Vodka - Softcover
Multi-stranded, groundbreaking Russian thriller from the bestselling author of Messiah and Storm
Moscow, December 1991. Chaos reigns after the fall of communism. Muscovites are used to queues and empty shelves, but now they have to cope with a dangerous power vacuum – and a war between brutal mafiya gangs for control of the city. So when a child's body is found beneath the ice of the Moscow river it attracts little attention to begin with. Then a second body is found. And a third.
At the heart of the gathering storm is Red October, Russia's most famous vodka distillery. Alice Liddell, an American banker, has come to Moscow to oversee its privatization – an unpopular move. Alice wants to get going, but faced with the charismatic, ruthless Lev – distiller director and head of one of the warring mifiya gangs – a very difficult job is starting to look impossible.
Lev's arch-enemy has vowed revenge on him and it seems that the bizarre child killings might be part of this. The last thing he needs is a determined young woman in the heart of his criminal empire. But will Lev and Alice be enemies or allies? And when the storm has passed, who will be left standing?
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Product Description:
503 pages. Book is in Very good condition throughout. Moscow,December 1991. Chaos Reigns After The Fall Of Communism. Mus, Btnow They Have To Cope With A Dangerous Power Vacuum-and A War Between Brutal Mafiya Gangs For Control Of The City.covites Are Used To Queues And Empty Shelves.
Review:
Boris Starling's third thriller Vodka continues the run of excellence that started with Messiah. For the last decades of Soviet communism, there existed a weird symbiosis between officialdom and organised crime; Vodka offers an inventive description of what happened in the early years of democracy when that antagonistic partnership broke down. Alice Liddell could not be more of an innocent--her very name tells us that she is out of her depth, in Wonderland--and she gets lumbered with the job of privatising Moscow's largest vodka factory. Struggling with her alcoholism in a society where hard drinking is universal, Alice is caught up in the gang warfare between the distillery's Mafia boss Lev and his Chechen rivals. Meanwhile, someone is stealing children from an orphanage Lev protects and the KGB man who acts as his deputy is playing sinister games of his own. Vodka offers an intelligent and well-informed take on Russian politics—-all the more so, paradoxically, for changing some of the details and names of what happened in real life. The relationship between Lev and Alice is genuinely touching—he is the hard man who discovers there is somebody he cares about, the woman for whom falling in love is a destructive ravishment. --Roz Kaveney
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- PublisherHarperCollins
- Publication date2004
- ISBN 10 0007172273
- ISBN 13 9780007172276
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages512
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Vodka
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(2004)
ISBN 10: 0007172273
ISBN 13: 9780007172276
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR007017577
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Vodka This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 7719-9780007172276
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780007172276
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Book Description Trade Paperback. Condition: Near Fine. Trade Paperback. *** PUBLISHING DETAILS: Harper Collins, UK, 2004. *** CONDITION: This book is in near fine condition. *** ABOUT THIS BOOK: Multi-stranded, groundbreaking Russian thriller from the bestselling author of Messiah and Storm Moscow, December 1991; a city in chaos, riven by gang violence and hyperinflation, its population in terror of a killer preying on children. Into this anarchy comes Alice Liddell, an American banker charged with starting the privatisation process crucial to Russia's hopes of reform. But reform means hardship, and survival is hard enough as it is; Alice has only a short period to succeed before the people lose patience with the progressive government. Her target is the Red October distillery, Russia's most famous vodka producer, but Alice discovers that lack of time is the least of her problems. Red October is the centrepiece of a savage mafiya war between its charismatic boss Lev and his Chechen nemesis Karkadann. Are the brutal child killings terrorising Moscow connected to their violent conduct? How should Alice handle her discoveries that Red October is riddled with corruption from top to bottom? And can Alice and Lev, adversaries across the negotiating table, reconcile their very different professional aims with their very unprofessional feelings for each other? As the characters get sucked into a vortex of violence, passion and betrayal, their struggles are no longer simply for their own designs; they are for the soul of Russia itself. Concentrated over 100 days of a Russian winter, Vodka is a thriller of taut suspense, shocking brutality, heart-pounding pace, a saga of rivalry and bloodshed, a searing study of addiction, and a love story truly poetic in its tragedy. Vodka is Boris Starling's finest book to date, and sure to catapult him into the top bracket of popular British writers. *** Quantity Available: 1. Category: Fiction; Thrillers; ISBN: 0007172273. ISBN/EAN: 9780007172276. Inventory No: 09060307. The photo of this book is of the actual book for sale. Seller Inventory # 09060307
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Published by
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ISBN 13: 9780007172276
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very good. First paperback edition-first printing. VGC.HarperCollins,2004.First paperback edition-first printing(1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2).Large format paperback(two creases and small nicks on the edges of the cover and spine) in VGC.Illustrated with a b/w map.Nice and clean pages with a small ink mark,nick and light shelf wear on the outer edges,two small marks on the edges of page 466 and 467,a couple of small nicks on the edges of the pages.The book is in VGC with light shelf wear.506pp.Heavy book. Seller Inventory # 3078
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