Vodka

By Boris Starling

A multi-stranded, groundbreaking Russian thriller from the bestselling British author of Messiah and Storm.

In December of 1991 Moscow is a city in chaos, torn apart by gang violence and hyperinflation, its population in terror of a killer preying on children. Into this anarchy comes Alice Liddell, an American banker charged with starting the privatization process crucial to Russia’s hopes of reform. But reform means hardship, and surviving the Russian winter is already too hard; Alice has only a short period to succeed before the people lose patience with the progressive government.

Her target is the Red October distillery, Russia’s most famous vodka producer, but Alice soon discovers that time is the least of her problems. Red October is the centrepiece of a savage mafiya war between its charismatic boss Lev and his Chechen nemesis Karkadann. Are the brutal child killings terrorizing Moscow connected to their violent conduct? How should Alice handle the discovery that Red October is riddled with corruption? And can Alice and Lev, adversaries across the negotiating table, reconcile their contradictory professional aims with their very unprofessional feelings for each other?

As the characters get sucked into a vortex of violence, passion and betrayal, their struggles are no longer simply for their own aims; they are for the soul of Russia itself. Concentrated over 100 days of a Russian winter, Vodka is an epic thriller of taut suspense, shocking brutality and heart-pounding pace; it is a saga of rivalry and bloodshed, a searing study of addiction and adultery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 4, 2011
• ISBN: 9780307365958

Boris Starling

Boris Starling graduated with a First from Cambridge and went on to be a journalist before turning to fiction writing full-time. An avid triathelete, Boris was the youngest ever participant to reach the semi-finals of Mastermind. He lives in London.

Reviews for Vodka

[clara53_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An intense fast-paced political thriller/crime novel. Good interpretation of Russian political intrigue and Russian versus Chechen mafia in Moscow, as Russia was just emerging as a separate country in 1991-92 (not Soviet Union any more), great account of that disastrous involvement of Soviets in Afghanistan, and quite a colorful depiction of the dangers of alcoholism. Mostly fair take on Russian character, even if sometimes exaggerating the darker side of it (I say "mostly", because some insinuations are absolutely not true: like the assumption that it is inherent in Russians to inform on each other - ridiculously not true...). But all in all, a decent page-turner, even though a little over the top in its volume.

[tulikangaroo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book has everything but the kitchen sink, which is both good and bad. There's politics, spies, mafia, vodka, communism, capitalism, amputees, orphans, alcoholism, murder, torture, vampires, and true love. Once it got going, I had a hard time putting it down. Was it ridiculous? Yes. Was it entertaining? Yes.

[.monkey.-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Maybe it's (at least partially) because I have such a strong affinity for both Russia, and the mafia, and also for books dealing with murder mysteries, but I greatly enjoyed this novel. It wasn't perfect, but I thought Starling did a wonderful job of portraying characters and most situations quite realistically, and I am very eager to read all the rest of his work!

[henrimoreaux · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Part crime novel, part political thriller, part business novel, Vodka is a bit of a mixed bag. In parts, it's good, in other parts the writing leaves a little to be desired, such as when someone ran their hand down another characters cheek, to their temple - what's going on with that anatomy?That aside, it has a steady momentum that (slowly) builds to a rather climactic ending, there's some intrigue, a serial killing mystery, a fair heaping of gang conflict and a serving of Russian politics running alongside the attempted privatisation of a vodka distillery that's run by the leader of a gang who has the best interests of his employees at heart. If you liked Monstrum and Gorky Park you may like this, it's a similar atmospheric Russian set novel taking place in the immediate period following the collapse of the USSR/Soviet Union.Overall, I did enjoy it.