The Korolev
3 total works
Hides some of Stalin's darkest secrets . . .
Shortlisted for the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger for Best Historical Crime Novel of the Year
Shortlisted for the Ireland AM Crime Fiction Book of the Year
Moscow, 1937. Captain Korolev, a police investigator, is enjoying a long-overdue visit from his young son Yuri when an eminent scientist is shot dead within sight of the Kremlin and Korolev is ordered to find the killer.
It soon emerges that the victim, a man who it appears would stop at nothing to fulfil his ambitions, was engaged in research of great interest to those at the very top ranks of Soviet power. When another scientist is brutally murdered, and evidence of the professors' dark experiments is hastily removed, Korolev begins to realise that, along with having a difficult case to solve, he's caught in a dangerous battle between two warring factions of the NKVD. And then his son Yuri goes missing . . .
A desperate race against time, set against a city gripped by Stalin's Great Terror and teeming with spies, street children and Thieves, The Twelfth Department confirms William Ryan as one of the most compelling historical crime novelists at work today.
Shortlisted for the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger for Best Historical Crime Novel of the Year
Shortlisted for the Ireland AM Crime Fiction Book of the Year
Moscow, 1937. Captain Korolev, a police investigator, is enjoying a long-overdue visit from his young son Yuri when an eminent scientist is shot dead within sight of the Kremlin and Korolev is ordered to find the killer.
It soon emerges that the victim, a man who it appears would stop at nothing to fulfil his ambitions, was engaged in research of great interest to those at the very top ranks of Soviet power. When another scientist is brutally murdered, and evidence of the professors' dark experiments is hastily removed, Korolev begins to realise that, along with having a difficult case to solve, he's caught in a dangerous battle between two warring factions of the NKVD. And then his son Yuri goes missing . . .
A desperate race against time, set against a city gripped by Stalin's Great Terror and teeming with spies, street children and Thieves, The Twelfth Department confirms William Ryan as one of the most compelling historical crime novelists at work today.
Where some of Stalin's greatest crimes lie buried . . .
Shortlisted for the Ireland AM Irish Crime Novel of the Year Award
Russia, 1937. In Moscow, Stalin's purges are reaching their darkest hour.
Meanwhile Korolev, a police investigator, must travel to the bleak, battle-scarred Ukraine - scene of some of Stalin's bloodiest crimes - to look into the mysterious death of a young woman. The victim, a beautiful film production assistant, had made both powerful friends and terrible enemies . . .
Published in the USA as The Darkening Field.
'The Holy Thief, set in Stalin's Russia, was one of last year's most impressive crime fiction debuts. The Bloody Meadow, William Ryan's follow-up, does not disappoint . . . Ryan has obviously done much research into that sinister period of Russian history and manages to convey its claustrophobic atmosphere brilliantly' Marcel Berlins, The Times
'Every bit as darkly compelling as its predecessor' Daily Express
'An outstanding thriller' Independent Ireland
Shortlisted for the Ireland AM Irish Crime Novel of the Year Award
Russia, 1937. In Moscow, Stalin's purges are reaching their darkest hour.
Meanwhile Korolev, a police investigator, must travel to the bleak, battle-scarred Ukraine - scene of some of Stalin's bloodiest crimes - to look into the mysterious death of a young woman. The victim, a beautiful film production assistant, had made both powerful friends and terrible enemies . . .
Published in the USA as The Darkening Field.
'The Holy Thief, set in Stalin's Russia, was one of last year's most impressive crime fiction debuts. The Bloody Meadow, William Ryan's follow-up, does not disappoint . . . Ryan has obviously done much research into that sinister period of Russian history and manages to convey its claustrophobic atmosphere brilliantly' Marcel Berlins, The Times
'Every bit as darkly compelling as its predecessor' Daily Express
'An outstanding thriller' Independent Ireland
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...