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The Holy Thief (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

by William Ryan (Author), Sean Barrett (Narrator)

4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (89 customer reviews)

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Product details

Audio Download
Listening Length: 10 hours and 31 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd
Audible.co.uk Release Date: 10 April 2014
Language: English
ASIN: B00JG4FI6C

Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (89 customer reviews)

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Product Description

It's Moscow, 1936 and Stalin's Great Terror is beginning.

In a deconsecrated Church, a young woman is found dead, her mutilated body displayed on the altar for all to see. Captain Alexei Dimitrevich Korolev of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Militia, is asked to investigate. But when he discovers that the victim is an American citizen, the NKVD - the most feared organisation in Russia - becomes involved.

As more bodies are discovered and the pressure from above builds, Korolev begins to question who he can trust; and who, in this Russia where fear, uncertainty and hunger prevails, are the real criminals. Soon, Korolev will find not only his moral and political ideals threatened, but also his life....

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4.1 out of 5 stars

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Slow burn historical detective story with a political edge 25 Sep 2010

By AR VINE VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?)

It's the start of Stalin's Great Terror, and Moscow is caught in a web of fear as citizens inform on their neighbours for not following Party ideals. When a young woman in tortured to death, her body left on the altar of a church, Captain Alexei Dimitrevich Korolev is ordered to hunt down her killer. But the further he delves into the troubling case, the more the evidence points to someone within the NKVD - the most feared organisation in Russia.

I don't know a lot about Russian history, and I found this novel to be very atmospheric and interesting, informative without being too academic. The sense that at any time an individual could be accused of being an enemy to the people and sent to prison is palpable. Korolev is a good Communist citizen, but not a Party member, and his struggle to reconcile his beliefs with the new national ideals is well portrayed. He was formerly a religious man, before religion became a disease and churches were assigned new purposes.

The killings are brutal, but not described in bloody detail, and they become part of the background as the story takes on a political edge. This is a slow burn novel, rather than a page turner, but there are twists within the plot. I sometimes found it hard to keep track of some of the characters, and got names a bit confused, but that's only a minor issue. Korolev is a great character, and I'd like to read more books with him as the central character.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good 8 July 2010

By Wilz VINE VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?)

Just finished this. Gripping is the word. The setting in pre war Russia is fascinating and adds to the general story line. I'm very critical of so called "Crime" books and often find them poorly written or full of irrelevant side stories.
Not the case here. The author manages to keep to the main story line with nice insights of the Stalin years that kept me engrossed to the end.
The copy I've read is the uncut version. Lets hope that the publishers don't cut anything when it's finally published.
Very good - well worth a read.

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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Some familiar elements but a new detective appears on the scene 10 May 2010

By David J. Kelly VINE VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?)

A mysterious and gruesome murder in a public place is investigated by a divorced detective from the Militia and it involves a rich American businessman in dealings with the NKVD (later the KGB) to sell off Russian treasures. Could we be talking about Gorky Park? No this is the Holy Thief by William Ryan and despite these apparent similarity of plot lines it is an original novel. Set just as the terror of Stalin's purges is starting this shows a more austere, optimistic Soviet era when the 1917 revolution is still a living memory. The main character Captain Korolev is an old Imperial Russian and Red Army soldier who is now a detective in the People's Militia in Moscow. He is assigned the investigation of a dead young woman found in a old church, she has been tortured and killed.

His investigation is of interest to the NKVD and Korolev has to tread with care, always thinking about the political side and the potentially fatal consequences of any mistake he makes, Then more bodies start turning up and the book takes us into the subcultures of early Soviet Moscow - thieves, writers, Spartak Moscow football club and Komsomol Activists all connected by the murders. As another reviewer said some idea of Soviet history is probably essential to follow the plot and real historical characters turn up. The hardship and austerity of 1930s Russia is evoked, overlain with the political terrors of the Stalinist purges.

This book introduces a new fictional detective in Korolev who has a different enough milieau and an unusual back story to make this the precursor to a good series of books. I enjoyed it enough to kepp an eye out for any sequels.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars very assured debut 7 May 2012

By Rob Kitchin TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

I thoroughly enjoyed The Holy Thief, which is a very assured debut novel. It skillfully weaves together a police procedural with the understated elements of a spy thriller a la Le Carre. The characterization is well developed and Korolev is sympathetically portrayed with an interesting back story and enough depth to sustain a series. Where the book excels is in the contextual framing of politics and social relations of Stalin's Russia - the cliques and factions, the collectivization, the role of the state, the division of power and resources, the social conditions and the everyday drudge of making ends meet - and in the strong sense of place and claustrophobic atmosphere. The plot is carefully constructed and well paced, with sufficient twists and turns and tension points.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive debut. 21 Feb 2013

By Bluecashmere.

Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase

I found this to be an assured and gripping first novel, though the debt to "Gorky Park" seems obvious. Korolev is an original, and for the most part an engaging, central character, but it is the world of pre-war Stalinist Russia that gives the book its power. The fear and suffocating secrecy, the betrayal and the impossibility of trust, that characterises Moscow and the Soviet Union at this time are convincingly evoked through concrete particularities and woven into the twists and turns of a skilfully worked plot. There can be no doubt that the sickening brutality and horrific violence that feature a great deal was indeed a feature of that repressive regime. Whether that justifies the dwelling in graphic detail on the niceties (sic!) of torture is another question. I fear this may be driven at least as much by sales figures and a jaded readership as by authenticity. Nonetheless, Ryan can write and promises to establish himself in this genre.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable

Having read other William Ryan books, I looked forward to my second 'Korolev' story. it is well written and reflects the fear and corruption endemic in the USSR.

Published 1 month ago by Andy Sherratt

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Cruz-Smith - yet

Just been introduced to this new Irish crime writer in a n/paper review and as I liked M. Cruz-Smit's take on (modern) Russia, I thought I'd support my homie. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Sgt John