Every page of "Cold Victory" bristles with tension and distrust. Any why not? Karl Marlantes takes two young couples--one American and one Russian-- and places them in 1947 Helsinki where stakes are high at the end of World War II when Finland is being pulled between East and West. Arnie Koski is a Finnish-American, fluent in the language and a veteran of the European Theater. His wife, Louise, is from Oklahoma and this is her first foray out of the US. Arnie and Misha Bobrov met at a crucial point during the war and liked each other immediately. Now, in Helsinki, Louise and Natalya form a similar bond. Of course, distrust and paranoia thrums everywhere and it is hard to have a natural friendship where listeners abound. The men make a drunken bet to set off on a secret long-distance cross-country ski race, each wrangling a free week to spend in the wilderness.

What comes out of this race is, well, you'll see. Louise sets off tragedy, supposedly out of naivety, but that doesn't ring true, so perhaps she's playing the long game and out -maneuvers them all.

"Cold Victory" is one of those books that unfolds layer by layer the more you think about it. Arnie's grandmother is the committed communist Aino from "Deep River." He has a Finnish cousin whose hatred of the Soviets becomes a turning point in the story. Natalya has a past that would chill anyone's heart.

Marlantes' choice of Finland to set his novel is brilliant. It's a time and place where the shape of the post-war future is being formed and danger walks beside each character. Good stuff.

During World War II, two officers, one American and one Russian, with the goal of defeating Hitler come together for an evening of vodka and stories all while waiting for their next battle. Moving ahead to 1947, the American, Arnie Koski moves his naive,new wife, Louise, to Finland to take up a diplomatic post. The only person he knows is his cousin, loyal to the Finnish cause, who runs a Finnish orphanage. Louise, struggling to conceive, becomes a volunteer there. At the same time, a Russian military hero, Mikail, along with his wife, Natalya, and child, is sent to Finland to represent Russia.

At the time, Finland was in a precarious political situation. After the war, the Russians want Finland to become part of their empire while the Americans want them to keep their democracy. The powerful nations once with a common goal are now at odds.

At a political reception, the two diplomats recognize each other, start drinking, reconnect over their prior meeting and bluster over who is the better skier. Arnie had been an Olympic hopeful before the war and Mikail was the head of the Russian ski forces. They challenge each other to a 300 mile race to be kept secret from their governments.

Louise begins a friendship with Natalya. Natalya is under 24 hour scrutiny and is fearful that at any wrong turn or gesture her family could be returned to Russia or worse. Louise wants Natalya to help her raise money for the orphanage.

At this point in the novel, the Cold War tension starts to crescendo. The undercurrent of dread must be suppressed to be able to exist at that time. Will the race remain a secret or an international debacle? How will the protagonists fair? Will the orphanage succeed? Read to see how Karl Marlantes handles this thrilling story.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove press for the ARC.

I loved this historical fiction/ mystery novel set in Finland in the 1940’s . I loved the setting and time period around the Cold War which is a period not often written about. I felt it had intrigue, mystery and just was a good book .
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

This was a really good story, wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I would recommend especially if you like historical post WW2 novels. An American couple, Louise and Arnie Koski, are stationed in Finland in 1947, Arnie is an intelligence officer for the Americans. Louise is his very naïve wife, she's supposed to ingrain herself with other wives to elicit any knowledge that may be useful to Arnie, what might be useful is left to her. A Russian woman, Natalya and her Ukrainian husband Mikhail meet Louise and Arnie at a gathering, Mikhail and Arnie realize they have met previously during WW2 fighting, Arnie had given Mikhail his watch as a memento. As they talk they decide to have a cross country ski race from within the Artic circle to a town, the race will take about 10 days. Louise, who is trying desperately to get pregnant, decides to volunteer at an orphanage, and when the person in charge of the children tells her how desperate they are for assistance for the children, Louise has the idea to create a raffle, using the race between her husband and Mikhail to raise the funds. Things don't go quite as she planned though. This was a very intense story and I could not read it fast enough, the ending was very well done and believable. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Grove Press for the ARC.

“Cold Victory” by Karl Marlantes was beyond exceptional! It is a historical fiction that takes place in Finland in 1947. I doubt if most of us know how Finland suffered by the hands of Russia during the war and it is an eye opener. The heartfelt story that left me on the edge of my seat is about 2 diplomatic families one Russian and one American stationed in Helsinki. The two men realize they have met before both fighting against Germany and after a night of heavy drinking challenge each other to a 300 mile ski race. The wives who use the race to raise money for a local orphanage do not realize the jeopardy the husbands face because of Russias iron hand. The story was thrilling, and the book brilliantly written and researched.

Thank you NetGalley, Grove Atlantic and the author for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This story fell a little short for me. My main issue was that the characters felt very flat and cliche. Some of the dialouge (internal & spoken) was extremely repetitive and felt overdone. Unfortunately I wasn't very interested in what ultimately happened with the characters and how the plot wrapped up.

Great historical fiction that takes place in WW 2 great characters and plot. you will feel chills while reading this great book

I have never read a historical fiction book based in this county before this. I liked seeing things from a different perspective.

The story couldn't be replicated by anybody else than Karl Marlantes. He told a story of Arnie and Louise Koski or I should say Lieutenant Colonel Koski living in Finland right at the armistice of WWII. They met Kaarina Vanhatalo who was incharge of the all the orphans in Helsinki. Then they were introduced to Mihail Bobrov and his wife Natalya. They were Russians. The story surrounds getting money for the orphans in Helsinki. Arnie and Mikhail were friends from the war where Arnie gave Mikhail his watch. What happens is Arnie and Mikhail decide to have a skiing contest with a ten day interval. Arnie's wife decides to have a contest with the winner being the time between the American or Russian coming home. The Russians decide to get rid of Mikhail and his wife instead of waiting to see who wins. The story is more involved than I can make it so read it for yourself and get the vibes from the people in the know.

Before starting this book, I had a very minimal knowledge of the role of Finland during the world wars, as well as how they were affected by the USSR. What an eye-opening read this was!

Louise and her military husband Arnie Koski are sent to Helsinki in a diplomatic role. Arnie’s family are Finnish, and he still has relatives in Helsinki, while Louise is a true Ohio girl, and is relatively naïve on how the situation is for a lot of people around the world.

At a party, they meet a couple stationed in Helsinki as part of the Soviet military. Natalya is Russian, and her husband Mikhail is Ukrainian. Arnie and Mikhail realise that they once met during the war, both fighting against Nazi Germany.

They end up planning a ski race, but things go from bad to worse when newspapers hear about it and rather than two friends racing, it’s turned into the USA vs Soviet Union, putting everyone involved in danger.

The book was a good read, and it was heartbreaking to read about what so many Finnish citizens had to deal with under German and Soviet rule, particularly those children left in the orphanages. The character of Louise did frustrate me with her level of naïveté, but this may just be coming from my point of view as someone who has learnt a lot about these periods of history.

Overall, a solid 3.5 stars, rounded up. Definitely worth reading for anyone who wants to learn more about Finland’s role during and after the wars.

A casual friendship between American and Soviet ski troopers is renewed as each serve as intelligence officers in 1947 Finland. Although Finland is ruled by a pro-communist party, it maintains a tenuous independence balanced between the Soviet Union and the Western Bloc.
Fueled by too many vodkas, the two officers challenge each other to a ten-day 300-mile ski race through Finland's northern wilderness to determine whether Soviet or American ski troops are superior. Word of the race gets out, making it a propaganda challenge between the two powers.
Marlantes masterfully presents a world in which everyone is watching everyone else, ready to denounce a neighbor or friend at the slightest suspicion of anti-revolutionary tendencies. Stalin rules the Soviet Union with a bloody iron hand, using Beria's secret police to keep the population terrified. When even the suspicion of incorrect thinking is sufficient justification for torture and execution, every conversation is layered with what is said, what is implied, and what is really meant.
The wives of the two racers desperately struggle to get word to their husbands that the Arnie, the American must throw the race. If he were to win, not only Mikhail, but also his wife and children would likely be liquidated. We suffer through the race and the parallel race the wive's are running.
The story is a thrilling suspense yarn set in the context of an crushing society of watchers.

I had very high expectations going into this book - and I was not disappointed. It was brilliant, stupendous, my new favorite WWII novel. It was original and poetic, the writing so lyrical and beautiful and it transported me into the icy wilderness. This will be a best-seller, I am sure of it. Absolutely wonderful and I highly recommend!