Set in Moscow just after WW2 this is a superbly written historical thriller full of secrets, lies and adultery - which in communist Russia at that time really were deadly sins.
Two children from Moscow’s Elite educational establishment (School 801) are found dead on a bridge near the Kremlin and this sparks a witch hunt, overseen by Stalin himself that forces children to testify against their parents.
Based on a true story and packed with historical detail, bringing post-war Russia compellingly to life, this is an addictive, heart-breaking novel.
Click below to listen to an extract from the audiobook edition of this title.
Moscow 1945. As Stalin and his courtiers celebrate victory over Hitler, shots ring out. On a nearby bridge, a teenage boy and girl lie dead. But this is no ordinary tragedy and these are no ordinary teenagers, but the children of Russia's most important leaders who attend the most exclusive school in Moscow. Is it murder? A suicide pact? Or a conspiracy against the state? Directed by Stalin himself, an investigation begins as children are arrested and forced to testify against their friends - and their parents. Soon a terrifying web of secret love affairs and family secrets is revealed that will have deadly consequences for everyone involved.
'A master storyteller when writing as a historian, Sebag Montefiore's fiction is just as compelling in this thriller set in Stalin's Moscow.' GQ
Author
About Simon Sebag Montefiore
Simon Sebag Montefiore is a historian and writer. His books are international bestsellers, published in 27 languages. CATHERINE THE GREAT AND POTEMKIN (originally POTEMKIN: PRINCE OF PRINCES) was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson, Duff Cooper, and Marsh Biography Prizes. STALIN: THE COURT OF THE RED TSAR won the History Book of the Year Prize at the 2004 British Book Awards. YOUNG STALIN (published May 2007) is its companion and prequel. Born in 1965, Montefiore read History at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, novelist, and television presenter, he lives in London with his wife, the novelist Santa Montefiore, and their two children. He is now writing JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHY, a fresh history of the Middle East.
