I am very grateful to Netgalley for providing a kindle copy of this book to read and honestly review, particularly in view of the fact that this a quite brilliant read.
Ekaterina Romanova the estranged wife of Russia's wealthiest oligarch, employs Scott Mitchell English civil rights lawyer based in Moscow, and considered public enemy number one following his success defending Chechen's in European court of human rights. She wants him to find the father she has never met and believes is languishing in the Gulag system for over thirty years without trial.
General Pravda of military intelligence will hinder their search at every opportunity as he struggles to protect the covert operation he inherited, and been running for years. Throw in a mysterious murderer professionally killing ageing Russians, linked to our heroes investigation which turns out to be a fifty year old cold war secret.
This is the first book in the "Puppet Meisters Trilogy", and is such a quality read that i thoroughly enjoyed i have already bought the second book.
Brilliant from first to last page, a very well plotted complete thriller in every sense of the word, John Le Carre's cerebral style meets Frederick Forsyth intense in depth description.
Great credible characterisations, a real sense of time and place, constant plot twists, fast paced, absorbing, intriguing a complete page turner in ever sense of the words.
Heartily recommended.

Scott Mitchell is a young English human rights lawyer who has won critical acclaims for his support to the Chechens. He is despised by the Russians for being anti-Russian and for supporting Chechnens.

Ekaterina Romanova is the wife of the Russian Oligarch Konstantin Gravchenko. Ekaterina comes to Scott with a request - her mother's dying words revealed that Ekaterina's father is alive somewhere in the Gulag (prison camp). He was sent to the Gulag without a fair trial - a very common issue during the USSR era. Ekaterina wants Scott to find her estranged father.

General Pravda of GRU is determined to protect a covert operation that he's been running for the past couple of years. The hostility between the FSB (Federal Security Service) and the GRU(Main Intelligence Directorate of Russia) turns bitter when Pravda ventures into a secret location. Pravda is hell-bent on saving men he's been hiding - someone is murdering them all, one by one.

Pravda hinders Scott and Ekaterina at every turn and they have no other option but to hide when they are charged for a murder that they did not commit. Meanwhile, Ferlito, an American Embassy attache` interferes, making Scott and Ekaterina's search even tougher.

Moscow Bound is a gripping, engaging and chilling thriller. Set in the post-USSR and in the Putin era, Moscow Bound is a story of dark and dirty secrets of the cold war.

The concepts are well-defined. I loved the story! Cold-war, spies, secrets, Russia, USA, CIA, KGB ... phew! That was one hell of a read!

The story is a mix of politics, murder, and familial ties. The ideas and concepts are well-developed. The concluding chapter was convincing - all's well that ends well. The story takes an interesting turn in the second half. I just couldn't put the book down! The book keeps the reader hooked on to the story until the end.

I am not going to choose one favorite character because each and every character played an important role in the story. Be it Sophie (lawyer and Scott's friend), Scott, Ekaterina, Pravda, Konstantin, Ferlito, Rashid (Scott's gofer) and Tolik(Ekaterina's cousin) - all are my favorites. Each character in the book plays the role of a strong and dynamic human being.

The author's writing style is excellent. Moscow Bound is a part of The Puppet Meisters Trilogy and I cannot wait to read the next book in this series! If you are a fan of stories set in Russia, especially those set during/after the Cold War, then you will definitely like Moscow Bound.

Ekaterina Romanova and Scott Mitchell are the center piece characters around which the events of 2013 unfold with some cold war echoes. Lots and lots of Russian names/places but they do add to the realism. Great story for a weekend read.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC.
Loving books set in Russia, I was eager to read Moscow Bound. On the whole it was a good read, with an atmospheric feel for Moscow and the intricate machinations of Russian politics and it's menacing underbelly.
Scott and Ekaterina, on the other hand, were characters I couldn't really get into, they didn't feel like people I'd want to get to know. But since this is the first book in a trilogy and as I have found in other series, the 2nd and 3rd books will most probably improve the depth of the characterizations and with that, as well as the fascinating setting of Moscow, I am definitely planning to read them. I rate Moscow Bound 3.5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who loves espionage novels, especially ones set in Russia.