Customer Reviews

The White Russian: A Novel

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I wasn't sure about "White Russian" when I started reading it. Historical mysteries are not the easiest books to write and, from my point of view, a novel in this genre can turn only two ways - a great one or a bad one. Also, as I am Russian, a foreigner writing about my countrys' past... well, let's just say, that some books about Russia, I've read were laughable in there depiction of the country.
Luckily, all my suspisions were proven wrong.
The book starts with two bodies found on the ice of Neva river on the first day of 1917. St. Petersburg is a frozen city on a brink of revolution. The government is in dissaray, as people think not of how to prevent a revolution, but how to save themselves when it comes. In comes Alexander "Sandro" Ruszki - the Chief Investigator. He is one of those officers, who will hunt down the truth whatever it takes. And pretty soon the trail takes him to rather high places...
But the book is not just a mystery - it's a story about people, who got caught in extraordinary moment in history - about love, honor, trust and hard choices you sometimes has to do to survive.
The recreation of the place and period is near perfect. There are some minor issues, but I don't think that any reader outside of Russia will notice them.
This is a very strong book, weaving a story around the real facts and persons. If you are interested in Russia, it can give you a good insight into its past and the Russian people.

Some early reviewers of The White Russian complained that it was not as "atmospheric" as Tom Bradby's earlier Master of Rain, which was set in 1926 Shanghai. I have to disagree. The White Russian is an all-around better book in that it is plotted with more depth and believability than the earlier novel, and the atmospheric elements are better integrated with plot and characterization. Master of Rain was enjoyable, but The White Russian is better than that.

Bradby has set his second thriller to be published in the US in St. Petersburg, Russia, within weeks of the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas. It is New Year's 1917, dark and cold. There is little cheer. Russian troops are being slaughtered in World War I. Professional troops have been sent to the front, and only disgruntled reservists are left in the capital. There are food shortages, and the sense of unease is so great that some are willing to put a date to the explosion of revolution.

Sandro Ruzsky has just returned to Petrograd, as his city is now called, following three years of exile in Siberia. He is a detective from a noble family, which has not welcomed him home. Within a day of his return, he is on the case of two very brutal murders-a man who turns out to be an American revolutionary and a young woman who was a nanny to the Tsar's son. The search for the killer will take Ruzsky to the Tsarina's sitting room, tenements of reeking squalor, his family home, and backstage at the Imperial ballet.

The plot is tight and intricate without being ridiculously convoluted. The characters have meat and gristle. Within a very short time they will be plunged into terror and anarchy. It would be interesting to check in on Ruzsky on New Year's 1918 to see whether he or any of the other characters in The White Russian are still alive.

Although Tom Bradby does not write with the existential ache of Martin Cruz Smith, he is able to touch the underlying disquiet of a time and place. This is a very evocative and satifying thriller.

I read a lot of historical fiction. The two things that draw my attention & garner my enthusiasm are (1) authentic historical setting & details, and (2) a plot & characters more interesting than a mere "history book". In his first novel "The Master of Rain" set in 1920s Shanghai, Tom Bradby delivered on both of these in spades. As a follow-up to this impressive debut, "The White Russian" does not disappoint.

Set in St. Petersburg during the first stirrings of the Bolshevik revolution, this book rings with impressive authenticity. The detachment of the Tsar's regime, the role of the secret police, the aristocratic class & their sense of entitlement, the desperation of budding revolutionaries, all of these ring true. A great setting for a murder mystery, as the story's hero, a discredited police inspector, finds two bodies on the frozen river outside the Tsar's winter palace. As the book begins, Inspector Ruzsky has no idea the complex & twisted path his investigation will take before the killer or killers are finally revealed.

This author is a major new talent in historical fiction, & has twice now mastered all the elements of an engrossing story that transports us to another time & place. Where to next, Mr. Bradby?

It's the winter of 1917. Russia is in the midst of a debilitating war. Food is almost non-existent. Fuel and clothing are nearly exhausted. The populace is desperate and very angry at the way the war has been botched by the Czar, and everywhere, every day, biting winds and ever-present snow threaten to freeze solid everything not able to remain in constant motion.

Into this bleak setting comes Chief St. Petersburg Police Investigator Ruzsky, scion of a well positioned and prominent Russian family, but himself only just returned from two years of vodka-sodden exile brought on by what many feel was a foolish defense of his loyal assistant, Deputy chief Investigator Pavel, after a case turned the wrong way. Now, two people have been murdered on the ice-covered river Neva, and despite the presence of the Okhrana, the Czar's secret police, it's Ruzsky's job to investigate.

Tom Bradley does an extraordinary job of re-creating pre-revolutionary Russia, and his plot is so well designed that despite its length (454 pgs) and numerous twists and turns, the story unfolds so smoothly it seems to fly past. As the suspects appear one by one, Ruzsky's brother Dmitri; Ruzsky's estranged wife Irina; Vasiliev, chief of the Okhrana; and Ruzsky's secret love Prima Ballerina Maria - someone is feeding the Okhrana information and they threaten to pre-empt the investigation, turning it toward their own mysterious ends.

But Ruzsky is known for his stubbornness and despite repeated warnings, including threats against his family, he manages never to take the full force of the opposition head on, until finally there's enough information to begin piecing together the big picture.

I enjoyed this read very much. It made a nice change of pace for me. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys descriptive and evocative characterizations wrapped around a strong mystery.

Art Tirrell is the author of the 2007 adventure novel The Secret Ever Keeps.

"...portrayal of Jake as a man who rises from poverty to a position of wealth, the power wealth can buy, and the self-destruction it causes is superb." - Historical Novel Review (2008)

I picked this book up when I was at the library and was interested because I liked the setting (Russia, 1917) and thought it sounded interesting. It was fantastic! Here's why:

The plot moved at a nice pace. Characters were developed, but not too much where you got bored or couldn't remember who's who. The author gave you as much information as you needed to keep things moving. He let you learn about characters through their interactions with other characters instead of going into long, drawn out descriptions.

There are a few twists and turns. Enough to keep you going, but somewhat predictable at times. Classic themes relating to love, class, family relationships and wealth are peppered throughout.

Physical settings are given their due. The reader gets a good idea of the divide between upper and lower classes in Imperial Russia in terms of physical comforts and conditions. The reader also gets an image of how large and diverse Russia is/was and also how divided it was.

I would have given it 5 stars if it wasn't for the ending. I'm not going to say what I expected or would have liked to see. Suffice to say, the book just ends. It ends well enough to leave you thinking about a few things, but not where you feel like there was a good amount of resolution.

Set in St. Petersburg (mainly) in 1917, while WWI is still raging and the threat of a popular revolution is ever looming, Tom Bradby has successfully penned another tautly paced and perplexing murder mystery/thriller for us to enjoy.

Three years ago, Chief Investigator Sandro Rusky took the responsibility when a callous landlord was killed while in police custody. For his negligence, Rusky was banished to Tobolsk in Siberia. Now, his exile is over and he's back in St. Petersburg and almost at once he's involved in a very grisly murder investigation.

The bodies of a man and woman have been found on the ice of the frozen River Neva just outside the Winter Palace. The woman has been stabbed once but the man has been stabbed several times and viciously at that. Almost from the first several things about this violent crime perplex Rusky. For example, the location -- why was so public a site chosen for the murders? And then there is the evidence that seems to support the fact that the murderer had carefully stepped in the tracks of the couple before and after the crime, only stepping out of them before he struck. And finally the savagery with which (s)he had stabbed the man over and over again, together with the murderer's strange abandonment of the murder weapon... Even more intriguing is the fact that the Tsar's secret police, the Okhrana, seem to be inordinately interested in this crime. But if these little bits of facts are perplexing in themselves, it is nothing compared to Rusky's colleagues's attitude towards the crime. None of them seem anxious to solve these grisly murders -- esp when all avenues in this investigation seem to lead to the Imperial family. Are they wary because they fear that their involvement will net them a fate similar to Rusky's three years ago? Or are they just fearful because a bloody revolution seems inevitable right now? Not sure of whom he can rely on, and with his own load of crippling emotional baggage, Rusky is determined nonetheless to solve these murders no matter where it leads, whom it involves and what it costs him...

My best bit of advice (aside from reading this book that is) is to avoid reading reviews that really deal with too much of the plot synopsis or plot development. It's enough to note that this is a really excellent novel and a worthwhile read and buy. Tom Bradby does a truly good job of drawing out the suspense factor via a few really good plot twists, as well as keeping the pacing taut and not allowing things to become too bogged down. Also nicely done was the manner in which he conveys the feel of doom and panic as the characters in the book come to grips with the fact that a way of life is over, and that change -- violent change -- is in the air, and that no one is at all sure which way to jump. You get the notion, when reading "White Russian" that Tom Bradby really knows what he's writing about.

Rich, dark and atmospheric, "White Russian" is one mystery novel that should not be missed (and I'm not going to get into which of Bradby's books is better -- they're both equally excellent reads in my opinion). It's compelling and haunting, and is should be on the short-list for Best Mystery Novel of the Year.

Tom Bradby does a remarkable job of setting the stage for a series of brutal murders in Russia on the eve of revolution. It is January 1, 1917. Bradby's St. Petersburg literally glitters during the last days of the monarchy. The descriptions of the beautiful city with its opulent Winter Palace, Peter and Paul Cathedral, exquisite architecture, the Neva River where the body of Rasputin was found, the flavor of various neighborhoods and squalid tenements, provide stark contrasts and give the novel a strong sense of reality, without bogging down in detail. The author obviously researched meticulously the period, characters and cityscape for "The White Russian: A Novel Of St. Petersburg."

The cold is bitter, the population tense. These are indeed turbulent times and this multi-layered novel unfolds parallel to historical events. Chief Investigator of the St. Petersburg Police Department, Sandro Ruzsky, has just returned from a three-year exile in Tobolsk, Siberia and is immediately involved in a double murder. The victims, a young woman and a man were found on the Neva's ice in front of the Tsar's Winter Palace. Within hours of discovering the bodies, the Okhrana, the Tsar's secret police, step in to take over the case. They make it very clear that Ruzsky's assistance is not needed. Sandro, tenacious and jaded, is compelled to pursue the investigation on his own. When the young woman is identified as a former palace employee, Ruzsky wonders if the murders are politically motivated. The Tsarina pushes for Ruzsky to solve the case immediately, while the Ohhrana sabotages him at every turn.

Sandro is the black sheep son of an aristocratic family. His father, the Minister of Finance, has banned him from visiting the family home - where his soon-to-be divorced wife and beloved son live. The Ruzskys are alienated and appalled that he chose a career in the police force rather that the Tsar's elite guards.

When a third murder takes place and the investigation leads Sandro closer to the Imperial Family, he faces a ruthless killer who taunts him at every turn, and also confronts his past and the woman he once loved. As the storyline accelerates, so do the unstoppable forces of revolution. Everything and everyone Ruzsky cares about is at risk.

This is a story of political intrigue, along with the historical social unrest of the times. Members of the doomed royal family are background figures, and the Tsarina is one of the characters. Love, passion, death, betrayal and revenge fill the pages, but above all, this is a mystery with a thrilling ending. The pace is quick and the action is constant. I especially enjoyed the character of Sandro Ruzsky, an extremely complex, honest man of the highest integrity. I couldn't put this super rich story down. Highly recommended!
JANA

It is New Year's morning in 1917 in frigid St. Petersburg, the capital of old Russia. The February revolution that will sweep Tsar Nicholas away is only weeks away. The Bolshevik revolution of November, 1917 (October in the old Russian calendar) will take place within the year. Russia, particularly St. Petersburg, is consumed by strikes, speculation, food shortages, and a growing disdain for the Tsar. The city is awash in rumors of the debauched relationship between the recently assassinated Rasputin and the Tsarina Alexandra. The wave of nationalistic fervor that marked Russia's entry into WWI in August 1914 has been replaced by despair, dismay, and finally indifference as a haplessly incompetent officer corps leads the Russian army into defeat upon defeat at the hands of the Kaiser's army.

As the sun rises on New Year's day two bodies are found on the frozen river Neva within sight of the Imperial Palace. One man and a young woman have been brutally murdered. Sandro Ruzsky, St. Petersburg's chief police investigator is called to the scene. Sandro is the scion of a Russian noble, Nicolas Ruzsky, the Tsar's Deputy Finance Minister. Sandro's decision to join the police rather than take up the military career embarked upon by his father and his ancestors has caused irreparable harm to the father/son relationship. The rift is further heightened by the blame Nicolas has always placed on Sandro for the death by drowning of Sandro's youngest brother. The boy's death years ago continues to haunt both father and son.

It is Sandro's first day back on the job after a three-year exile/posting to Siberia courtesy of the Okhrana, the Tsar's secret police (the KGB of its day). Sandro's exile resulted in the break up of his marriage to his wife Irina who left Siberia to take up on affair with an aging, corpulent Grand Duke. Sandro is more than a bit tired, drunk, and hung-over as he steps onto the ice. Sandro is accompanied by his assistant Pavel. Sandro's exile was caused in no small part by Pavel's actions but Sandro took all the blame onto himself on the theory that Pavel, a person of lesser birth, would have suffered a fate worse than Sandro's. This action of course leaves Pavel devoted to Sandro.

These two murders are followed in rapid succession by other, equally brutal murders. It is Sandro's job to solve the murders which may or may not involve members of the Royal family. Sandro's investigation is impeded at every step of the way by the Okhrana. Nothing is quite what it seems and no one is quite who they seem. Allegiance is a duty owed only to oneself, or so it seems. Sandro's investigation takes him across Russia to his family's summer home and then on to the Crimea. The story line is inexorably linked to the dramatic events unfolding across Russa. As events proceed Sandro rediscovers the love of his life and this tortured relationship forms an emotional cornerstone of the book along with the examination of Sandro's relationship with his father.

It would be unfair to reveal any more of the story line. One of White Russian's strength is the development of the plot and its characters. A little bit is revealed on each page. It is fair to say that this book is more than a simply murder mystery. Bradby's characters, particularly those of Sandro and his father evoke a time and place where honor in the face of adversity counted more than either convenience or love much to the detriment of both men. This notion of honor and duty is at once the cause and resolution of the rift between father and son.

In a fast paced manner Bradby conveys with dexterity the feel of a city lost in a fog of war and insurrection. Everyone sees the revolution coming but like an out-of-control train no one seems willing or able to do anything about it.

Bradby takes us into the minds of the entrenched nobility, striking workers, and revolutionary students. One can feel the revolution approaching as the book reaches its climactic moments. It is the inevitability of the coming revolutions that serves as the conceptual underpinning of both the murders and the resolution of the story.

This was an enjoyable book.

The White Russian is set in St Petersburg in 1917.The Tsarist regime is disintegrating rapidly .Russian particiption in World War One is proving an unmitigated disaster with defeats and collapsing morale among the troops .Incompetence and corruption are rife in both the civilian and military administrations with food shortages bringing many to the very brink of starvation .The royal family are hugely unpopular ,especially the Tsarina -who is of German origin ,and rumours that she had a carnal relationship with the recently murdered Rasputin have made her an object of ridicule.The collapse of the regime is seen as merely a matter of time .
Against this political background -which dominates the book -two bodies are found on the ice in front of the Tsar's winter palace .They are dead of multiple stab wounds and one victim is a young woman named Ella Korvin who until recently had worked as a nurse in the employ of the royal family at the Tsars home in Tsarskoe Sela until she had been dismissed for theft -nobody will disclose to the authorities what exactly she had stolen .The dead pair -and other subsequent victims turn out to be members of a secret society ,The Black Terror,dedicated to political assassination of prominent memvers of the ruling elite .
The investigating copis Ruzzsky ,an aristocrat by background who has recently returned from exile after incurring the enmity of the state for his scrupulous honesty.A dedicated cop ,he beavers away in face of opposition from the secret police who take over the case ,and despite the investigation bringing him in conflict with members of his own family .
This is a complex and multi-layered book with some acute characterisation and a dense plot that sustains interest.The ending seems a tad rushed and is somewhat more thrillerish than what went before but overall this is an exceptional book and one likely to be enjoyed by crime readers and those devoted to period novels in general

I enjoy reading both fiction and non-fiction books about Russia around the end of the Romanov dynasty. That was such an interesting time period in history, and many things happened while the regime was slowly crumbling from within. This extremely well-written work of fiction adds another aspect to the time when everything was collapsing. There are mysterious murders, and one of the victims worked for the Imperial family. We go into the lair of the secret police, and into the center of the royal family itself, where the tsarina makes a cameo appearance. There are imperial servants, spies, revolutionaries, and our hero, an honest man trying to do his job while all falls arart, including his own family. It's essentially a sad tale, but one that really involves the reader. I enjoyed this book so much that I ordered "The Master of Rain", another work by this same author, and I expect to enjoy it as well.