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Selected Crime Fiction Reviews
Selected Crime Fiction Reviews
I'm on holiday at the moment so what better time to get stuck into some decent crime fiction and this novel proved to be ideal reading in the shady garden of the Villa Durazzo. Our detective, Inspector Pekkala, is a Finn who once worked for Tsar Nicholas II as a special investigator who became known as The Emerald Eye because of the peculiar design of his badge of office and his unique power to investigate anyone no matter what their rank or position in society.
After the Russian revolution he spent many years in a Siberian gulag, barely existing in the bitter cold and harsh conditions.
Having survived imprisonment against all odds he is recruited, much to his astonishment, by none other than Comrade Stalin himself who seems to appreciate Pekkala's incorruptible nature and his complete lack of interest in wealth or possessions. He is one of the few in Stalin's inner circle who will argue with him and give an unvarnished opinion.
It is 1939 and the notorious party purges of the 1930s are in respite but war looks ever more likely and the country is in a desperate financial state. So, when a gulag prisoner who was offering some vital information concerning the whereabouts of a certain Colonel Kolchak is murdered, Stalin is determined to find his killer. It appears that Kolchak was commissioned by the Tsar to transport and conceal tons of gold from the Bolsheviks – enough gold, in fact, to considerably ease the current financial crisis.
Pekkala has to pose as a prisoner and be be shipped by train to the very same gulag where he was incarcerated to investigate, find the murderer and, if possible, the elusive Colonel Kolchak and thereby the gold. The pervading sense of bone-numbing cold, near starvation and casual brutality of the camp is brilliantly evoked by Sam Eastland. You get a crystal clear picture of the desolation and despair that so many suffered mostly because of the paranoia of party officials and Stalin himself.
The mystery is intriguing, well constructed and with a satisfying resolution. The perfect holiday read, especially in warm Italian sunshine!
My only minor quibble is that Stalin seemed a bit too jovial and avuncular when confronted with problems and difficulties. It's hard to imagine any of his inner circle being in constant fear of their lives for the smallest of errors as was indeed the case. This version of the man is more likely to puff on his pipe and give you a bit of a telling off.
That said, Inspector Pekkala is a good addition to the genre and one I will be following in the future. Siberian Red is his third appearance but can be read as a stand-alone novel. Available as a paperback for £7.99 or a Kindle download for £4.68.