December 1938. Moscow. Josef Stalin has lost some gold. He is not a happy man. He asks his henchman Beria to track it down.
September 1940 London. Above the city the Battle of Britain rages and the bombs rain down. On the streets below, DCI Frank Merlin and his officers investigate the sudden disappearance of Polish RAF pilot Ziggy Kilinski while also battling an epidemic of looting unleashed by the chaos and destruction of the Blitz.
Kilinski's fellow pilots, a disgraced Cambridge don, Stalin's spies in London, members of the Polish government in exile and a ruthless Russian gangster are amongst those caught up in Merlin's enquiries. Sweeping from Stalin's Russia to Civil War Spain, from Aztec Mexico to pre-war Poland, and from Hitler's Berlin to Churchill's London a compelling story of treasure, grand larceny, treachery, torture and murder unfolds. Eventually as Hitler reluctantly accepts that the defiance of the RAF has destroyed his chances of invasion for the moment, a violent shoot-out in Hampstead leads Merlin to the final truth....and Stalin to his gold.
Stalin's Gold is the latest in the Frank Merlin Series, and follows on from Princes Gate (Matador 2011).
I was approved of an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/04/22/review-stalins-gold/
Stalin’s Gold is populated with a lot of intriguing characters, most involved one way or the other to the mystery concerning the stolen gold and the disappearance of a Polish RAF pilot. These characters range from Polish patriots in exile to working class citizens and nefarious members of the Soviet apparatus. The author brings 1940s London to life in this novel. It’s always interesting to read a novel set on the home front end of the Second World War for a change, to see how citizens were getting by.
The mysteries themselves were very interesting, especially how they eventually intersect. It is interesting how the gold ends up touching events from the Spanish Civil War to way back in Aztec Mexico; it may sound a little random especially given what’s going on in the present day of the story but it’s interesting and adds another dimension to the story. The reveal of who the culprits were and who was behind Kilinski’s disappearance and behind the stolen gold was surprising in terms of how wide-spread it was and how many people were involved in both cases.
Overall Stalin’s Gold was an entertaining mystery set in a very interesting and busy and dire period in European history. Readers of mystery and suspense novels will want to check out this novel.
