An excellent historical fiction thriller! Smith did his homework to convey a terroristic state as Stalinist Russia was from the 30's to the 50's when Stalin died. The story follows Leo from his position of State Security to near defector to catch a serial killer that the State will not admit exists. The hoops inside of hoops that Leo must jump through even to investigate the crimes would be incredible and highly frustrating to any modern-day CSI investigator in this country. This one really puts the reader in the story and through the paces, I enjoyed it and would definetly read Smith again!!
