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The People's Will
St. Petersburg, Russia, 1879 The country is ripe for revolution. Andrei Zhelyabov is the leader of a small band of terrorists knows assassination of Tsar Alexander II is the only way to begin the revolution that will lead to liberation. Yuri Petrov is a homicide detective ordered by the secret police to discover and stop the cell and its leader who soon finds it difficult to know who to trust amid omissions and conspiracies, as he tracks a man who will do whatever he must to achieve his aim.
300 pages, Paperback
First published October 23, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 1, 2014
The People are restless; some are bent on murder and destruction—and the tension is building. Primarily set in pre-Revolution days in St. Petersburg, Russia, this compelling historical mystery novel is based on actual events. Serfs have been emancipated and more people are allowed to be educated, but improvements meant as a result of these and other changes are slow to happen for the people most affected. The disenfranchised new working-class discover “Horrid living conditions, poverty, debt—were constant companions.” One particular leader of a splinter revolutionist group believes the only way to get the right message across to the tsar and others who need to hear it is to plan and execute something that makes it clear it was no random event, but a decisive one. Where better to create such a spectacle than in public, in front of the grandest opera theater in town, at the opening of a new show. The plan is to do the deed and blame the Nihilists, because this leader and his group must remain hidden and unknown until the moment they can safely reveal themselves, once they have public support. The event goes off as planned, and Detective Yuri Vladimirovich Petrov decides to visit the scene, where his presence gets noticed by someone from the Okhrana, as well as one of the perpetrators.
Yuri rose to his position in the investigative division of the St. Petersburg Police Department on merit, not politics or who he knew. He sticks to investigative basics and has a higher success rate for solving crimes than anyone in his division. His instincts are keen and he follows where they lead him. He’s on the case to find those behind this crime. It’s not his district, so this shouldn’t be his case, but his reputation for competency and, particularly, discretion in a prior case involving a member of the royal family motivated the appropriate investigative service, the Okhrana, to include him. Yuri’s instincts tell him there is more to his involvement than this. Trying to find the right trail to follow leads to many frustrations as well as good leads, and into disturbing realizations about how his government actually works at the inner level. Trying to determine who, what, when, and how haunts him, even as he makes headway in his investigation. His instinct, and a few experiences he has along the way, indicates something even bigger is being planned. His gut tells him he needs to hurry. The question that drives him is Will he be too late.
I don’t usually go for historical novels as my personal reading choices, but this one is done well and worth the read, and is as much a mystery novel as an historical one. The author, Eric Berbig, sets the tone and mood, and has excellent plot and character development. He builds the tension and sustains it all the way through with a well-organized progression of the story, The writing is smooth, flowing, and so descriptive that you feel the settings, locations, and time period, as well as the emotions of the characters; he engages the senses. This book held my attention all the way through and contains several riveting scenes. It could have used very slight editing touch-ups, but instances are few and do not detract from this engaging story. It’s top-of-the-line storytelling from start to finish.
Yuri rose to his position in the investigative division of the St. Petersburg Police Department on merit, not politics or who he knew. He sticks to investigative basics and has a higher success rate for solving crimes than anyone in his division. His instincts are keen and he follows where they lead him. He’s on the case to find those behind this crime. It’s not his district, so this shouldn’t be his case, but his reputation for competency and, particularly, discretion in a prior case involving a member of the royal family motivated the appropriate investigative service, the Okhrana, to include him. Yuri’s instincts tell him there is more to his involvement than this. Trying to find the right trail to follow leads to many frustrations as well as good leads, and into disturbing realizations about how his government actually works at the inner level. Trying to determine who, what, when, and how haunts him, even as he makes headway in his investigation. His instinct, and a few experiences he has along the way, indicates something even bigger is being planned. His gut tells him he needs to hurry. The question that drives him is Will he be too late.
I don’t usually go for historical novels as my personal reading choices, but this one is done well and worth the read, and is as much a mystery novel as an historical one. The author, Eric Berbig, sets the tone and mood, and has excellent plot and character development. He builds the tension and sustains it all the way through with a well-organized progression of the story, The writing is smooth, flowing, and so descriptive that you feel the settings, locations, and time period, as well as the emotions of the characters; he engages the senses. This book held my attention all the way through and contains several riveting scenes. It could have used very slight editing touch-ups, but instances are few and do not detract from this engaging story. It’s top-of-the-line storytelling from start to finish.
February 19, 2011
The People's Will by Eric Berbig is a Historical Suspense, and my first endeavor into historical anything. As my first experience in Historical Fiction, I must say that I enjoyed it a lot.Set in Russia, I did have a bit of a time trying to pronounce a lot of the names, but the plot of the story was great.
Revolutionists, better known as Nihilists, are trying to take back the people's rights. The Tsar through the years has taken away privleges such as education, how they live and many other rights.
As these Revolutionists attempt to prove a point, the story starts out with murder. Nikolai, Irina, Alexei, Fyodor and Mikhail are the main group members following Zhelyabov's group called "The People's Will". As they try to show the Tsar that they won't stand for all the rules and limited rights granted to the people, they have planned their plight well. Following Deputy Finance Minister Golovnin's every move, they find him at a theater and drop a bomb of dynamite into his carriage, killing him instantly. Fleeing to safety, they celebrate their victory.
Yuri Vladimirovich Pavlov is a detective in the St. Petersburg Police Department. Out of 'professional curiosity' he enters the crime scene of Golovnin's demise and takes charge as those on scene are so distraught. This is one person Zhelyabov didn't expect. Now called officially by the Okhrana, a secret service type of organization, Yuri investigates into the murder of the Minister, obtaining as much information about these Revolutionists as possible.
As "The People's Will" group plot their biggest retaliation, the closer Yuri gets to solving this crime and finding those behind it. The group members start to question their actions until Fyodor is arrested and every known revolutionist is ordered to be detained for questioning. When Fyodor is released and returns beaten, they know that they have to complete what they started, to take out the Tsar himself.
This is when the action picks up, and the scene drawn out kept me on the edge of my seat. Berbig did a fantastic job with detail, and I couldn't help but wonder how far Zhelyabov would go to obtain his goal, which ultimately was power he was seeking.
With their attempt to take out Tsar Alexander II, they all flee for safety. When Mikhail's carriage breaks down, he becomes surrounded by soldiers led by Yuri. As Yuri attempts to sway his thinking, telling him he was nothing more than a puppet, Mikhail refuses to go down without a fight.
Will the rest get away? That is yet to be determined, and I anxiously wait for more.
Berbig's "The People's Will" was a great introduction into this genre. I was a little disappointed in the ending, but only because I wanted to know more. There were some parts that lagged, and it may just be that I was more ready to see what the revolutionists were up to rather than learn the why's of it, but when the action was there, it was there full force. I enjoyed this title and if you like historical suspense, you will like The People's Will.
I give The People's Will **** (4) Stars, BK Walker.
Revolutionists, better known as Nihilists, are trying to take back the people's rights. The Tsar through the years has taken away privleges such as education, how they live and many other rights.
As these Revolutionists attempt to prove a point, the story starts out with murder. Nikolai, Irina, Alexei, Fyodor and Mikhail are the main group members following Zhelyabov's group called "The People's Will". As they try to show the Tsar that they won't stand for all the rules and limited rights granted to the people, they have planned their plight well. Following Deputy Finance Minister Golovnin's every move, they find him at a theater and drop a bomb of dynamite into his carriage, killing him instantly. Fleeing to safety, they celebrate their victory.
Yuri Vladimirovich Pavlov is a detective in the St. Petersburg Police Department. Out of 'professional curiosity' he enters the crime scene of Golovnin's demise and takes charge as those on scene are so distraught. This is one person Zhelyabov didn't expect. Now called officially by the Okhrana, a secret service type of organization, Yuri investigates into the murder of the Minister, obtaining as much information about these Revolutionists as possible.
As "The People's Will" group plot their biggest retaliation, the closer Yuri gets to solving this crime and finding those behind it. The group members start to question their actions until Fyodor is arrested and every known revolutionist is ordered to be detained for questioning. When Fyodor is released and returns beaten, they know that they have to complete what they started, to take out the Tsar himself.
This is when the action picks up, and the scene drawn out kept me on the edge of my seat. Berbig did a fantastic job with detail, and I couldn't help but wonder how far Zhelyabov would go to obtain his goal, which ultimately was power he was seeking.
With their attempt to take out Tsar Alexander II, they all flee for safety. When Mikhail's carriage breaks down, he becomes surrounded by soldiers led by Yuri. As Yuri attempts to sway his thinking, telling him he was nothing more than a puppet, Mikhail refuses to go down without a fight.
Will the rest get away? That is yet to be determined, and I anxiously wait for more.
Berbig's "The People's Will" was a great introduction into this genre. I was a little disappointed in the ending, but only because I wanted to know more. There were some parts that lagged, and it may just be that I was more ready to see what the revolutionists were up to rather than learn the why's of it, but when the action was there, it was there full force. I enjoyed this title and if you like historical suspense, you will like The People's Will.
I give The People's Will **** (4) Stars, BK Walker.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews