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Review
'It is rare to meet a genuinely exciting new voice in crime fiction... Ryan writes with narrative drive and urgency, real sense of place, and a central character who is conflicted, moral, and above all likeable. Any one of these things is a rarity; the combination is whodunit heaven' --Times Literary Supplement
'It's a tough, suspenseful premise for a debut, contrasting claustrophobic atmosphere with personal optimism in a way that can only intensify as the series continues' --Financial Times
'Ryan's first detective novel confidently re-creates a paranoid society where mutual suspicion is the norm... The Holy Thief is an absorbing and assured debut' --Sunday Times
'A subtle, superb mystery, a wonderful central character and with a sense of place and period to rival even the greatest of the Russian masters. More please!' --Kate Mosse
'Without doubt, The Holy Thief is one of the best historical mysteries I've read in the last ten years. William Ryan brilliantly captures the eerie paranoia of Stalinist Moscow, which serves as an endlessly fascinating background for his compelling tale. This is a non-stop page-turner and a remarkable debut'
--Paul Sussman, author of The Last Secret Of The Temple and The Hidden Oasis
'A first novel written with all the narrative assurance of someone who'd been perfecting his art for years. A thriller set amid the paranoia of 1930s Moscow, it was persuasive in all its local and historical details, told its tense story with style and aplomb and had an engagingly troubled hero' --Books of the year, Irish Independent
'Remarkable thriller . . . In his solitude and resolve, Ryan's Korolev evokes Martin Cruz Smith's fierce Arkady Renko, while the period detail and gore call to mind Tom Rob Smith' --Library Journal
'Ryan's novel has an authority that belies his first-novel status... Ryan demonstrates considerable skill in evoking this benighted period, along with a deftness at ringing the changes on familiar crime plotting moves. The auguries for a series, of which The Holy Thief is the first book, are very promising indeed --Barry Forshaw, Daily Express
'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... Ryan, who merits comparison to Tom Rob Smith, makes palpable the perpetual state of fear of being reported as disloyal, besides dramatizing the difficulty of being an honest cop in a repressive police state. Readers will hope Korolev has a long career ahead of him' --Publishers Weekly
'This debut is a powerful tale set in 1930s Russia ... it's atmospheric, beautifully written and meticulously researched' --Irish Examiner
'Fans of Phillip Kerr, Tom Rob Smith, and Olen Steinhauer have a treat in store with this strong period thriller from British debut author Ryan . . .A series to watch very closely' --Irish Examiner
'Ryan's stately style belies the page-turning quality of the novel' --Irish Times
'It's a tough, suspenseful premise for a debut, contrasting claustrophobic atmosphere with personal optimism in a way that can only intensify as the series continues' --Financial Times
'Ryan's first detective novel confidently re-creates a paranoid society where mutual suspicion is the norm... The Holy Thief is an absorbing and assured debut' --Sunday Times
'A subtle, superb mystery, a wonderful central character and with a sense of place and period to rival even the greatest of the Russian masters. More please!' --Kate Mosse
'Without doubt, The Holy Thief is one of the best historical mysteries I've read in the last ten years. William Ryan brilliantly captures the eerie paranoia of Stalinist Moscow, which serves as an endlessly fascinating background for his compelling tale. This is a non-stop page-turner and a remarkable debut'
--Paul Sussman, author of The Last Secret Of The Temple and The Hidden Oasis
'A first novel written with all the narrative assurance of someone who'd been perfecting his art for years. A thriller set amid the paranoia of 1930s Moscow, it was persuasive in all its local and historical details, told its tense story with style and aplomb and had an engagingly troubled hero' --Books of the year, Irish Independent
'Remarkable thriller . . . In his solitude and resolve, Ryan's Korolev evokes Martin Cruz Smith's fierce Arkady Renko, while the period detail and gore call to mind Tom Rob Smith' --Library Journal
'Ryan's novel has an authority that belies his first-novel status... Ryan demonstrates considerable skill in evoking this benighted period, along with a deftness at ringing the changes on familiar crime plotting moves. The auguries for a series, of which The Holy Thief is the first book, are very promising indeed --Barry Forshaw, Daily Express
'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... Ryan, who merits comparison to Tom Rob Smith, makes palpable the perpetual state of fear of being reported as disloyal, besides dramatizing the difficulty of being an honest cop in a repressive police state. Readers will hope Korolev has a long career ahead of him' --Publishers Weekly
'This debut is a powerful tale set in 1930s Russia ... it's atmospheric, beautifully written and meticulously researched' --Irish Examiner
'Fans of Phillip Kerr, Tom Rob Smith, and Olen Steinhauer have a treat in store with this strong period thriller from British debut author Ryan . . .A series to watch very closely' --Irish Examiner
'Ryan's stately style belies the page-turning quality of the novel' --Irish Times
Product Description
Introducing Captain Alexei Dimitrevich Korolev, and an outstanding new voice in historical crime fiction...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
A mysterious and gruesome murder in a public place is investigated by a divorced detective from the Militia and it involves a rich American businessman in dealings with the NKVD (later the KGB) to sell off Russian treasures. Could we be talking about Gorky Park? No this is the Holy Thief by William Ryan and despite these apparent similarity of plot lines it is an original novel. Set just as the terror of Stalin's purges is starting this shows a more austere, optimistic Soviet era when the 1917 revolution is still a living memory. The main character Captain Korolev is an old Imperial Russian and Red Army soldier who is now a detective in the People's Militia in Moscow. He is assigned the investigation of a dead young woman found in a old church, she has been tortured and killed.
His investigation is of interest to the NKVD and Korolev has to tread with care, always thinking about the political side and the potentially fatal consequences of any mistake he makes, Then more bodies start turning up and the book takes us into the subcultures of early Soviet Moscow - thieves, writers, Spartak Moscow football club and Komsomol Activists all connected by the murders. As another reviewer said some idea of Soviet history is probably essential to follow the plot and real historical characters turn up. The hardship and austerity of 1930s Russia is evoked, overlain with the political terrors of the Stalinist purges.
This book introduces a new fictional detective in Korolev who has a different enough milieau and an unusual back story to make this the precursor to a good series of books. I enjoyed it enough to kepp an eye out for any sequels.
His investigation is of interest to the NKVD and Korolev has to tread with care, always thinking about the political side and the potentially fatal consequences of any mistake he makes, Then more bodies start turning up and the book takes us into the subcultures of early Soviet Moscow - thieves, writers, Spartak Moscow football club and Komsomol Activists all connected by the murders. As another reviewer said some idea of Soviet history is probably essential to follow the plot and real historical characters turn up. The hardship and austerity of 1930s Russia is evoked, overlain with the political terrors of the Stalinist purges.
This book introduces a new fictional detective in Korolev who has a different enough milieau and an unusual back story to make this the precursor to a good series of books. I enjoyed it enough to kepp an eye out for any sequels.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
It's the start of Stalin's Great Terror, and Moscow is caught in a web of fear as citizens inform on their neighbours for not following Party ideals. When a young woman in tortured to death, her body left on the altar of a church, Captain Alexei Dimitrevich Korolev is ordered to hunt down her killer. But the further he delves into the troubling case, the more the evidence points to someone within the NKVD - the most feared organisation in Russia.
I don't know a lot about Russian history, and I found this novel to be very atmospheric and interesting, informative without being too academic. The sense that at any time an individual could be accused of being an enemy to the people and sent to prison is palpable. Korolev is a good Communist citizen, but not a Party member, and his struggle to reconcile his beliefs with the new national ideals is well portrayed. He was formerly a religious man, before religion became a disease and churches were assigned new purposes.
The killings are brutal, but not described in bloody detail, and they become part of the background as the story takes on a political edge. This is a slow burn novel, rather than a page turner, but there are twists within the plot. I sometimes found it hard to keep track of some of the characters, and got names a bit confused, but that's only a minor issue. Korolev is a great character, and I'd like to read more books with him as the central character.
I don't know a lot about Russian history, and I found this novel to be very atmospheric and interesting, informative without being too academic. The sense that at any time an individual could be accused of being an enemy to the people and sent to prison is palpable. Korolev is a good Communist citizen, but not a Party member, and his struggle to reconcile his beliefs with the new national ideals is well portrayed. He was formerly a religious man, before religion became a disease and churches were assigned new purposes.
The killings are brutal, but not described in bloody detail, and they become part of the background as the story takes on a political edge. This is a slow burn novel, rather than a page turner, but there are twists within the plot. I sometimes found it hard to keep track of some of the characters, and got names a bit confused, but that's only a minor issue. Korolev is a great character, and I'd like to read more books with him as the central character.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Just finished this. Gripping is the word. The setting in pre war Russia is fascinating and adds to the general story line. I'm very critical of so called "Crime" books and often find them poorly written or full of irrelevant side stories.
Not the case here. The author manages to keep to the main story line with nice insights of the Stalin years that kept me engrossed to the end.
The copy I've read is the uncut version. Lets hope that the publishers don't cut anything when it's finally published.
Very good - well worth a read.
Not the case here. The author manages to keep to the main story line with nice insights of the Stalin years that kept me engrossed to the end.
The copy I've read is the uncut version. Lets hope that the publishers don't cut anything when it's finally published.
Very good - well worth a read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
very assured debut
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... Read more
Published 23 days ago by Rob Kitchin
Splendid
.. a priceless treat. Only a very brave writer would create a whodunnit in 1930's Moscow and I have been able to verify much of the details with my Muscovite wife. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. C. W. Brewer
Great suspense!
The Holy Thief is a very effective suspense novel. The setting in 1930's Moscow is extremely well described and credible, as are the characters of this page-turner. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Janus H.
It's murder on the rue de Stalin!
For true fans of the mystery genre, there seems to be no end for good settings, good detectives/policepeople, and good story lines. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Billy J. Hobbs
Atmospheric mystery.
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,... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Paul D Brazill
'These days it seemed everything in Moscow became dirty after a little...
It is 1936, and the setting is Moscow, nineteen years after the Revolution, and at the start of Stalin's Great Terror. Read more
Published 3 months ago by L. H. Healy
A wonderful new mystery series set in Stalin's Moscow
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... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Marleen
1930s Russia, good setting for crime fiction
I really enjoyed reading this book. Historical crime fiction is new to me as I tend to read more present day crime fiction so this
was a nice change for me. Read more
was a nice change for me. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Green Book Addict Librarian
Excellent read!
I found this to be a very good detective novel and an excellent read from start to finish. The period in which it is set provides a brilliant backdrop to the story and gives a... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Tripod
Stalin's Moscow - but who is watching who?
This novel is at its core a murder mystery, but thanks to the historical setting of Moscow early in Stalin's Great Terror, it is also a tense political thriller. Read more
Published 7 months ago by J. Cronin
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