Moscow Bound

Author:  Adrian Churchward
Genre:  Suspense/Political Thriller

Four Stars

Ekaterina Romanova, the estranged wife of Russia's wealthiest oligarch Konstantin Gravchenko, asks Scott Mitchell, an idealistic young English human rights lawyer who is being intimidated by the authorities, to find the father she's never met.  She believes he's been languishing for decades without trial in the gulag system.  Meanwhile, General Pravda of military intelligence, though an advocate of transparency, is determined to protect a covert operation that he's been running for years.

General Pravda hinders Ekaterina and Scott at every turn and lawyer and client are forced to go on the run for a murder they didn't commit.  As they descend into the Hades that is the world of international realpolitik Scott is compelled to reconsider his own values, and Pravda's life's work disintegrates, when Scott uncovers a 50 year-old Cold War secret, which both the Russian and U.S. governments are still trying to hid from the public domain.

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There are two things I need to tell you about this book before you read it:  If you don't care for political thrillers you won't like the book.  However, if you find them not only interesting, but intriguing and thought-provoking, you will enjoy the book.

The story begins with Scott Mitchell and his friend Charlie aboard a plane that has just landed in Russia.  Before anyone is allowed to depart, however, Scott finds himself in the hands of the FSB, in a small room, being held but not interrogated.  The problem, you see, is that Scott is a human rights attorney and has successfully defended the Chechens against the Russians - which the Russians do not like one bit.  This has put him in the center of a target, and he is warned that if he is in Russia, he is to be so peacefully.  However, this is easier said than done, when at every turn he is harassed by them.

When Scott first meets Ekaterina, he thinks she is a plant set out to entrap him.  In a short time, however, he realizes his mistake and reluctantly agrees to help her.  But then he realizes this isn't just about finding Ekaterina's father, it is something deeper and messier than he would have thought.

I don't want to reveal any more of the book, because to do so would give away too much of the plot.  I do implore you to read it, because even though it was a little weak on character development - I didn't find myself involved with any of the people, hence the four stars instead of five - the story itself is not only a quick read, it is stimulating  and you will find yourself embroiled in the happenings quite easily. Recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Moscow-Bound-Puppet-Meisters-trilogy-ebook/dp/B00K0O7BOE/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1189655346