I would like to thank Netgalley and Mirror Books for an advance copy of Black Wolf, the second book to feature Captain Natalya Ivanova of the St Petersburg Criminal Investigations Directorate.

Natalya and her deputy, Sergeant Rogov, are called out to a dead body. Elisaveta Kalinina has been murdered but before the investigation can get going it is turned over to state investigators because the victim was a dissident Decembrist and with an election looming the government wants to avoid scandal and root out her fellow travellers. Natalya wants justice not a coverup and keeps investigating but she’s fighting stronger powers and soon the repercussions are hitting close to home.

I thoroughly enjoyed Black Wolf which is a drama filled thriller with some unexpected twists. There is barely a dull moment whether it the political apparatus in full flow, the depiction of greed and self interest or the action scenes and I was hooked from start to finish. This is partly because the novel is told, after the first few scene setting opening chapters, exclusively from Natalya’s point of view. This allows the reader to identify with her and get absorbed in her narrative. The other part is the strong plot, not so much the actual investigation but the repercussions from it and the moves Natalya has to make to keep it moving forward. The author never lets the reader forget that Russia is an authoritarian state so the novel is chock full of atmosphere. The paranoia, greed, self interest and vindictiveness are everywhere, making for a difficult but intensely rewarding read. It doesn’t paint a pretty picture of Russia, in fact it made me shudder at the thought of living in those conditions, constantly on guard against reprisals whether deserved or not.

In stark contrast to this venal background Natalya Ivanova is a beacon of fairness and incorruptibility. How likely this is I am unable to judge but it makes for good reading in the standard good v evil way. In detective fiction set in the West Natalya would be a fairly standard detective who wants to serve justice, drinks too much and is a dogged investigator. In St Petersburg she is seen as an uncompromising anomaly. It’s an interesting twist.

Black Wolf is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

GD Abson follows up his excellent crime debut Motherland set in St Petersburg, Russia, featuring the wonderfully offbeat detective, Captain Natalya Ivanova of the Serious Crimes Unit (SCU), with this brilliant follow up. Abson writes a atmospheric crimes series that captures the dark heart of Putin's tyrannical Russia, and crooks and thieves of the political establishment, and its no holds barred approach against those politicians, journalists and activists that challenge and oppose it. After previous events in the SCU led by Colonel Vasiliev, the new head of the unit is Colonel Dostoynov, a man keen to be rid of Natalya's husband, Mikhail or 'Misha', a Major in the Unit. So Misha finds himself travelling to places like Siberia, from where a young girl, Diana Maricheva ran away in 2012. Her body has now been discovered in the grounds of a monastery.

In the desperate'y freezing and snowy cold of a St Petersburg winter, Natalya is on the scene of a murdered woman's body dumped in a ditch. The woman turns out to be 25 year old Elizaveta Kalinina, a surveyor, and an anti-Putin activist allied to a group that the politically powerful in the country wish to crush. To this end, Sledkom, who have a reputation of going after the innocent on behalf of the guilty, take over the case. Kalinina's reputation is being unjustly trashed, and Natalya cannot help but feel for the dead woman's young son and her mother. Despite all the dangers that it entails, to herself, her colleagues, friends and family, she is determined to investigate and get to the truth. In a case that illuminates the twisted nature of the political power groups in the country and the differing security services that Natalya has to negotiate, danger swells around Natalya, as she stands to lose everything and those closest to her.

Abson writes a gripping and compulsive novel that provides a fascinating picture of the inner workings of today's Russia. I have become completely invested in the main character of Natalya, and her endeavours to be a honest cop in a dishonest and criminal political milieu. The colourful
and interesting supporting cast, such as Natalya's colleague, Leo, trying to atone for his previous betrayal, work partner, Sergeant Stepan Rogov, stepson Anton, the FSB's Major Belikova and others are becoming a well established part of this distinctively character driven series. The characterisation is beautifully done and being well and skilfully developed. I found this a brilliant crime read, and I think many readers will appreciate the wintry St Petersburg and Russian location amidst a background of elections taking place. Looking forward to the next in the series. Many thanks to Mirror Books for an ARC.

Really enjoyable police procedural. I have not read any police books set in Russia before so that added to the story.. It also had a strong female protagonist. Of course she pursued the case even at risk to her career and marriage so another overly obsessed detective. It seems there is a book prior to this in the series that I now look forward to getting.

There's a lot of corruption in this story,drinking and corruption.
It seems the higher up the ranks you are,the more corrupt you're likely to be.
Not being Russian,I didn't quite understand the different departments to supposedly uphold the law.
I now know not to trust most of them. 😁
Good central characters,a plot that nicely tied strands together that didn't look like they belonged anywhere near each other.
Interesting read.
My only real complaint was I found the pace a bit slow at times.