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The new novel from a master of the Cold War thriller . . . ''This is Robert Harris storytelling territory'' Daily Mail ''Outstanding'' Sunday Times ''Tense, exciting and authentic'' Charles Cumming, author of Judas 62 ''Stunning'' The Times ''Brilliantly plotted'' John Sweeney, author of Killer in the Kremlin ''A standout thriller'' Financial Times 1963. In a desolate Russian penal colony, a radio broadcasts news of the killing of President John F. Kennedy . . . Alexander Vasin''s new posting as director of a brutal gulag camp is far from a promotion. This is where disgraced KGB officers are sent to disappear, quietly, and forgotten. But when a violent revolt breaks out, Vasin must decide: run or die. So he runs. With him goes a mysterious prisoner - an individual who might hold the key to an extraordinarily dangerous secret: the identity of who really ordered Kennedy''s assassination. Racing from bleak Siberian wastelands to the grey streets of Soviet Moscow, Vasin needs to stay one step ahead of the most ruthless intelligence organization in the world in order to keep the most wanted man in Russia alive. And with his loyalty, morality and patriotic duty tested to the limits, he will face the ultimate choice: fall in line, or die fighting the system . . . Weaving together a critical moment in history with the cut-throat machinations of Soviet politics, this tautly told, nail-bitingly atmospheric novel is a superb Cold War thriller.
About the author
Russian expert OWEN MATTHEWS is the author of two highly praised works of non-fiction, Stalin's Children and An Impeccable Spy, and two acclaimed historical thrillers, Black Sun and Red Traitor. As a war correspondent, he covered conflicts in Bosnia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Iraq and Ukraine, and for ten years he was was Newsweek's Moscow bureau chief. He divides his time between Rome and Moscow.
