Archangel

More about the book

There are books you eagerly anticipate, and then there are those you beg to review. I jumped at the chance to read Robert Harris's latest thriller. It’s been four years since his last novel, and expectations are high. Harris has a knack for immersing readers in tense, mysterious settings, as seen in his previous works. In this new narrative, he explores the chilling landscape of post-communist Russia, capturing the fear and hopelessness of a nation in turmoil. The protagonist, Fluke Kelso, is a once-promising scholar who finds himself at a symposium in Moscow about secret Soviet archives. He encounters Papu Rapava, a former Kremlin bodyguard, who claims to possess an invaluable artifact: a diary belonging to Joseph Stalin. This discovery could redeem Kelso's career, but he must evade the dangerous Vladimir Mamantov, who has his own agenda for the diary. As Kelso searches for Rapava, he encounters the bodyguard’s daughter, entangled in Moscow’s dark underworld. With threats from an unscrupulous journalist and the KGB looming, their journey takes them from Moscow to Archangel and beyond, leading to a shocking conclusion that could ignite a coup in Russia. Harris's writing is vivid and gripping, ensuring readers are fully immersed in the story. The plot twists are so engaging that you won’t want to put it down until the very end.