The Darkening Field
by William Ryan
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Pub Date Jan 03 2012 | Archive Date Sep 01 2012
St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books
Description
A dedicated policeman caught in terrifying circumstances, Captain Alexei
Korolev of Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Militia may be
unwavering in his outward party loyalty but he is forever conflicted about what
he must do to maintain that good standing.
It is 1937, and Korolev finds
himself on an airplane bound for Odessa after the suspicious suicide of Maria
Alexandrovna Lenskaya, a loyal young party member who supposedly had an illicit
intimate relationship with the party director. His instructions are to determine
if her suicide was actually a cover-up for murder, and if so, to find her
killer, but under no circumstances reveal her close ties to the
director.
Maria was working on the set of a movie subsidized by the
state, and between everyone involved in the production, her journalist
boyfriend, and countless nosy locals, the pool of possible suspects is large and
daunting. Korolev finds help from several quarters that are every bit as ominous
as they are useful, but none of them can make up for the one important fact of
his case which he cannot discuss.
Moral, loyal, and also committed to
justice, Captain Alexei Korolev is trapped between the demands of the party and
those of the truth. As a result he is one of the most intriguing figures in
crime fiction, and he makes The Darkening Field another shocking and
devastatingly true-to-history thriller from William Ryan.
Advance Praise
Praise for The Holy Thief
"One of the year's most exciting
[debuts].... While the search for Russian icons will bring to mind Martin Cruz
Smith's brilliant Gorky Park, Ryan puts a fresh, original spin on the briskly
paced The Holy Thief delving into Soviet politics, culture and
corruption."
--Oline H. Cogdill, Florida
Sun-Sentinel
“Korolev also is a moral, compassionate man who becomes
increasingly horrified by Soviet society... This is British writer William
Ryan's first historical mystery... One hopes there is more of Korolev to
come.”
--Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Impressive... 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
(starred)
"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
“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."
--David Liss, author of The Devil’s Company
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9780312586515 |
| PRICE | $24.99 (USD) |
