City of Ghosts by Ben Creed

Synopsis
The first in a trilogy, City of Ghosts is set in the Leningrad of 1951 where the shadows of the war and the threats of Stalinism loom large.

When five blackened corpses are found neatly arranged between three parallel railway lines, even Revol Rossel – once a Conservatoire-trained violinist, now a humble state militia-cop – is sickened by the gruesome scene. Whether victims of the MGB or a crazed yet methodical killer, these bodies soon lead Rossel back into the dark and ruthless heart of the Soviet classical music establishment, a place where his dreams were shattered and his ghosts barely laid to rest.

Review
Leningrad 1951, and Russia is a dark and dismal place, where the atmosphere is full of fear about saying or doing the wrong thing and being condemned by the secret police. Before the war, Revol Rossel was at the Leningrad State Conservatory with a promising career playing the violin, after the war he is in the local Militia Police, solving crime. When five frozen bodies are found on railway lines he is called in to help solve the crime, the problem being that on of those bodies is a member of the Secret Police. It was the MDP that took away his chance of playing the violin, and now he has them pressuring for an arrest, with the threat of violence if not solved. His investigations take him back into the world he once knew, the Conservatoyr of music, and into the Kremlin itself. Can Rossel solve the murders and save his own life in the process?

I think the setting of City of Ghosts and the cover really set up the atmosphere of this book. Leningrad is a grey, dim and bleak place after the Second World War. Russia is a country run on fear, the citizens live in fear of being denounced to the secret police and taken to a prison they will never return from. It is not just the citizens who live in fear, it is the country itself and those in charge , they have fear of another revolution so arrest anyone they think may have revolutionary thoughts, or is seen to go against the state. Russia is a country in poverty, where if you are dying in the street people will step over you, unwilling to help incase it impacts in their lives. The historical setting, especially at that time, is perfect as there is already mistrust between everyone, at work and home, and no one is safe, not even the militia. Some of the descriptions of the torture at the hands of the secret police were difficult to read, but it really brought home the gruesome past of Russia,

Ben Creed has created some wonderful characters in this book and mixes fictional and real perfectly. The lead character of Lieutenant Revol Rousell is fascinating with a dark and shocking past. Once seen to have a future of a first class violinist, he has the scars, both mentally and physically from the war. He is a damaged character who suffered the most horrendous injuries at the hands of the secret police, saw his parents go the gulag, the labour camps, and his sister disappear. Both Rossel and his colleagues have a sense of unease about these gruesome murders as one of the victims is a member of the secret police, and it is not long before the MGP become involved and Rossel comes face to face with the man who tortured and maimed him, Major Nikitin. I was fascinated by the relationship between these two men as the investigation progresses. Nikitin is portrayed as a monstrous character, cruel and dark, but as the book progresses we see a hint of the man behind the monster. I also liked seeing Rossel away from the militia, at his shared accomidation and his interaction with others, especially with Vassya, who could be a future love interest.

City of Ghosts is an atmospheric and chilling crime thriller that really captures the zeitgeist of post war Russia. The plot is intelligent and fast moving, with an origional opus operandi that I thought was well thought out. The grim and bleak setting mirrors the dark and distubing murders and sets the atmosphere brilliantly for the whole book. I loved reading this book, with its many twists and turns, historical detail and memorable characters, that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Dark, sinister and shocking, this is a thrillingly good read.