Archive 17: A Novel of Suspense [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Archive 17: A Novel of Suspense [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Product Details

Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Bantam (February 28, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345525736
ISBN-13: 978-0345525734
Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 1.1 x 9.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Sam Eastland (Author)
Price : $15.99
You Save : $9.01 (36%)

Customer Reviews

This is the third of the Inspector Pekkala mysteries and what interests me most about this series is not necessarily the mysteries Pekkala gets involved with, but the events leading up to them.
Author Sam Eastland does a fascinating job of wrapping Russian history around an equally fascinating character: the Emerald Eye, the one-named Pekkala. A Finnish native, Pekkala is annointed by Tsar Nicholas as his personal investigator with unlimited authority to information and materials needed carry out his assignment, even to arrest or investigate the Tsar, if ever necessary. He is given an "Emerald Eye" badge by the Tsar, symbolically to indicate that Pekkala's authority is absolute.
When the Tsar and his family are killed during the Russian revolution, Pekkala is among those imprisoned in a Siberian Gulag where he manages to survive until summoned some years later by Stalin. Stalin, like Nicholas, recognizes Pekkala's talents and obedience characteristics, and plucks him from inevitable death to reassume his duties. Eastland's books detail this inspector's efforts to unravel mysteries presented by the Tsar or Stalin.
In this instance Pekkala is instructed by Stalin to return to his old prison to find out details regarding a murder of a prisoner who may have knowledge about gold intended to have smuggled out of the country during the revolution. There, we discover more details about Pekkala's past as he seeks to find the gold Stalin believes may still exist.
Eastland moves flawlessly between Pekkala's current case and happenings earlier in his career to aid in undertanding the evolution of Russia prior to, during, and following the revolution. As in his other stories, his details and imagery envelope the characters. Pekkala is presented not as a super agent, but as a dedicated individual who has attained almost mythological status due to his honesty, patience, successes. Where people may fear the existing government authorities, Pekkala is respected. He is mythodical, unrelentless, and unbiased; and he has no interest in ascending beyond his current position. These qualities endeared him to Nicholas, and subsequently attracted him to Stalin. As Stalin notes, "Pekkala is the one person who has no interest in overthrowing me."
To Pekkala, the job is all, and he emits an almost fanaticism to complete his assignment, be it for the Tsar or for Stalin. Others respect his commitment and perseverance, and fear his tenacity as much as his authoritative powers, which he does not abuse.
Although I am not a particular fan of Russian history, I enjoy the minute details Eastland presents on the Tsar and his family, notables like Rasputin and Stalin, and images of Russia. Enthusiasts of a good mystery presented with likeable characters in true-to-life situations will like this series.

In 1939, Stalin and Hitler expect war soon in spite of armistice talks. However, the vicious Russian dictator has inside issues as he has led the Communist nation over the edge spiraling into bankruptcy. Needing capital, Stalin assigns his most trusted (at the moment) investigator Inspector Pekkala to look into the homicide of former Tsarist cavalry Captain Ryabov in the Borodok labor camp in Siberia. Pekkala knows the camp first hand having spent time there as a former Trist guard courtesy of Stalin.
Though Stalin worries that his enemies will use the murder to try a coup, the homicide inquiry is partly Pekkala's cover, as he demands his agent find the missing Tsarist gold. Thus Pekkala must pretend to be a political prisoner while he infiltrates the dwindling remaining loyal Tsarists, those willing to die for the cause of the Comitati gang.
The third Pekkala Stalin era thriller (see Eye of the Red Tsar and Shadow Pass) is a great tale that shows how quickly the brutal dictator can turn from best friend to murderous enemy. In many ways Siberia steals the show as an incredible location for the tundra-isolated stark camp (mindful of the Gulag Archipelago memoir of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn) in a sort of locked room mystery with "barbarians waiting at the gate for escapees. This is a strong historical.
Harriet Klausner