In one of the early years of Stalin's Great Terror there begins a series of brutal murders of seemingly unrelated people: a foreign nun, a feared gang leader, a Party member. Militiaman Korolev of the Criminal Investigation Division reluctantly takes on the task of determining the motives and the people behind the murders. Although the crimes are political, the NKVD are unwilling to take the case completely upon themselves, and Korolev realizes there is no way for this investigation to have a happy ending. A clear portrayal of the paranoia and dualism within Soviet citizens at all levels during this era.
I'm a sucker for a good Soviet thriller, so this was right up my alley. It was eerie without getting too dark, intriguing without being creepy. It was a very interesting picture of the internal conflict that average Russians must have felt between the party line and their humanity, which is a side that I haven't read as much about. There was a slow unveiling rather than a dramatic reveal, and the 'twist' ending wasn't exactly a plot definer, but overall, a satisfying read.
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