A Bag Full of Stones is a gripping and emotional literary crime novel that explores the struggles of immigrants, minorities, and people living on the margins in modern-day America, specifically in Portland, Oregon. The story centers on a diverse cast of characters—Naseem, an elderly Yemeni engineer; Yasmin, his Palestinian partner; Sania, an American Muslim; and Azar, a secular Iranian student—who all face different challenges shaped by their identities and the political climate of 2019. As right-wing violence and social tension rise around them, each character is forced to make difficult choices that reflect their background and how much privilege or disadvantage they carry. Adding another layer to the story are detectives Dmitry Volkov, a former Soviet immigrant caught in a spiral of gambling and crime, and Brenda Smith, whose focus is pulled by a new romantic relationship. The novel does a great job of mixing crime and politics with personal stories, making the reader care about the people involved while also thinking about the bigger issues facing America. The plot is especially intense when Azar is kidnapped, and the question of her survival keeps the suspense high. The writing is thoughtful, the characters feel real, and while the pace is more reflective than action-packed, it leaves a strong emotional impact. This is a book that stays with you, raising questions about justice, survival, and what it means to belong.

Sorry, no. This is meant to be a thriller? Or a crime story? Alas, it is extremely redundant and boring and the more I read, the more paragraphs I started skipping. The story as such, i.e. the plot, is okay-ish. However, A. Molotkov doesn't seem to know, how to tell it. Time and again we read that Brenda has an issue with her (dying) father, who is a Trump voter and does not like queers; time and again we witness the killer - the Corrector - empty one bottle of whiskey after another, and still manage to take care of his (dying) mother and/or kill people, time and again we realize that Dmitrev, Brenda's cop colleague is more of a crook than a respectable representative of law and order. Again and again and again. The author is also apparently a fan of ugly, dirty, disgusting descriptions or acts in an abundance of scenes rendered in detail, involving blood, vomit, stench. One more reason to skip pages. Then there are dead people - the killer's victims - who nevertheless speak or think or continue to live, if only in a chilled drawer at the coroner's office. I wonder, why? This book, as any reader of this brief review - and I'd like to thank Netgalley for having made a "copy" of the e-book available in exchange for an honest critique - is definitely not my cup of tea. Not sure, who might like it. It is extremely violent, and there are too many words for not enough action.

This had that crime story element that worked well overall and was engaged with what was happening. The characters had that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed how everything was told. The plot was everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall package and glad I read this. A. Molotkov has a strong writing style and was everything that I was hoping for.

This review is on hold until file access issues can be resolved! Thanks to Net-Galley, Mindbuck Media, and Apprentice House for your hard work making these ARCS accessible to us.