Red Winter - Softcover

Smith, Dan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1605988405 ISBN 13: 9781605988405

Publisher: Pegasus Crime, 2015

Synopsis

Delivering harrowing adventure and suspense set against an unforgiving landscape, the new novel by Dan Smith will leave you chilled to the bone . . .

1920, central Russia. The Red Terror tightens its hold. Kolya has deserted his Red Army unit and returns home to bury his brother and reunite with his wife and sons. But he finds the village silent and empty. The men have been massacred in the forest. The women and children have disappeared.

In this remote, rural Russian community the folk tales that mothers tell their children by candlelight take on powerful significance, and the terrifying legend of Koschei, The Deathless One, begins to feel very real. Kolya sets out on a journey through dense, haunting forests and across vast plains against the bitter winter, in the desperate hope he will find his wife and two boys―and find them alive. But there are very dark things in Kolya's past. And, as he strives to find his family, there's someone―or something―following his trail . . .

About this title

About the Author

Among other novels, Dan Smith is the author of The Child Thief, Red Winter and The Darkest Heart, which are also available from Pegasus Crime. He lives in Newcastle with his family. Find out more about Dan, his novels, and the places that inspire them at www.dansmithbooks.com.

From Booklist

It is December 1920, and the Bolsheviks have unleashed the Red Terror, a wave of intimidation, confiscation, torture, and murder designed to frighten every Russian into obedience. Kolya, a loyal Red Army soldier, has seen enough, and he deserts the army to return to his wife and children. But he is pursued by the dreaded Cheka secret police. When he finally gets home, he finds the hideously mutilated bodies of the men of his village. A single old woman, driven mad by the carnage, tells him the murderer was Koschei the Deathless One, a monster from Slavic folklore. His family has vanished, and Kolya clings to the hope that he can find them—and kill the Chekist who calls himself Koschei. Smith has chosen a period, the Russian Civil War, that was as confusing as it was brutal. The Reds have defeated the “counterrevolutionaries” (Whites), but the Greens, Blues, and Blacks have arisen, inspired by Red brutality. Red Winter is filled with suspense, bloodshed, and vividly drawn characters, and offers a strong sense of the tragic arc of modern Russian history. --Thomas Gaughan

About this edition

• Publisher: Pegasus Crime
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1605988405
• ISBN 13: 9781605988405
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416