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With a prologue that opens up with a deluge of insightful facts about Joseph Stalin, Mefford sets the tone early for what is to come: a narrative rooted in suspense and lore, one that is so consumed by the chaos and death that Stalin unleashed on his own people that its ripple effects are felt all the way to America, where the story is set. When he was at the height of his powers, Stalin’s mantra was that death was the solution to all problems. Yet in this work, it is the aura of mystery that his death is shrouded in that becomes the backdrop of the plot.
When the narrative opens, a surreal, almost fantastical scene unfolds between Illya Podipenko, a famed Russian investigator who is a guest lecturer at Columbia, and his former student Katya Tevoradze. In the midst of it is an uncanny reference to an Alice in Wonderland sculpture, where Podipenko ties each of the characters to Stalin loyalists like Beria, Molotov, Khrushchev, and Stalin as the Mad Hatter himself. The plot picks up speed when Katya reveals that her grandfather has been murdered and her uncle’s life may be in jeopardy, yet they were the ones who kept telling her they had a major secret to share about Stalin and his death.
In the process of Illya and Katya trying to peel back the layers behind her grandpa Sandro’s death, they forge a connection with Grisha, Katya’s uncle and Sandro’s younger brother. The outcome is astounding as it becomes apparent that there are numerous underlying ties that connect Illya to Katya, Grisha, and Sandro. Where Illya’s father, Konstantin, helped brothers Sandro and Grisha, two cooks in Stalin’s kitchen, escape to New York, it is now Illya, the son, who is helping get justice for Sandro and bring peace to his granddaughter, Katya.
What follows in the midst of this murder mystery is a spat with downright ruthless gangsters and a riveting hunt for Stalin’s hidden treasures that remind one of an Indiana Jones’ adventure. What makes the high-action portions of the plot enjoyable is the transition between these high-leverage points and the author taking us into the past, bringing to life scenes of Stalin’s later days to add further intrigue for audiences.
As the plot progresses, the FBI, led by Agent Noah Carter, enters the fold, as well as Lena Sharapova, a Rasputin descendant who Illya saves while rising to investigator fame. Throughout it all, it is Katya’s quick wit that keeps the plot flowing and helps to add comedic humor in the most tense situations. With each passing scene, more and more of the plot unravels to show how interconnected all their journeys truly are and how history and the present day are simply inextricable, like conjoined twins dependent on each other for survival. What’s more is that the historical fiction weaves in a special appearance from Putin, seamlessly fusing fiction and nonfiction, past and present. Overall, the character-driven narrative plays flawlessly off its two main characters, Illya and Katya—an unlikely pair, yet ever so fitting—to make for a memorable read.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review