as if to catch drops of water which fell through the cracks in the ceiling.

It's 1939, and Stalin desperately needs money to jumpstart the Soviet war machine in its upcoming fight against Nazi Germany. When certain information comes to light, he sends Inspector Pekkala back to Borodok, the notorious Gulag where he was imprisoned for so many years. There Pekkala will have to face his past as the Tsar's investigator as well as his horrific years in the Gulag as he tries to infiltrate a gang of convicts who are still loyal to the Tsar. Why? Because Stalin believes they know the location of the legendary missing gold of Nicholas II-- and Stalin needs it to fight the Nazis.

Sam Eastland's Inspector Pekkala novels comprise one of my favorite historical mystery series. The scenes of Tsarist and Stalinist Russia are vivid and draw me straight into the story. In the case of Archive 17, I was also drawn into the life of a Siberian Gulag, and I'm still thawing out and feeling hungry and filthy.

It's fascinating to watch Pekkala remember pieces of his past as Nicholas II's chief investigator as he tries to infiltrate the group of convicts who are still loyal to the Tsar, and those in charge at the Borodok have their own motivations that he must deal with as well. Perhaps my favorite scene in the entire book involves Pekkala's partner, Major Kirov, and the fate of an archivist and all his documents in Moscow; the possibilities linger on in my mind.

Pekkala is a bit like the Clint Eastwood we've become familiar with throughout his film career: a big, soft-spoken man who doesn't say much but observes all. A man who's learned that the only person upon whom he can rely is himself. A highly principled man who sometimes finds those principles at war with the simple need to survive. This is the third time Pekkala has tried to stay alive while keeping true to himself. Having bosses like Nicholas II and Josef Stalin, it's far from an easy task, and with historic detail, a tightly woven plot, and some heart-stopping action, Sam Eastland makes fascinating reading of Pekkala's struggles.
 

Archive 17 by Sam Eastland

ISBN: 9780345525734

Bantam Books © 2012

Hardcover, 272 pages

Historical Mystery, #3 Inspector Pekkala mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen 

Shadow Pass by Sam Eastland

Title: Shadow Pass
Author: Sam Eastland
ISBN: 9780553807820
Publisher: Bantam, 2011
Hardcover, 304 pages
Genre: Historical mystery, #2 Inspector Pekkala
Rating: A
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewer program

First Line: As the motorcycle crested the hill, sunlight winked off the goggles of the rider.

Deep in the Russian countryside, rogue genius Colonel Rolan Nagorski is working on a 30-ton killing machine in an atmosphere of absolute secrecy. Stalin has been watching Hitler closely, and he is depending upon Nagorski to perfect and deliver this deadly weapon. When Nagorski's body is found next to his invention, the T-34, only the most innocent believe that his death was an accident.

Once Tsar Nicholas II's most trusted investigator, Inspector Pekkala is summoned by Stalin to find out who murdered Nagorski... and who is responsible for putting his battle plans in jeopardy.

Shadow Pass (published in other countries as The Red Coffin) is an excellent follow-up to Eye of the Red Tsar. It's difficult to fathom how one man could possibly be the Tsar's right-hand man, spend several years in a gulag in Siberia, and then become the man Stalin sends out on his toughest assignments, but Pekkala is known to search for one thing only-- the Truth-- wherever it may lead him.  Eastland's research into both Tsarist and Stalinist Russia is excellent and adds immeasurably to the story.

Another bonus in this second book is that Pekkala's backstory is fleshed out more, making the "mystery man" and his actions more understandable.

 Do you need to read the first book in the series in order to understand the second? Not really, but both are excellent, fast-paced books with no extra filler. There's no need to deprive yourself of what's rapidly turning into an excellent historical mystery series.

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Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

Title: Russian Winter
Author: Daphne Kalotay
ISBN: 9780061962165
Publisher: Harper, 2010
Hardcover, 480 pages
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B+
Source: Amazon Vine

First Line: The afternoon was so cold, so relentlessly gray, few pedestrians passed the long island of trees dividing Commonwealth Avenue, and even little dogs, shunted along impatiently, wore thermal coats and offended expressions.

Nina Revskaya, prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet in Stalinist Russia, is spending her remaining years in Boston. Crippled by arthritis and feeling that her body has betrayed her, Nina has become a bitter, secretive old woman. When a man shows up on her doorstep with a piece of jewelry and questions, Nina puts her entire jewelry collection on the auction block rather than part with the answers to his questions. Little does Nina know, but protecting her secrets won't be that easy. Drew Brooks, an associate at the Boston auction house, is researching the history of Nina's jewels, and Grigori Solodin, the man on her doorstep, will not take no for an answer.

When you get right down to it, there's not all that much that's new in the plot of Russian Winter. Girl dances. Girl falls in love. Girl suffers heartbreak and betrayal. Girl runs away and begins a new life. But it's what Kalotay weaves into this plot that makes this novel special.

In many ways, Kalotay's book was right up my alley. I enjoy reading about ballet, and jewelry collections and their histories can fascinate me. Both of these things were very satisfying in Russian Winter, but the best piece of all was showing life in the Russia of Stalin-- where a prima ballerina lives in a communal apartment shared with her husband, mother-in-law and thirty-three other people. Each family has one room. There is one telephone for all. There is one toilet and one washroom for all. There is one kitchen with three stoves and six tables. It is a world where secrets can kill you, so you learn to lock away pieces of your soul until the lock rusts and the key no longer works.

Once characters like Nina are seen in the setting in which they became adults, they change right before your eyes and become multi-dimensional. It doesn't matter that the basic plot has been used before. This may be Kalotay's first novel, but I hope it isn't her last.

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