The Russian Affair

Zusatztext “A thrilling plunge into a dangerous dance of love and espionage at the height of the Cold War.” —The Daily Beast "Beautifully crafted. . . . Wallner ratchets up the suspense as he slowly peels away the layers of deceit.” — Publishers Weekly “Tense! evocative and moving. . . . A deep! heartfelt love story peopled by fully realized characters.” — Kirkus Reviews Informationen zum Autor Michael Wallner Klappentext With bravura storytelling, stunning authenticity, and unforgettable characters, The Russian Affair brings readers into a world of love, intrigue and espionage in the midst of the Cold War. Twenty-nine-year-old Anna Viktorovna lives in Moscow with her young son and her father, a once popular and respected poet who has fallen into disgrace because of his dissident views. Her husband, a junior officer in the Red Army, is on active duty and living seven time zones away. When she meets Alexey Bulgyakov, a married and powerful Soviet official who is nearly twice her age, her life begins to look a little brighter. Yet their burgeoning romance is irrevocably threatened when a KGB colonel forces Anna to spy on Alexey, who is suspected of disloyalty to the state. Though she loathes the notion of double-crossing, she is forced to comply. But Anna isn't the only character playing a double game. One Anna laughed and pivoted to the left, turning her back to the harsh wind. The man in front of her folded his handkerchief, laid it across his empty shoes, and stepped to the brink. Instead of using water to wet himself down, he scooped up some snow and rubbed his chest with it. Then, accompanied by the bystanders’ expressions of compassion and encouragement, he arched his back, sprang forward, and disappeared into the black water. Small chunks of ice bobbed against one another. Anna watched as the man swam underwater to the far end of his improvised swimming pool and surfaced there. His beard, white and unkempt a moment ago, was now gray and plastered to his cheeks. “He ought to get a life guard’s badge,” the woman next to Anna cried out, pulling the fur trim of her cap down over her ears. “That way he could charge admission.” “The Moskva River belongs to everybody,” a man wearing eyeglasses replied. The snowy wind bent his umbrella to one side. Anna dodged the pointy wire ribs and watched the bearded swimmer as he propelled himself through the water with increasingly powerful strokes. She pushed her way out of the group of spectators and hurried along the riverbank. Under the Krasnopresnenskaya Quay, she climbed up the icy steps and soon reached the bus stop. On the ride home, people on the bus discussed the weather. It was getting warmer, they said; tomorrow the temperature was supposed to rise above twenty below zero. That meant that the cold holidays would be ending soon, and the schools would open again. The thought elicited a satisfied nod from Anna. When Petya didn’t have to go to school, everything was thrown into disorder. With a jerk, the bus moved out of the middle lane. Anna noticed the policeman who was waving the heavy vehicle to one side; at the end of the avenue, a large, dark automobile appeared and rapidly came closer. The bus rolled into the right lane. The Chaika was already right behind it. When the big car pulled alongside, Anna could see a lady in the backseat, her hair waved, a magazine on her lap, and then the Chaika shot past. Although the policeman, too, must have noticed that the car carried only a female passenger, he saluted it as it sped away. Anna got off the bus at the Filyovsky Park stop. The queue of people waiting on the corner indicated that the canned peaches must have finally arrived. Should she get in line? It would be her fourth queue of the day. Anna banished all thoughts of peach compote, turned into her street, and entered Residential Building Number Seven....

Product details

• Authors: Michael Wallner
• Publisher: Anchor Books USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.04.2012
• EAN: 9780307475039
• ISBN: 978-0-307-47503-9
• No. of pages: 400
• Dimensions: 131 mm x 203 mm x 23 mm
• Series: Anchor Books
• Subject: Fiction > Suspense