The Holy Thief (Captain Alexei Dimitrevich Korolev, #1) by William Ryan

May 06, 2013 John rated it 3 of 5 stars

In 1936, during the height of Stalinism, Moscow CID detective Alexei Korolev investigates a series of horrific killings and discovers they're linked to an illicit plot to export a particular icon to the West, where it'll fetch a huge price. Making life extra difficult for Korolev is the fact that the NKVD (precursor of the infamous KGB) is involved in the case as well; somehow he must solve it without guaranteeing himself a one-way ticket to the Lubianka and then, beyond, to the gulags . . .

Some...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crimepieces

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,...more 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.(less)

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Mar 16, 2012 James Thane rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 be...more 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.

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Feb 25, 2012 Paul Brazill rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Holy Thief is set in Moscow in 1936, at the start of Stalin’s deconstruction of the city. Korolev, the star detective in the Moscow Militia’s Criminal Investigation Division, is sent to investigate the unusual and brutal murder of a woman whose body is found in a desecrated church.

And, of course, this is a far from simple case, especially as it is carried out in the chilly shadow of the NKVD’s Colonel Gregorin, who believes that the case may well have political implications.

Korolev is a good...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Marleen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 inform...more 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.
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Jan 14, 2012 Al Bità rated it 3 of 5 stars

A murder mystery set in 1936 Moscow, at the time when Stalin's Great Terror is about to commence. Our main detective is Captain Alexei Dmitriyevich Korolov of the Militia, and his youthful offsider is Ivan Ivanovich Semionov (aka Vanya), both attractively three-dimensional characters (the triple-barrelled names Russians use, in various combinations, together with quaint (to our ears) expressions such as Comrade, and Citizeness, for example, take some getting used to).

What makes this different to...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Quothe rated it 3 of 5 stars

William Ryan creates a human and likable Soviet detective. Captain Korolev is a hard worker and successful detective in 1930s Russia. Although loyal to the soviet ideal he finds himself unable to complete let go of religious tradition and can't help but occasionally question the current state of the Soviet dream. Korolev is kept too busy in this book to be intricately fleshed out. However, we get a picture of a "good" man who sees things in black and white but struggles with living in a very gre...more William Ryan creates a human and likable Soviet detective. Captain Korolev is a hard worker and successful detective in 1930s Russia. Although loyal to the soviet ideal he finds himself unable to complete let go of religious tradition and can't help but occasionally question the current state of the Soviet dream. Korolev is kept too busy in this book to be intricately fleshed out. However, we get a picture of a "good" man who sees things in black and white but struggles with living in a very grey time and place. In future books, I hope Korolev's personality is developed a bit more.

Ryan does an excellent job of portraying the atmosphere of paranoia and ultra vigilance that abounded during the early Soviet statehood. Every character is keenly aware that any misspoken word, overheard information, or perceived failure could result in being sentenced to "the zone". Everyone is on a knife's edge, no matter what they have contributed in the past or what rank they hold. This gives even casual conversations a taut feeling as every word is watched and everyone is suspect.

Ryan taps into the paranoia, Orwellian politics and, the major cultural events of the time period. Yet at times he seems to lapse out of the period and cultural frame. This creates some seams in the authentic feel. Throughout most of the book we're very aware of when and where we are, but occasionally the time and place become very generic and can take place during any time and setting.

The plot seems to get bogged down in convoluted details and side trails that don't entirely make sense. It feels like Ryan attempted to make the plot more complicated than it actually was. Some events and character decisions come off as vague and unnecessarily padded.

Overall I found it to be an enjoyable book, despite some flaws with plot cohesion. Ryan definitely has strengths that make the book an enjoyable and engaging read. I hope in future books he continues to build on those strengths and tightens up his weaknesses.(less)

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Nov 27, 2011 Cj W rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, murder-mystery, suspense-thriller, war-related

I would give this 'almost' 4 stars. So I decided to round up.

Taking place in a Russia that is in the thralls of war and starvation because of Stalin and his reign of terror.

Korolev is an integral and respected member of the Criminal Investigation Division of Moscow, and when murders start popping up with bodies being left brutally tortured in churches, he is ask to use his expertise to help bring the killer to justice.

Or so it seems.

When things start pointing in the direction of the NKVD, Ru...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Theresa de Valence rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Lucinda rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Holy Thief (Minotaur 2010) introduces Captain Alexei Korolev of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Militia. It’s 1936, and Korolev’s successful case resolution record has earned him his own room in a shared apartment and a feeling of security. Then the mutilated body of a young woman is found in the former sacristy of a deconsecrated church. Korolev is asked to investigate, but when he discovers that the dead woman was an American citizen, the NKVD, the feared state security d...more

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Jun 06, 2011 Carl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Move over, Arkady Renko, there's a new sheriff in town, or at least a homicide investigator in fictional Moscow.
And, as Martin Cruz Smith phoned in the last one, it's about time. If you want to read a well plotted mystery, starring a very determined Russian detective (yeah, with all the usual cliches--divorced, lonely, smart but sometimes acts naive, etc.) who risks getting mired in the always shifting, dangerous political sands of the Soviet state (or in the later Renko series, post-Soviet), yo...more

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May 23, 2011 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

It is 1936 and life under Stalin is precarious, dangerous, unpredictable, and fraught with insecurity. Signs of the Great Purge that will take place between 1936 and 1938, leaving 10 million dead, 98% of them male, are showing. No one can be trusted, no one is immune from false accusations.

Captain Alexei Korolev of the Moscow Militia’s Criminal Investigation Division is riding high. He and his subordinates have succeeded in capturing a rapist who has been terrorizing the women of the city. As a...more

It is 1936 and life under Stalin is precarious, dangerous, unpredictable, and fraught with insecurity. Signs of the Great Purge that will take place between 1936 and 1938, leaving 10 million dead, 98% of them male, are showing. No one can be trusted, no one is immune from false accusations.

Captain Alexei Korolev of the Moscow Militia’s Criminal Investigation Division is riding high. He and his subordinates have succeeded in capturing a rapist who has been terrorizing the women of the city. As a reward for his success, he asks for, and gets, a new housing arrangement. He will no longer have to share a room with his cousin. He is moving into an apartment with shared living and kitchen space, but he will have his own room. In a country in which no citizen has any right to privacy, Korolev’s reward marks him as a significant player in Stalin’s Russia. What the leadership of the party do not know is that Korolev is a secret Christian who begins his day with prayer, resorts to it frequently during the day, and who hides his most important possession, a Bible, under the floorboards of his room. Korolev is a study in contrasts: he believes absolutely in Stalin and his programs for the advancement of the country and he believes absolutely in the existence and presence of God.

Korolev is drawn into the investigation of the gruesome murder of a young woman. Clearly tortured, she was killed in a de-consecrated church, one of the few that has not yet been demolished. When the autopsy shows that her dental work was done in the United States, the case becomes very complicated. Why was she in Stalin’s Russia?

The marks on the tortured body of a member of the Cheka, an antecedent of the KGB, clearly indicate that the two victims were killed by the same person. What do the two victims have in common? The arrival of Jack Schwartz, an American dealer in religious art, opens the story and provides a significant motive for the deaths. The icon of Our Lady of Kazan has a powerful hold on Russians despite the party-required turn to atheism. The icon disappeared in 1905, likely stolen for the jewel-encrusted frame. There are rumors that the icon has been hidden in Russia and there is no limit to the amount of money emigres are willing to pay to bring the icon to the United States.

As Korolev investigates, he is assisted by a group of street-wise, starving children who are willing to help for a few kopecks. Their parents are missing and they have little to lose. Their numbers are so large among the homeless and starving of Moscow that they are virtually invisible. It is when Korolev learns that the killer is a member of the Thieves, a Mafia-like criminal organization, that he understands that the murder may have been ordered to satisfy the greed of someone in the police.

Korolev is an admirable character so one can hope that William Ryan intends THE HOLY THIEF to be the first in a series. The author brilliantly creates an atmosphere that conveys the dread, the fear, and the suspicion that each person is an enemy. The dialogue is a bit heavy and suggestive of paranoia but sometimes things aren’t the product of a fevered imagination. No one is safe. The slightest comment can lead to an arrest. People are starving and, if informing on a neighbor can earn a loaf of bread, there is no shortage of people willing to turn on a fellow worker or a neighbor. In 1936, Hitler has been in control of Germany for three years. Mussolini rules Italy. Death is hovering over Europe.

Ryan has created a setting and an atmosphere that is crushing but he has also created characters who are survivors. Some of them are real including Korolev’s neighbor, Isaac Babel. Life goes on and Ryan’s characters are survivors, a group I look forward to meeting again.(less)

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May 12, 2011 Pete rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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Mar 07, 2011 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars

"From Publishers Weekly -
Starred Review. Set in 1936, Ryan's impressive debut introduces Capt. Alexei Korolev of the Moscow Militia's Criminal Investigation Division, who looks into the murder of a young woman found butchered in a church. Signs of torture suggest the killer may have been trying to get information out of the victim. Colonel Gregorin, an NKVD officer who takes an interest in the case, believes the crime has "a political element." With Gregorin's help, the captain identifies the w...more

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Feb 19, 2011 Paul Pessolano rated it 3 of 5 stars

"The Holy Thief" takes place in Moscow in 1936. Josef Stalin had just begun his "first" Five Year Plan. The Russian people, especially those living in Moscow, were being asked to endure hardships for "Mother Russia" and fear gripped the city.

It was not unusual for families and neighbors to spy on one another and turn each other in to the authorities for supposed minor indeiscretions. These actions led to what could be called mass paranoia and the fear of that knock on the door at midnight.

Captai...more

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Dec 02, 2010 Doylestown Bookshop added it

Shelves: customer-reviews

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Feb 17, 2013 Bernie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ww2-crime-fiction

Holy Thief by William Ryan is the first in series with the central character Captain Korolev. I bought the book from a discount bookstore on a recent interstate trip only $8 and I got my monies worth. The story is set in the Soviet Union in 1936, with the backdrop of the Stalinist regime. The story is peppered with references to denunciations and betrayal. Students of the period will be well aware of the purges and repressions that occurred during the bloody reign of Stalin.
Captain Korolev is a...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Karyn Gustafson rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: George Baty

This book is exactly what I'm hoping to get when I read a historical mystery. Interesting characters, great story, and well-written atmosphere. I could just about smell the Soviet winter while I was reading in the July heat. The main character's morality intrigued me, too. I love everything Cold War-related and the subplot about a potential defector made me think differently about those who did defect and why. I always like to picture them as heroic, leaving godless Communism for the bright hope...more

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Apr 30, 2011 Dorothy James rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Dorothy by: CardiffRead book club

Shelves: detective-fiction, historical-mystery

It is a brave man and a daring writer who would set a detective novel in Soviet Russia in the year 1936, particularly if he is neither a Russian nor a bona fide scholar in Russian history. In his “Author’s Note,” William Ryan makes only the modest claim that he has done his best “to recreate Moscow accurately in this book.” The Holy Thief is a very gripping, very disturbing, very well-written piece of fiction. Does it matter whether William Ryan really presents an accurate picture of Russia in t...more It is a brave man and a daring writer who would set a detective novel in Soviet Russia in the year 1936, particularly if he is neither a Russian nor a bona fide scholar in Russian history. In his “Author’s Note,” William Ryan makes only the modest claim that he has done his best “to recreate Moscow accurately in this book.” The Holy Thief is a very gripping, very disturbing, very well-written piece of fiction. Does it matter whether William Ryan really presents an accurate picture of Russia in the terrible days of the 1930s purges or not?

Perhaps it is because they were such terrible days that it seems to matter. I often found myself asking as I read, is this real? Is this the way people thought and talked in the days when many still hoped for a new and better world under Communism, even while they were suffering agonizing poverty and deprivation and, in innumerable cases, undeserved persecution? I haven’t enough knowledge to answer the question myself, but Ryan certainly conveys a vivid impression of bitter cold, of poverty, of misery, of unspeakable cruelty, and in the midst of it all he creates an amazingly likable, even admirable, police-detective, Captain Alexei Dmitriyevich Korolev of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Militia, who comes to life as a man struggling against great political odds to pursue the ends of justice as he sees them.

I read the horrific opening pages of the novel thinking I couldn’t possibly go on reading it, such was the degree of gruesome cruelty described. These pages are italicized to set them off from the rest of the narrative , and they do what many murder mysteries do: They present the reader right away with the murder on which the whole mystery rests. The scene described in these pages is, however, so hideous a portrait of torture that ever after on the occasions where I saw italicized pages cropping up in the novel, I dreaded them and wanted to skip them. But they are crucial to the development of the plot, so somehow, with half-closed eyes, I skimmed through them. I imagine that these pages would make the novel unreadable for some readers. I dislike the thought that they might make the novel attractive to others. But there they are, and they are only one example among many in this novel of man’s inhumanity to man that characterizes Stalin’s Russia as shown here.

Uninitiated readers may well find themselves, as I did, looking up a number of the characters to find out who was a historical figure and who was not. Of course, we know that Isaac Babel, who figures prominently in the plot, was a real writer, and we can easily find out that various other minor figures are too, such as Yagoda whose statue is removed from the Petrovka Street headquarters in the opening chapter of the novel and who really was head of the Security Service, later discredited, denounced and executed. Even Stalin himself makes a cameo appearance in Ryan’s mean streets. The mixing of real and fictional names add a certain authenticity to the story, but can be problematic. How does one to react to Babel, for example, as a lively, sometimes almost comic, character in a fictional plot when at the back of our heads is the knowledge that Babel himself was tortured and executed in 1940?

Ryan is setting out to give as much realistic detail and background as he can. In the opening chapters, he delineates gradually and cleverly the various Soviet agencies and social entities involved in the plot: the People’s Militia, dealing with “everyday” crime, the NKVD, the secret police dealing with state security, their strong-arm men, the Chekists, and then on the other side the criminal element, opposed to the Soviet State, and preying on it as well as preyed on by it, the Thieves. He interweaves the religious element in some of its complexities: The communist policeman, our Korolev, is himself a believer, as are the vicious representatives of the underworld, the anti-communist Thieves. Ryan manages to make all this clear without footnotes, his explanations incorporated naturally into the narrative. The persnickety reader may turn back from time to time, as I did, to sort out the patronymics, to check on who people are, which side they seem to be on, but less than half way through the book one has it down, and can concentrate on the plot.

It is a mark of Ryan’s strength as a story-teller that in such a context, he engages our interest in the personal relationships of Captain Korolev, the ups and downs of his investigations and the gradual uncovering of particular murderous villains in a generally villainous time. There are enough twists and turns in the plot to satisfy most mystery readers who like to be tested in their ability to track down and identify the villains. And when all’s said and done, Korolev is a big enough and likable enough character to carry the action convincingly through all the horror, and all the wealth of detail in the scene-setting. I ended up wanting to see Captain Korolev at work again.

If you have ever sensed a moral dilemma in “enjoying” a fictional mystery based on the horrific act of murder, then you will perhaps feel this dilemma intensified in such a powerful novel as this where the mystery is rooted in one of the gigantic horror stories of history. But this is a moral dilemma of the armchair variety. The one faced by Korolev himself is a matter of life and death: How to deal as a policeman with seeming evidence of criminality in the state system to which he owes personal and professional allegiance, deeply rooted in principles nurtured through a lifetime of defending the Soviet Union in war and in peace. What will William Ryan do with Korolev’s dilemma, as the thirties grind on into more and more terrible times? This is the question that will definitely bring me back to his second novel though I quake at what I may find there.

A stunning debut, a five-star novel qua novel, whatever its standing as a historical study.
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Aug 31, 2012 Jae rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned

I found the prose consistently clunky, but the characters made up for it (even the minor characters feel like full-fledged people). I was most impressed by the research that must have gone into it, though.

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Mar 29, 2012 Kris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, suspense

Moscow, 1936, and Stalin’s Great Terror is beginning. In a deconsecrated church, a young woman is found dead, her mutilated body displayed on the altar for all to see. Captain Alexei Korolev,is asked to investigate. But when he discovers that the victim is an American citizen, the NKVD—the most feared organization in Russia—becomes involved. Soon, Korolev’s every step is under close scrutiny and one false move will mean exile to The Zone, where enemies of the Soviet State, both real and imagined...more

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May 07, 2012 Rob Kitchin rated it 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed The Holy Thief, which is a very assured debut novel. It skillfully weaves together a police procedural with the understated elements of a spy thriller a la Le Carre. The characterization is well developed and Korolev is sympathetically portrayed with an interesting back story and enough depth to sustain a series. Where the book excels is in the contextual framing of politics and social relations of Stalin’s Russia – the cliques and factions, the collectivization, the role of...more

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May 17, 2011 Lbaker rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1920s-and-1930s, mystery-male, thriller

I enjoyed the action of this book, however the plot was less compelling than I like. One of the two minor characters that were introduced that I became attached to was killed, as were very many others. The hero was likable, fallible, and very human.

The explanation of the torture was thin and I did not think complete.

The descriptions of historic Moscow were informative, educational and rich.

The names throughout the book were often confusing, which is more my problem than the authors.

The viole...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Lindsay (Little Reader Library) rated it 5 of 5 stars

'These days it seemed everything in Moscow became dirty after a little while.'

It is 1936, and the setting is Moscow, nineteen years after the Revolution, and at the start of Stalin's Great Terror. The body of a woman, tortured and killed, is found in a church, and Captain Alexei Koralev of the Moscow Militia's Criminal Investigation Division is tasked with looking into the case. Although they are treating the murder as a criminal investigation, Korolev is asked to report details of it to Staff C...more 'These days it seemed everything in Moscow became dirty after a little while.'

It is 1936, and the setting is Moscow, nineteen years after the Revolution, and at the start of Stalin's Great Terror. The body of a woman, tortured and killed, is found in a church, and Captain Alexei Koralev of the Moscow Militia's Criminal Investigation Division is tasked with looking into the case. Although they are treating the murder as a criminal investigation, Korolev is asked to report details of it to Staff Colonel Gregorin, a member of the NKVD, the feared state security service, who dealt with political crimes. An interesting and mixed team of colleagues are introduced to us at the Militia's Petrovka Street headquarters, and Korolev is given junior lieutenant Semionov to assist him with this investigation. Semionov has only been with the team a couple of months and has an enthusiasm that Korolev is encouraged by, even if he has to temper it a little at times.

The main narrative concentrates on Korolev's investigation, but there are a few short sinister episodes with the murderer, which are dotted within the story. The crimes relate to a valuable stolen Russian icon. The tense, nervous atmosphere of the times, and the overriding feeling of fear and suspicion amongst the population of the country at that time is captured here, where 'even the innocent were jumping at shadows these days.'

Korolev is in his early forties, divorced, and good at heart. He genuinely believes in the Party line and their intentions for the future, but he also still quietly maintains his own religious beliefs. Shortly after he is first introduced, he visits his immediate boss, General Popov, to wrap up the previous case he'd been working on, and we learn more about his achievements and his character through the praise he receives:

'You did a good job here. An excellent job. Not the first time, of course. I give you all the hard cases, the crimes that look like they've been committed by ghosts, and yet you always find the devils and bring them to me. The highest conviction rate in the division and you don't even beat the confessions out of them.'

He is intelligent, methodical and thorough, and he is determined to find the real perpetrators, unlike one of his colleagues who 'argued that, even if they weren't guilty of the crime in question, the people he convicted were certainly guilty of something.' However, Korolev isn't soft and nor is he naive; he knows that when he is told to only report certain aspects of an incident to certain people, and no one else, that's what he has to do. There are events he is part of that can't be reported on, or he is told afterwards that they 'never happened'. During his investigations, 'he plowed his way through the grimy reality of Soviet life'. He encounters a whole range of characters from Moscow's underworld, from street children whose parents are likely to have permanently 'disappeared', to the Thieves - the criminals who dominate the underworld. He meets an American who has dealings with the NKVD, handling religious artifacts that are sold overseas, and he has to tread a fine line between uncovering the truth and getting in too deep with dangerous people as his inquiries move on and the evidence throws up some disturbing truths.

This is an exciting and atmospheric historical crime novel with an intriguing plot and well-drawn characters. Moreover, the author has chosen a fascinating setting and period as the backdrop for the novel and then captured it convincingly, adding much authentic detail but never overwhelming the reader or holding up the plot. I found it a real page-turner; I was eager to read on. Captain Korolev is a very likeable, engaging, moral lead character and it's not difficult to want to root for him throughout. I will definitely be back to follow Korolev in his next investigation!(less)

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Jul 06, 2010 Amy L. Campbell rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, advanced-copy, 2010, blogged, reviewed

Disclaimer: Received as a free Advanced Reader Copy from the First Reads Program.

I'm afraid I'm just not a big fan of mystery novels in general, although I like to think I can pick out a good novel even in a genre I don't care for. I think perhaps The Holy Thief was just a little too ambitious for a first time novel. There are some really great things going on here, namely the Thieves, particularly the mention of their tattoos; the street kids of Russia; and the author Babel. Sadly, we don't get...more Disclaimer: Received as a free Advanced Reader Copy from the First Reads Program.

I'm afraid I'm just not a big fan of mystery novels in general, although I like to think I can pick out a good novel even in a genre I don't care for. I think perhaps The Holy Thief was just a little too ambitious for a first time novel. There are some really great things going on here, namely the Thieves, particularly the mention of their tattoos; the street kids of Russia; and the author Babel. Sadly, we don't get to see much of this, and what we do see is kind of humdrum.

There are also some fairly distracting similes in this novel, two "favorites" being, "The lie tasted like meatballs in his mouth" and someone staring at someone "like he farted during the ballet." It was distracting and completely out of tone with the rest of the novel. If Ryan wanted some comedic relief, he could have done it better by using his characters, namely Babel. Want more Babel.

I would also say that this novel is trying to spread itself into three genres. We obviously know it's a murder mystery, because there's a dead body and it's "about" a police detective even if he is Soviet Militiaman (in Soviet Russia, murder mystery solve you?). However, I would venture that Ryan is also trying to write a historical fiction novel AND a political thriller. Sadly, it just doesn't work in this case. It's a little too watered down in certain areas because of the other genre influences to really satisfy any genre reader, and definitely not strong enough to stand on its own.

Finally...I would say that the ending was a little anti-climactic, but there was really no build-up in order for there to be a climax. This book is nothing but plateau. I guess if you're into being literally frustrated this might just be for you, but I need a little more...satisfaction. I have no idea how this book review turned into entendre, but there it is.

There are things that might be fixed before the final copy is released...but I don't think it will be drastically enough for me to change my rating. And there's no way I'm re-reading this.

The reviewer is a 2009 graduate of Kent State University's Master of Library and Information Sciences program, an alumna of Antioch College, and the author of the blog A Librarian's Life in Books.
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Jul 26, 2011 Ian Young added it · review of another edition

William Ryan is an Irish writer, trained as a lawyer and living in London. This a first crime novel set in Moscow during the period of Stalin’s reign, around the onset of the great purge. The central protagonist is a criminal investigator within the equivalent of Moscow CID, and this is the first novel in a projected series. The author gives a very convincing portrayal of life in 1930s Moscow, and introduces a cast of characters who are clearly intended to feature in subsequent books. The plot i...more

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Aug 03, 2010 Lawral rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, first-reads

This is a great debut mystery novel. Though the mystery aspect did get a little bit predictable at times, the way that the characters figured everything out did not. Even if I thought I knew what Korolev and Seminov were going to find through a certain line of questioning or investigation, I was never bored reading about it.

The characterization really made this book for me. Just about everyone we see more than once is multi-layered. In a book that is literally about cops and robbers, that can ge...more

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Jul 11, 2010 Lindsey Lang rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

ok, i had just started another book today but then this First Reads win came in the mail and i browsed the first couple of pages and couldn't put it down! so i guess now i'm reading this one first!!

great book so far, the 'prologue' completely draws you in and the first few chapters do well at painting a picture of the main character, who he is and what he stands for.

**finished the book today**
great first reads book! i enjoyed this book from start to finish, it was a very good debut novel. the s...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, library

I thought this was a great mystery. The setting - 1930's Russia under Stalin - only added to the sense of danger and suspense. I will definitely read another one. I thought the author did a great job capturing the inner conflict of the characters. There is conflict between the atheist state and the religious beliefs many of the older characters learned from their mothers and their grandmothers, conflict regarding knowledge of things that are happening that are wrong, wondering if they are justif...more

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Jul 22, 2010 Penny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: giveaway-shelf

In my view there are two elements to a fiction book; a great story and great writing. This book would absolutely get 5 stars for writing quality. Ryan's description of body language simply floored me. Some of my favorites:

p.262 "Schwartz was sitting in the restaurant, perusing Izvestia with an expression that suggested he was reading it for amusement rather than political education"

p.256 "Seminov was looking at him as though he'd farted at the ballet"

p.197 "It felt as though Korolov was being ca...more

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The Holy Thief (Captain Alexei Dimitrevich Korolev #1)

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