Reviewed by English Crime Novel Critic Paul Burke

American lawyer Perlman has a love of Eastern Europe and a knowledge drawn from travelling the region that infuses this spy thriller. After the fall of the Soviet Empire, a Belarusian physicist, troubled by the dictatorship, believes in a better world for his family. He has joined the resistance and is on his first mission, sadly it and he are doomed as the security forces, still known as the KGB, are watching every move. The courier winds up dead in a forest. Meanwhile, Jack Miller is heading to Eastern Europe to explore the place his family’s past, he needs to understand the rift that developed between his grandfather and father, Holocaust survivors. In Minsk Jack falls for tour guide Anna. Their journey into the past together, which takes them to the Belavezskaya Forest, will lead them to secrets that have dire consequences for the future of the world. With the KGB on their tail, Jack must survive to tell the west what is going on, it will test his love for Anna.
This is complex, the threads of the story build steadily toward a twisty and satisfying denouement. It’s a story of post Soviet collapse that has roots deep in WWII. It’s about reconnecting with family Cold War roots and the generations that lived through unimaginable times and had to make difficult choices.

-Paul Burke
Aspects of Crime