One of our Debuts of the Year 2011.
March 2011 Debut of the Month.
The Holy Thief brilliantly evokes a society that has broken down and rules of human behaviour that are hard for us to imagine. We are in Stalinist Russia between the wars. Everyone has to be careful of what they say and who they say it to .Young people have to learn when not to say what is on their minds.
'Even the innocent (are) jumping at shadows these days'. Rank is important. 'The colonel placed a slight emphasis on Korolev's rank, just enough to remind Korolev of the thinness of the ice under his feet'. In this world, Korolev is ordered to solve a gruesome murder but does the culprit exist inside or outside the system?
Who can he trust? Where can he turn? Whatever he does, he has to tread carefully. This beautifully written, finely judged novel is up there with the likes of Le Carre, thoughtful and thought-provoking: intelligently written and thoroughly readable.

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.
| Primary Genre | Thriller and Suspense |
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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.
The Holy Thief features in the following genres: Thriller and Suspense, Crime and Mystery, eBooks of the Month, Debut Books of the Month, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Recommendations
Paperback, Hardback. Not Available.
The Holy Thief was written by William Ryan and published by Pan Books an imprint of Pan Macmillan
The Holy Thief has 353 pages
Yes it is part of The Korolev Series series