Download or read book VODKA A HISTORICAL THRILLER written by Nicolae C. Ariton and published by Nicolae C. Ariton. This book was released on 2024-01-25 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The reason for an author to write a book is, most of the time, a mystery. This is what happened in this case, too, even if the author can invoke some reasons, or at least two or three excuses. The topic itself isn’t refined, eminent or noble, qualities that motivate the author to put time and energy in writing about a drink that can’t even be compared to the cognac’s elegance, wine’s universality or rum’s exoticism. Vodka is an alcoholic liquid that has neither taste nor smell, almost without identity, interesting only because of its dark side. From another point of view, the author isn’t even Russian or Polish, arguing the writing of this book with patriotism and the support, more or less, of the idea that vodka is a national invention or even a cultural object. In this context, I have to admit that the idea of writing this vodka history had become latent, but the spark that triggered the writing process was the case of the Russian historical writer William Pokhlebkin, the strange culinary recipes collector, the author of a wonderful book called Istoriyavodky. Its publishing turned him from a Soviet regime dissident into a national hero, who has successfully defended vodka’s Russian paternity in a famous international law case against Poland, having lots of political and economic benefits, in 1982. His violent death (in 2000, he was killed in his apartment placed at Moscow’s outskirts), related to vodka’s law suit, remained a mystery to this day. I had a very powerful start writing this book dedicated to vodka’s history because it is, as the title says, a historical thriller. Starting from an ancient autocrat’s desire to drink alcohol that was more concentrated than wine, from alchemists’ tribulations and even from the mysterious Greek fire, I got to the monk Isidor, considered to be vodka’s father, aqua vitae’s adaptation to the Russian production conditions. As you would expect, the Czarist Russian period is very important and is, maybe, the most interesting part of the book, because of the bond between the Empire’s destiny and vodka, the drink becoming a weapon that has even killed those who thought they mastered it. Actually, we tried to prove that vodka can be read, too, not only drunk.

Download or read book The King of Vodka written by Linda Himelstein and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010-11-30 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Born in a Russian village in 1831, Pyotr Smirnov relied on vodka to turn a life of scarcity and anonymity into one of immense wealth and international recognition. Starting from the back rooms and side streets of nineteeth-century Moscow, Smirnov exploited brilliant grassroots marketing strategies to popularize his products and ensconce his brand in the thirsts and imaginations of drinkers around the world. His vodka would be gulped in the taverns of Russia and Europe, be praised with accolades at world fairs, and become a staple on the tables of tsars. But his improbable ascent would be halted by the chaos of the Bolshevik Revolution, and only a bizarre set of coincidences—including an incredible prison escape by one of Smirnov’s sons in 1919—would prevent Smirnov’s legacy from fading into obscurity. Set against a backdrop of political and ideological currents that would determine the course of global events, The King of Vodka is much more than a biography of a humble serf who rose to create one of the most celebrated business empires the world has ever known. It is a work of sweeping narrative history on an epic scale.

Download or read book Vodka written by Boris Starling and published by Random House Canada. This book was released on 2005 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sprawling, epic thriller set in Russia, "Vodka is the next "Gorky Park, filled with a cunning serial killer, a notorious ring, and an American woman caught in the middle.

Download or read book Too Bad to Die written by Francine Mathews and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-03-03 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A tense and enthralling historical thriller in which British Naval Intelligence officer Ian Fleming attempts to foil a Nazi plot to assassinate FDR, Churchill, and Stalin. November, 1943. Weary of his deskbound status in the Royal Navy, intelligence officer Ian Fleming spends his spare time spinning stories in his head that are much more exciting than his own life…until the critical Tehran Conference, when Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Josef Stalin meet to finalize the D-Day invasion. With the Big Three in one place, Fleming is tipped off that Hitler’s top assassin has infiltrated the conference. Seizing his chance to play a part in a real-life action story, Fleming goes undercover to stop the Nazi killer. Between martinis with beautiful women, he survives brutal attacks and meets a seductive Soviet spy who may know more than Fleming realizes. As he works to uncover the truth and unmask the assassin, Fleming is forced to accept that betrayal sometimes comes from the most unexpected quarters—and that one’s literary creations may prove eerily close to one’s own life. Brilliantly inventive, utterly gripping and suspenseful, Too Bad to Die is Francine Mathews’s best novel yet, and confirms her place as a master of historical fiction.

Download or read book Rasputin s Revenge written by John Lescroart and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2003-11-04 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Auguste Lupa, reputed son of Sherlock Holmes, the greatest detective of all time—and possessor of a brilliant deductive mind in his own right—is summoned to the court of the Czar. There, with a bit of assistance from none other than Holmes and Watson, he untangles a chilling plot that holds the Winter Palace in a lethal grip…Don't miss this historical mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of the Dismas Hardy series. "It was good to have Holmes and Watson drop in on the action...There's a lot of Sherlock in his son."—Abilene Reporter-News "The perfect vehicle for mystery fans who relish a good detective story.” —Macon Telegraph and News Praise for John Lescroart's Dismas Hardy novels "Today’s best legal thriller series.”—Lee Child “Grisham and Turow remain the two best-known writers in the genre. There is, however, a third novelist at work today who deserves to be considered alongside Turow and Grisham. His name is John Lescroart.”—Chicago Sun-Times “Lescroart's books are high entertainment, with accurate legal and police procedures leading the action.”—Sacramento Bee “A gifted writer….I read him with great pleasure.”—Richard North Patterson “Blistering courtroom sequences.…the undisputed king of the legal thriller.”—Providence Sunday Journal “Unfolds like a classic Law & Order.”—Entertainment Weekly John Lescroart is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous legal thrillers and mysteries, most of them set in contemporary San Francisco. Among his novels are The Fall, The Keeper, The Ophelia Cut, The Hunt Club, The Second Chair, The First Law, Nothing But the Truth, and Dead Irish, as well as two novels featuring Auguste Lupa, the reputed son of Sherlock Holmes.

Download or read book The Romanov Legacy written by Jenni Wiltz and published by Decanter Press. This book was released on 2012-06-03 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A murdered tsar. A missing treasure. One woman holds the key. Natalie Brandon knows Nicholas II, last tsar of Russia, left a secret bank account to provide for his family in exile. But getting someone to believe her is harder than finding the account itself. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Natalie is tormented by a recurring hallucination, the voice of an angel named Belial. Even her sister, a Russian history professor, won’t take her seriously…until a blond, blue-eyed Russian spy kidnaps Natalie, claiming she’s the only one who can lead him to the treasure. But Constantine Dashkov isn’t the only one after the tsar’s missing millions. Russian prime minister Maxim Starinov will do anything to get the money for himself. Natalie and Constantine must outrun Starinov’s death squad as they track the treasure from San Francisco to Moscow to London. With nothing more than Natalie’s ghostly intuition to guide them, can she and Constantine stay alive long enough to protect the tsar’s legacy from a greedy despot? The Romanov Legacy is the first book in the Natalie Brandon thriller series, with fast-paced action and a heroine readers call "unforgettable" and "enchanting." If you like Dan Brown’s historical puzzles and the international intrigue of Daniel Silva, then you'll love Jenni Wiltz's page-turning thrillers. Buy The Romanov Legacy to discover this exciting new series today. Perfect for fans of: international crime novels, spy novels, espionage and conspiracy thrillers, psychological thrillers

Download or read book Visibility written by Boris Starling and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2008-02-05 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the New York Times bestselling author of Vodka comes a riveting post World War II Thriller. London, 1952. The fog rolls in. It seems the Great Fog has claimed another victim—someone who most likely stumbled into the icy shallows of Long Water. In fact, the floater is a prominent biochemist who, only hours before his death, claimed to know something that could change the world. The chase begins. Ex-spy-turned-Scotland Yard detective Herbert Smith thinks he left the shadows of espionage behind until he traces the victim’s final footsteps. It leads straight into the heart of a secret that is coveted by both the CIA and the KGB—and threatened by the last dangerous vestige of the Third Reich. “This is how thrillers should be done.”—The Baltimore Sun

Download or read book The White Lie written by J.G. Kelly and published by Hodder & Stoughton. This book was released on 2023-10-05 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Kelly is that rare combination, a brilliant storyteller, a sure-footed adventurer into the past and a really marvellous writer. With its new take on one of the most compelling episodes in our nation's narrative, The White Lie brings history to life without disturbing its delicate fabric' CHRISTOBEL KENT THE LEGEND 1913.Captain Scott and his four companions reach the South Pole to find their Norwegian rival Roald Amundsen has won the race. Defeated, they set out on the 850-mile journey to their ship. Apsley Cherry-Garrard, the explorer sent out to meet them at One Ton depot, peering South through thick spectacles, sees only an infinity of white, and turns back. A year later Scott's pitched tent is found, just ten miles from the depot, and the bodies within speak of hunger, the unbearable strain of hauling the sledge, and the brutal winter cold. They lie in a tomb of ice. Cherry is left forever tormented by thoughts of what might have been. THE TRUTH 1969. Ten years after Cherry's death, Falcon Grey - who as an orphan of the Blitz was brought up at the explorer's country estate - receives a bequest: a small red notebook that was found in Scott's tent. It is a diary: and it states that they were not victims of the cold, or hunger, but murder, in the coldest of blood. Suspects range from envious foreign powers - such as the Kaiser's Germany - to revolutionaries and even Scott's own men. Vital clues lie in the tent, so Falcon goes South to the ice to see it for himself, but someone is desperate to conceal the truth and will kill to keep the secrets under the ice. 'Polar aficionados will enjoy this. It suggests alternative endings to legendary stories, casting fresh light on characters we think we know pretty well. An imaginative and compelling recasting, and a fine polar thriller to boot' SARA WHEELER

Download or read book WILLIAM LE QUEUX Ultimate Collection 100 Spy Thrillers Detective Mysteries Adventure Classics Historical Novels War Stories Crime Tales Illustrated written by William Le Queux and published by e-artnow. This book was released on 2017-05-27 with total page 14788 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This carefully crafted ebook: “WILLIAM LE QUEUX Ultimate Collection: 100+ Spy Thrillers, Detective Mysteries, Adventure Classics, Historical Novels, War Stories & Crime Tales (Illustrated)” is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents: Novels The Great War in England in 1897 The Invasion of 1910 Guilty Bonds Zoraida The Temptress The Great White Queen Devil's Dice Whoso Findeth a Wife The Eye of Istar If Sinners Entice Thee The Bond of Black The Day of Temptation The Veiled Man The Wiles of the Wicked An Eye for an Eye In White Raiment Of Royal Blood Her Majesty's Minister The Under-Secretary The Seven Secrets As We Forgive Them The Sign of the Stranger The Hunchback of Westminster The Closed Book The Czar's Spy Behind the Throne The Pauper of Park Lane The Mysterious Mr. Miller Whatsoever a Man Soweth The Great Court Scandal The Lady in the Car The House of Whispers The Red Room Spies of the Kaiser The Great God Gold Hushed Up! A Mystery of London The Death-Doctor The Lost Million The Price of Power Her Royal Highness The White Lie The Four Faces The Sign of Silence The Mysterious Three At the Sign of the Sword The Mystery of the Green Ray Number 70, Berlin The Way to Win The Broken Thread The Place of Dragons The Zeppelin Destroyer Sant of the Secret Service The Stolen Statesman The Doctor of Pimlico Whither Thou Goest The Intriguers The Red Widow Mademoiselle of Monte Carlo This House to Let The Golden Face The Stretton Street Affair The Voice from the Void Short Story Collections Stolen Souls The Count's Chauffeur The Bomb-Makers The Gay Triangle Historical Works Rasputin the Rascal Monk The Minister of Evil The German Spy System from Within German Atrocities The Secrets of Potsdam Béla Kiss William Le Queux (1864-1927) was an Anglo-French writer who mainly wrote in the genres of mystery, thriller, and espionage, particularly in the years leading up to World War I. His best-known works are the invasion fantasy novels “The Great War in England in 1897” and “The Invasion of 1910.”

Download or read book The Samurai Inheritance written by James Douglas and published by Random House. This book was released on 2014-08-28 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jamie Saintclair embarks on another full-throttle historical adventure - an absolute page-turner! If you love Dan Brown, Chris Kuzneski and Scott Mariani - you will love this! READERS ARE LOVING THE SAMURAI INHERITANCE! "Loved this story. It went everywhere and then some. I was happily dragged along on the edge of my seat every step." - 5 STARS "Extremely riveting!!!" - 5 STARS "Another excellent page-turner from Mr Douglas." - 5 STARS *************************************** UNDISTURBED AND FORGOTTEN FOR DECADES. NOW IT'S RESURRECTED AND THREATENS US ALL. April 1943 - A Mitsubishi transport plane, carrying Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto, architect of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, plunges from the sky over the island of Bougainville. In a document case chained to his wrist is the greatest secret of the Second World War... December 2011 - Art recovery expert Jamie Saintclair is offered a lucrative commission: he has been tasked to find the preserved head of a Solomon Island warrior, missing from a German museum since 1945? The search takes Jamie from Berlin to Tokyo and with every turn the significance of the Bougainville skull becomes ever greater. Soon he realizes he's become involved in something much more important than finding a lost piece of history... Have you read The Doomsday Testament, The Isis Covenant and The Excalibur Codex, the previous Jamie Saintclair adventures?

Download or read book Child of the Ruins written by Kate Furnivall and published by Hodder & Stoughton. This book was released on 2023-10-31 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A poignant love story' THE i Two families divided by war. An entire city on the edge of disaster. 'I was blown away not just by the gripping story, which had my heart thumping at times, but the sheer eloquence of writing. It is a story of the strength of the human spirit, and of love which will not be defeated. I know I will be recommending it to everyone' LESLEY PEARSE 1948, Berlin. World War II has ended and there is supposed to be peace; but Russian troops have closed all access to the city. Roads, railway lines and waterways are blocked and two million people are trapped, relying on airlifts of food, water and medicine to survive. The sharp eyes of the Russian state police watch everything; no one can be trusted. Anna and Ingrid are both searching for answers - and revenge - in the messy aftermath of war. They understand that survival comes only by knowing what to trade: food; medicine; heirlooms; secrets. Both are living in the shadows of a city where the line between right and wrong has become dangerously blurred. But they cannot give up in the search for a lost child . . . 'An absolute triumph' DINAH JEFFERIES 'Vivid, brave and suspenseful' RACHEL HORE 'I defy anyone not to read beyond the first killer sentence' JANE CORRY 'A harrowing and compelling portrait of Berlin in the aftermath of World War Two, told through the interconnecting stories of two courageous women struggling to survive in the rubble of their war-torn city' FIONA VALPY *** READERS LOVE THIS NOVEL! *** 'The plot is exciting and fast paced. Thought-provoking and multi-layered as well as thoroughly entertaining. A perfect read' 'Furnivall masterfully captures the history of a divided Berlin in the aftermath of WW2' 'This novel draws you in with its incredibly well-researched historical fiction and tenacious female leads' 'A sweeping historical drama that's powerful and tense, full of espionage, making you feel like you're living in post-war Berlin... Beautifully written' 'This was such an emotive and immersive read that certainly stayed with me long after finishing the pages ... I literally couldn't put this book down. A brilliant story' 'Such an emotional, powerful, well-written, totally gripping book. I was blown away'

Download or read book Istanbul Passage written by Joseph Kanon and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-06-07 with total page 585 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gripping tale of a US undercover agent in 1945 Istanbul, from the bestselling author of The Good German. A neutral capital straddling Europe and Asia, Istanbul has spent the war as a magnet for refugees and spies. Even American businessman Leon Bauer has been drawn into this shadow world, doing undercover odd jobs and courier runs for the Allied war effort. Now, as the espionage community begins to pack up and an apprehensive city prepares for the grim realities of post-war life, he is given one more assignment, a routine job that goes fatally wrong, plunging him into a tangle of intrigue and moral confusion. Leon's attempt to save one life leads to a desperate manhunt and a maze of shifting loyalties that threatens his own. Istanbul Passage is the story of a man swept up in the aftermath of war, an unexpected love affair, and a city as deceptive as the calm surface waters of the Bosphorus that divides it.

Download or read book King Pawn written by Nellooli Rajasekharan and published by Notion Press. This book was released on 2022-09-03 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The college-dropout son of an American professor and a Syrian refugee mother, Robert Frost, has two enemies: the US Army for wrongly dismissing him and the Syrian regime for slaughtering his mother’s family during the 1982 Hama massacre in Syria. Robert accepts to lead a dangerous mission to destabilize the Syrian Government. Using the money, he hopes to win back his wife and two daughters who had left him. Under different identities, he blazes a destructive trail with murders, betrayal, and intrigue with the Russians close on his heels. Will Robert succeed in paving the way for democracy in Syria and enthrone new masters? Set in war-torn Syria, this fast-paced thriller blends the author’s personal experience, deep insights, and history. With an intricate plot, convincing details, and many unforgettable characters, the story immortalizes the laments of the Syrian people. King Pawn is as thrilling as it is informative and prophetic about the end game in Syria.

Download or read book Eye of the Red Tsar written by Sam Eastland and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2010-02-18 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is the time of the Great Terror. Inspector Pekkala - known as the Emerald Eye - was the most famous detective in all Russia. He was the favourite of the Tsar. Now he is the prisoner of the men he once hunted.Like millions of others, he has been sent to the gulags in Siberia and, as far as the rest of the world is concerned, he is as good as dead. But a reprieve comes when he is summoned by Stalin himself to investigate a crime. His mission - to uncover the men who really killed the Tsar and his family, and to locate the Tsar's treasure. The reward for success will be his freedom and the chance to re-unite with a woman he would have married if the Revolution had not torn them apart. The price of failure - death. Set against the backdrop of the paranoid and brutal country that Russia became under the rule of Stalin, Eye of the Red Tsar introduces a compelling new figure to readers of crime fiction

Download or read book Spitfire written by M. L. Huie and published by Crooked Lane Books. This book was released on 2020-01-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “gritty and glamorous” debut historical mystery set in post-war Paris and London—for fans of Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope series and Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network (Julia Kelly, author of Light Over London) In the wake of World War II, former Resistance spy Livy Nash is called back to the high-stakes world of espionage and intrigue—by none other than James Bond creator, Ian Fleming How far would you go for vengeance? It’s V-E Day 1946 in London. World War II is long over, and former spy Livy Nash is celebrating with her third drink before noon. She went to war to kill Nazis. Dropped behind enemy lines as a courier, she quickly became one of the toughest agents in France. But her war ended with betrayal and the execution of the man she loved. Now, Livy spends her days proofreading a demeaning advice column for little ladies at home, and her nights alone with black market vodka. But everything changes when she meets the infamous Ian Fleming. The man who will create the world’s most sophisticated secret agent has an agenda of his own and sends Livy back to France with one task: track down the traitor who killed the only man she ever loved. Livy jumps at the chance, heading back to Paris undercover as a journalist. But the City of Lights is teeming with spies, and Livy quickly learns just how much the game has changed. With enemies on every corner and ever-shifting alliances, she’ll have to learn to fight a new war if she wants to conquer the past once and for all.

Download or read book The House at Helygen written by Victoria Hawthorne and published by Quercus. This book was released on 2022-04-14 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Dark, disturbing and utterly compelling' LIZ FENWICK 'Haunting and skilfully crafted' PHOEBE WYNNE 'Mysterious, atmospheric and chilling' ANITA FRANK A HOUSE CAN HOLD A THOUSAND SECRETS . . . 2019 When Henry Fox is found dead in his ancestral home in Cornwall, the police rule it a suicide, but his pregnant wife, Josie, believes it was murder. Desperate to make sense of Henry's death she embarks on a quest to learn the truth, all under the watchful eyes of Henry's overbearing mother. Josie soon finds herself wrestling against the dark history of Helygen House and ghosts from the past that refuse to stay buried. 1881 New bride Eliza arrives at Helygen House with high hopes for her marriage. Yet when she meets her new mother-in-law, an icy and forbidding woman, her dreams of a new life are dashed. And when Eliza starts to hear voices in the walls of the house, she begins to fear for her sanity and her life. Can Josie piece together the past to make sense of her present, or will the secrets of Helygen House and its inhabitants forever remain a mystery? PRAISE FOR THE HOUSE AT HELYGEN 'Haunting and emotional' Lisa Hall 'I could not put it down' Louise Beech 'Leaves you breathlessly wanting more' Nydia Hetherington 'A chilling, unforgettable, historical drama' Karin Nordin 'I absolutely loved this novel' Helen Scarlett

Download or read book Blinded by the Lights written by Jakub Żulczyk and published by Lindhardt og Ringhof. This book was released on 2024-07-01 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NOW A MAJOR HBO EUROPE TV SERIES Kuba is a cocaine dealer in the dark, electric streets of Warsaw, believing he is smart enough to stay in control, unlike the top lawyers, doctors, TV personalities who are his client base. However, after calling in the debt of a failing nightclub owner, breaking his own rules on other people’s property and being caught in the consequences of his clients’ actions, all control starts to slip from his grasp. Now suffering under the glare of the spotlight and dragged into the dark underbelly of the drug world, Kuba must find a way through the middle of the whirlwind of violence and betrayal sweeping him away. 'Tough, knowing, high-octane crime fiction... Los Angeles has James Ellroy, Boston has Dennis Lehane, Oslo has Jo Nesbo. And Warsaw has its own two-fisted crime laureate in Jakub Żulczyk. Already a massive bestseller in Poland, this is brilliant stuff from a fresh new voice in crime fiction.' Tony Parsons 'Jakub Żulczyk’s Blinded by the Lights is dark, dangerous, and seductive. A multi-layered story that – like his anti-hero’s product – will assault your senses and leave you craving for more. This is post-Communist Warsaw, but it could be Moscow, New York, or London. A truly terrific piece of writing and I can’t recommend it enough.' G.D. Abson 'A striking novel, brilliantly written - for the fans of the dark and gritty!' Robert Bryndza 'This gothic odyssey... is decidedly not for the faint of heart' Publishers Weekly Jakub Żulczyk is a rising star of the Eastern European literature scene. Blinded by the Lights was adapted into a TV series by HBO Europe and listed as one of the best TV shows made in Europe in 2018. Żulczyk is a successful screenwriter behind the 2023 Netflix drama series "Feedback" and author of the claustrophobic thriller The Institute.