Simon Sebag Montefiore is an historian and this novel, set in Stalin's Moscow, is based on a true incident. His Stalin is a seemingly avuncular character whose unpredictability creates a truly sinister atmosphere. In this mixture of fact and fiction we feel horror and tension as we fear for the children at the centre of the plot. This is a scary crime story that actually happened in our own lifetime.
(Judith Peppitt - bwl 73 Summer 2014 ) |
