Kyiv Synopsis
'A searing portrait of the Nazi elite as the war turns against them. Raw, shocking and meticulously researched' TIM SEBASTIAN A blockbuster thriller set against one of the most horrific scenes in the Second World War. On Sunday 22nd June, 1941, at 03.05, three and a half million Axis troops burst into the Soviet Union along a 1,800 mile front to launch Operation Barbarossa.
The southern thrust of the attack was aimed at the Caucuses and the oil fields beyond. Kyiv was the biggest city to stand in their way. Within six weeks, the city was under siege.
Surrounded by Panzers, bombed and shelled day and night, Soviet Commissar Nikita Krushchev was amongst the senior Soviet officials co-ordinating the defence. Amid his cadre of trusted personnel is British defector Bella Menzies, once with MI5, now with the NKVD. With the fall of the city inevitable, the Soviets plan a bloody war of terror that will extort a higher toll on the city's inhabitants than the invaders.
As the noose tightens, Bella finds herself trapped, hunted by both the Russians and the Germans. As the local saying has it: life is dangerous – no one survives it. “Historical fiction of a high order.” THE TIMES 2021 Head of Zeus
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781801106412 |
| Publication date: |
8th July 2021 |
| Author: |
Graham Hurley |
| Publisher: |
Head of Zeus an imprint of Head of Zeus Audio Books |
| Format: |
CD-Audio |
| Primary Genre |
Historical Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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Graham Hurley Press Reviews
You could read a lot of books before you found a tale better told - The Times
A masterful novel: a war narrative, a spy thriller, and a historical fiction steeped in meticulously-researched factual detail -- Dr Christine Berberich, University of Portsmouth
If you are unaware of what happened in Kiev after the Nazi invasion of Russia in 1941, Kyiv may be an eye-opener. To anyone not yet familiar with Hurley's superb wartime thrillers, it certainly will. Graham Hurley - already a respected crime writer with some thirty titles under his belt - has established himself in the pantheon of thriller writers who have set novels in and around WWII and his books sit comfortably alongside those of Philip Kerr, Ben Pastor, John Lawton, Alan Furst and David Downing - Shots Magazine
The fear enveloping Kyiv as the Soviets flee radiates from every page. Like Red Traitor, this is historical fiction of a high order - Financial Times
With distinct echoes of John Le Carre set against the desolate spectacle of the siege, Kiev's occupation and all the compromises and atrocities committed by all sides, this is a starkly evocative tale of wartime bleakness and the hall of mirrors of espionage in times of conflict. Grips you from end to finish and deserving, as Hurley invariably is, of much more attention than he has been getting of late - Crime Time
Could not be more timely - The Times
About Graham Hurley
Graham Hurley is a documentary maker and a novelist. For the last two decades he's written full-time, penning nearly fifty books. Two made the short list for the Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, while Finisterre – the first in the Spoils of War collection – was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Award. Graham lives in East Devon with his lovely wife, Lin.
Author Photo Credit: Laura Muños
Maxim Jakubowski's view on JOE FARADAY...
The investigations of a Portsmouth cop and a fascinating look into crime on the British coast. If you like Ian Rankin’s Rebus, this should be your next step. NO LOVELIER DEATH is the 9th book in the Faraday series.
A Q & A with Graham Hurley
Who’s your favourite author?
The Alan Furst of The Polish Officer and The World at Night.
Where do you live? And why?
Portsmouth. Because so many people ask me why.
What’s the greatest influence on your writing?
Lin Rowden.
What is your philosophy for life?
Check the tide tables and watch for eddies.
Have you had any formal tuition in creative writing? If so, where and what? Did you find it useful?
BA/MA Cambridge University (English – no help at all). No formal tuition in creative writing except a pathological nosiness and a fascination with story. Profound doubts about collective literary endeavour. Why? Because, in the end, writing is a solitary business.
Did you always want to be an author? If not, what did you originally want to be and when and why did you change your mind?
Yes. And like most authors, I’m not sure why. But – emphatically – yes.
Who do you most admire and why?
My mum (seriously). Because she’s never failed to make the very best of an occasionally dodgy hand. Huge fortitude.
What jobs did you have before you started writing?
Ice cream salesman, deckchair attendant, lifeguard, prep school teacher (scripture and cricket), Radio Victory reporter, TV promotion scriptwriter, TV researcher, TV documentary director/producer, Oz TV cop series writer.
If your house was burning down what would you save?
Lin Rowden, the cats, a framed photo of the Otter estuary, me.
What do you do when you are not writing? How do you relax? What are your hobbies?
Sailing, cycling, nosing around, tussling with French, dreaming of the day Tony Blair resigns.
More About Graham Hurley
