Black Sun

A stunning debut thriller . . . ferocious, authentic and utterly terrifying . . . absolutely riveting. - Geoffrey Wansell, DAILY MAIL

There are some authors who have gone out into the world to observe the good, the bad and the ugly. Owen Matthews is such a novelist. Black Sun is fascinating and has fearsome authenticity. - FREDERICK FORSYTH

An outstanding first novel . . . Matthews writes superbly. - SUNDAY TIMES 'Crime Book of the Month'

One of the best thrillers of recent years . . . a glorious book, a tour-de-force. It drips with authenticity from every page . . . a page-turning, thumping good read. - DAVID YOUNG, bestselling author of Stasi Child

Fact and fiction combine to keep the pages turning in this impressive debut thriller. - Antonia Senior, THE TIMES 'Best Historical Fiction of the Year'

A stunning debut. Matthews writes enviably well and knows Soviet Russia inside-out. Fantastic. - CHARLES CUMMING

Enthralling . . . Black Sun propels Matthews straight into the first division of thriller writers. - Adam LeBor, FINANCIAL TIMES

This thrilling and suspenseful and original thriller of murder and power is a compelling voyage into the darkest secret city of the soviet nuclear project by an expert on all of Russian life. - SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE

The most exciting thriller or mystery story debut this year . . . a cold war whodunnit . . . an absolutely gripping novel by one who knows Russia well and evokes a horrifyingly convincing Soviet Union. - A. N. Wilson, THE TABLET 'Books of the Year'

Brilliantly plotted and all the more satisfying because it is based on a true story . . . Something else, too: you get it that the Soviet Union in the sixties was a mess with all the wrong people holding the levers of power. And yet, inside the machine, there were humans too: sometimes noble, often seriously brilliant. Reading Black Sun is like stepping into a time machine and setting the dial for Soviet Russia, 1961. - JOHN SWEENEY

A rattlingly good yarn . . . Matthews has the uncanny ability to transport the reader back in time to the Soviet Union of 1961 . . . a debut novel which deserves a wide readership. - Trevor Royle, THE HERALD

A thoroughly dark and disturbing thriller. - Jon Wise, SPORT

Atmospheric . . . his evocation of the landscape and times is sharp, and the insights into the horrors of the Communist past chastening . . . a powerful and gripping piece of writing. - Maxim Jakubowski, CRIME TIME

Based on real events . . . this story is set in a secret Soviet city in 1961. Featuring murder and betrayals, and a flawed but principled KGB man as its hero, it unfolds in the aftermath of Stalinism, amid the scars left by the purges, denunciations and Great Patriotic War. The author, a former Moscow correspondent, knows his terrain inside out. - THE ECONOMIST 'Books of the Year'

Gripping and authentic. - Jason Goodwin, COUNTRY LIFE

'[Matthews] impressive first novel . . . the murder investigation is clever, the science neatly explained . . . and the descriptions . . . are revealing. - LITERARY REVIEW

Matthews is an excellent storyteller . . . Black Sun is the kind of thriller you want to savour as you turn the pages, suspenseful and thought provoking. - NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS

[Frederick Forsyth's] endorsement of fellow journalist Matthews’ totally immersive debut for its “fearsome authenticity” raises the reader’s expectations, and Matthews delivers. To call the novel chilling is an understatement . . . Forsyth claims his wife told him to quit writing because he was too old to travel to dangerous places. Fortunately, there are brilliant new, informed tellers of tales following in his wake. - BOOKLIST Starred Review

An impressive debut and it’s not a stretch to say that Matthews’ whole life led him to this book . . . [he] knows the landscape and the people, and his recreation of Cold War-era Russia and the inner workings of Soviet government and society are so good they seem effortless . . . deeply researched and filled with small details and brief scenes that give the setting a cold, clear life . . . the characters are also sharply drawn. A thriller like this lives or dies by its protagonist and Vasin is a breath of fresh air. - CRIMINAL ELEMENT

A page-turning police procedural . . . . Far beyond a murder mystery, the novel is a textured examination of truth, assumption, and deception. Rich street scenes and dialogue embed in the reader’s mind undercurrents of the paranoia of living in a totalitarian state where neighbour betrays neighbour, colleague denounces colleague, and police gather information to manipulate underlings and bury the secrets of political leaders. - HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW

Matthews is especially adept at limning the bureaucratic infighting and political double-dealing that permeate Soviet society . . . the depiction of the forces and behaviours animating Soviet life are compelling . . . well-constructed characters, and the persistence of history is a powerful tidal presence . . . this thriller provides many pleasures. - KIRKUS REVIEWS

Magical . . . don’t miss it. - FORBES magazine

A terrific thriller, knowledgeably written, intricately plotted and the more chilling for being based on a true story. - CHOICE magazine 'Book of the Month’