Book Description Review “[A] richly evocative first novel… gripping… this thriller deserves high marks for the captivating tone of the writing and attention to historical detail about a prison that served as a key link in the gulag chain.” (Publishers Weekly)”May’s writing seamlessly integrates his detailed research into this experimental prison camp with the intrigues of criminals intent on looting religious treasures. He has made this debut novel a masterful historical detektiv tale.” (Library Journal)”By turns clever and revealing… a fine debut. A brainy novel that presents a different spin on the prison-camp novel.” (Kirkus Reviews)”Historical, atmospheric (in a frigid sort of way) and exceptionally well-written, The Body Outside the Kremlin is a first-rate debut.” (Bookpage)”A remarkable debut novel that brings to life one of the worst periods of soviet history… The Body Outside the Kremlin… will not disappoint enthusiasts of A. D. Miller’s Snowdrops and M. C. Smith’s Gorky Park.” (The New York Journal of Books)”The first sleeper hit of 2020, a rich, historical thriller with strong echoes of Martin Cruz Smith’s classic Gorky Park… thriller writing of the highest order, a tale as ambitiously conceived as it is stunningly realized… the best prison-set drama since Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island.” (The Providence Journal) Read more About the Author James L. May holds an MFA from Florida International University, along with a BA in English from Cornell. He grew up in New Jersey, lived in New Orleans, and now resides in New York City. His short fiction has appeared in Tigertail, and he reviews fiction for The Florida Book Review, Gulf Stream Literary Magazine, and the New Orleans Review. Read more Customers Review: I am a big fan of historical mysteries, and I am especially happy when they introduce me to a time and place that I’m not very familiar with. So I was glad to get a chance to read an ARC of The Body Outside the Kremlin, which is set in the Soviet Union in the 1920s, on a prison island in the middle of the White Sea. This is a time period that I learned only a little bit about in history class, and I certainly learned nothing about the prison camps of the period, other than that they existed. So I was interested in the book right from the start.And I was even happier when I started reading the book, and found that I liked the writing style (a lot). I also like my books to have a really good sense of background and setting, and The Body Outside the Kremlin delivered on that too. Granted, the background and setting were pretty bleak and depressing, but somehow the author made the story interesting and engaging anyway. I also enjoyed the plot, which fit really nicely with the setting.Overall, if you’re looking for comparisons – this book struck me sort of as a cross between Eliot Pattison’s Shan Tao Yun series for the prison camp/communist setting and plot, and John Maddox Roberts’s Decius Cecilius Metellus series for the occasional brief flashforwards that add a lot to the story.I believe this is James L May’s first mystery and I very much hope he writes more. And once again, my thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC, which I was allowed to read in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks to Hanover Publisher via Netgalley for advanced copy of this book.This is a darkly disturbing book about events in Solovki Prison Camp, a former monastery on island in the White Sea, set in the 1920’s after Lenin’s death. Our protagonist, just 20 years old, is Tolya Bogomolov. He leads us through the difficult events he is faced with when he is called away from roll call for questioning about a dead body, the person Gennady Antonov he had become friendly with. Antonov had been working with icons and had certainly caused a problem for some unknown criminal to have been killed brutally. From this start, the powers that ruled paired Tolya with an old man who had been a police inspector in Odessa, Yakov Petrovich. They were to investigate the murder of Antonov.Of course there is nothing straight forward about this assignment for the two men as at every turn they are faced with triggers that could ignite and lead to their own deaths. The partnership is slow in gaining traction and trust, but Tolya has youth and a very strong stubborn streak on his side. He is needed by Petrovich who struggles to get around with his cane. Initially Petrovich mocks Tolya for his interest in detective fiction but eventually a bond is formed as they need each other for many reasons.The detail of survival in a Gulag is artfully conveyed in many moving segments of hardship for the common prisoner. The investigation takes Tolya to extremes, including sawing off his little finger and later nearly drowning in attempt to save icons.
3 and 1 / 2 starsYoung Tolya Bogomolov is incarcerated by the Bolsheviks in 1926. He is serving a three year sentence on an island in the White Sea in a camp dominated by a former monastery. The “guards” are secret police and it seems everyone is on the take. Some prisoners are assigned to hard labor and some have it a little easier, working in the historical archives or preserving religious icons.When his friend Genady Antonov, who is one of those restoring the valuable icons, is found floating in the bay, Tolya is considered a suspect. When the former police inspector who is drafted to investigate the death demands that Tolya assist him, he is more or less exonerated.Together the two set about to solve the murder of Antonov.I really liked the historical detail in this book. The horrid conditions in the camp and the surrounding terrain was described very well. There was some discussion of the politics of 1926 Russia and the fall of the Czar. What I didn’t care for about this book was its slow pace. There was much talking and very little doing. I like my police procedurals to have more action; quicker paced. It was written very well and plotted equally well. The author used language more than adequately. Overall, I thought it was a good story and a very nice first effort for Mr. May.I want to thank NetGalley and Meryl L. Moss Media Relations for forwarding to me a copy of this good book for me to read, enjoy and review.
I’m not certain how fair my review is as my copy is not TTS enabled and took me a long time to read in short segments.The first thing to make clear is that the time period and probabilities have been meticulously researched and incorporated into the plot. The murder investigation was well done and the characters and conditions are clearly depicted. The plot hook in the publisher’s blurb is well done, but the pace of progress in the novel was not to my liking. If you want decent historical perspective in a slow paced procedural, you’ll love it.I requested and received a free ebook copy from Meryl L. Moss Media Relations via NetGalley. |
5 reviews