Tuesday Teaser - The Holy Thief by William Ryan

It is 1936 Moscow. The Stalinist reign of terror is just beginning in Russia. Religion is forbidden, but the Russian Orthodox Church's great art treasures was being pillaged by the government and its criminal element, for sale to dealers and museums in other countries to fund the revolution.

Kazanskaya, Our Lady of Kazan, a 19th century Russian icon is missing from a "deconsecrated" church in Moscow. A young woman's tortured and mutilated body is found on the altar of a Moscow church. How is her murder, and that of several other people in the same manner, connected to the stolen Russian icons? Who is responsible for both crimes? Those are the questions answered by British writer William Ryan in his excellent first novel, The Holy Thief.


Teaser Tuesday is described by its host Miz B over at Should be Reading as a "weekly bookish meme" open to any reader who wants to play along. If, like me, you're always curious about what people are reading or on the lookout for the next great read, then this may be your meme. If you want to play, just click on Miz B's link for the very simple rules.


The Holy Thief
by William Ryan

"Koyla smiled. 'Would you like to know the name of the Chekist commanding the search party? The one who took the icon from us?'
Korolev nodded, half suspecting he knew the answer."
p. 204

Book Description: This novel is first of all a police procedural. A crime is committed. The local police are called out to investigate and solve the crime. As in any police department there are competent, sometimes even brilliant, investigators, and there are slackers and dishonest cops. And there are commanders with hidden, often political or personal, agendas.

This novel is interesting and original in that the investigation is set against the paranoia, fear, and confusion of a country being overrun by a repressive Stalinist government. Captain Alexei Dimitrivich Korolev of the Criminal Investigation Division (much like Scotland Yard) is the good cop assigned to solve the murders. In doing so, he must maneuver between the political NKVD State Security and the Thieves, a prison based mafia responsible for much of the Moscow crime--with the blessings of the NKVD. Korolev must also deal with a fearful, distrusting public as well. All this intrigue makes for an exciting read.

The main thing that I enjoyed about this book is its consistency. It may have been 1936 in a dictatorship, but good police work is the same as in a modern city--investigate, follow the leads, keep good records, build trust, think of justice for the victim, and try to stay clear of the politics. That's what Captain Korolev did.