For only 262 pages Eastland packs quite a punch. In this installment Pekkala is sent back to the same Gulag where he spent nine years in exile. Stalin has ordered him to solve the mystery of a murdered inmate so Pekkala has to go in as a prisoner. Could there be another reason for sending Pekkala...
This one wasn't as good as the previous Inspector Pekkala books. It was more of a survival story rather than a spy thriller, and the ending was a bit contrived. Eastland, however, did do a good job of exploring the motives of the various characters whether it be their motives in life or in the ...
In Inspector Pekkala's second outing, the ex special investigator for the Tsar, now working for Stalin, explores the Russian justice system, avoids the political in fighting, has fascinating flash backs to his days serving the Tsar, and prevents a premature start of WWII while investigating a mur...
This is not your standard whodunit! The author has such a way with words - here is an example:"As Pekkala turned, he saw a face in the window of a house, sliding back into the shadows like a drowned man sinking to the bottom of a lake." Inspector Pekkela discussing personal boundaries, with Maj...
A quick and easy read but nothing special in the genre and will make anyone with historical knowledge of the time cringe with pain.The historical issues are well covered in other reviews so I will skip them.It is hard to care for the characters who all fit into a few fairly simple cliches and lac...
This novel introduces Pekkala, a prisoner in the gulags of Siberia who was once the most trusted investigator of Tsar Nicholas. It is 1929 and Pekkala has been a prisoner for nine years and spends his time alone in the forest, marking trees to be cut. When he returns to the crude hut he has mad...
This book and its sequels have probably been the best books I've read this summer. The novel has historical references to the Tsar as well as comrade Stalin and they both look for help from this legendary detective, Pekkala who resembles Sherlock Holmes to help solve cases that all involve his pa...
This was an amazing book. I loved the writing style, the pacing, and and plot. I didn't see the twist coming at the end and anything about the Romanov's is always interesting. I'm glad I picked this book up and can't wait to read the rest of the series. I've never read a book without chapters...