Rating: 
Summary: A post cold-war, cold-war style trhiller
Review: This is a compelling page-turner that will keep you up at night. If you enjoy cold-war thrillers, Robert Harris has figured out how to bring them back to life in this post cold-war era. This book has an outstanding plot tied to a secret notebook that was supposedly stolen from Stalin on the day that he died. From the moment we learn of this missing notebook (on about page 2) through to the last page, Harris takes us on a wild ride from Moscow through the Northern reaches of what used to be know as The Soviet Union. The story never slows.Harris is a masterful fiction writer. He uses words that paint pictures so vivid that we feel we are with the characters. He weaves historical facts into a wonderful tale that had me reading every free minute over the course of three days. If you are looking for an exciting piece of fiction, don't miss adding this book to your reading list.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb
Review: This is a fantastic, precisely paced thriller. It also doubles as alternate history. The writing is crisp and tight. The plot moves fluidly through all the necessary dramatic twists and turns that are necessary to make a very good thriller. This is highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Great adventure in post-Soviet Russia
Review: What if Stalin tried to carry a secret to his grave--but Lavrenti Beria (head of Soviet secret police and fellow homicidal maniac) got wind of it? What if the evidence of that secret were in a notebook buried somewhere in Moscow? Why would such a secret be so dangerous that people start ending up dead over it in post-Soviet Russia? That's what an American historian who specializes in the Soviet Union wants to know after an old retired KGB agent pays him a visit at his Moscow hotel room. The historian follows up some leads, acquiring an unwanted assistant in the form of an eager cable news reporter. They end up heading north to Archangel, a city on Russia's Arctic coastline, to chase the story down.
The adventure is a good one, with believable characters acting on believable motivations throughout the book. I had a hard time putting it down.
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