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A review by pmtracy
Eye of the Red Tsar by Sam Eastland
4.0
Eye of the Red Tsar is Sam Eastland’s introductory novel. It is an entertaining mystery suspense novel set in Post Imperial Russia.
Inspector Pekkala was the Tsar’s most trusted advisor and enforcer. Prior to the revolution, he was called the “Eye of the Tsar” as Tsar Nicholas had given him the title of The Emerald Eye and declared that no one, not even the Tsar himself, was above answering to Pekkala. After the royal family was murdered at the start of the revolution however, Pekkala was tortured, imprisoned and banished to Siberia.
Pekkala is given a chance to redeem himself under Stalin. If he can discover who actually murdered the royal family and return the Tsar’s treasure to Stalin, he will end his sentence. He accepts the offer, making him the Eye of the Red Tsar (a name given to Stalin.) Through some decent mystery storytelling, Pekkala discovers the remains of the royal family, tracks down the responsible party and returns the lost treasure to Stalin. This was only possible after he decodes a secret message left for him by the Tsar.
The novel was not particularly complicated; it was simply entertaining. The author did make use of frequent flashbacks to fill in the character of Pekkala so the reader could better understand his motivations. The interesting characters and setting combined with a surprise ending made for a satisfying read. Best of all, the book ends setting the way for an entire series of Pekkala novels with his permanent reinstatement to his post by Stalin.
Inspector Pekkala was the Tsar’s most trusted advisor and enforcer. Prior to the revolution, he was called the “Eye of the Tsar” as Tsar Nicholas had given him the title of The Emerald Eye and declared that no one, not even the Tsar himself, was above answering to Pekkala. After the royal family was murdered at the start of the revolution however, Pekkala was tortured, imprisoned and banished to Siberia.
Pekkala is given a chance to redeem himself under Stalin. If he can discover who actually murdered the royal family and return the Tsar’s treasure to Stalin, he will end his sentence. He accepts the offer, making him the Eye of the Red Tsar (a name given to Stalin.) Through some decent mystery storytelling, Pekkala discovers the remains of the royal family, tracks down the responsible party and returns the lost treasure to Stalin. This was only possible after he decodes a secret message left for him by the Tsar.
The novel was not particularly complicated; it was simply entertaining. The author did make use of frequent flashbacks to fill in the character of Pekkala so the reader could better understand his motivations. The interesting characters and setting combined with a surprise ending made for a satisfying read. Best of all, the book ends setting the way for an entire series of Pekkala novels with his permanent reinstatement to his post by Stalin.