Red Famine ~ Stalin’s War on Ukraine

At one time Ukraine was a province of Russia, but when the revolution occurred in 1917 many Ukrainians thought that they were on the verge of independence.  It was not to be.  They traded one tsar for a new one in the form of Lenin.  Ukraine has rich black soil, which is good for growing crops like wheat.

Lenin saw Ukraine as serving only one purpose, and that was to feed the revolution.  He demanded that tonnes of grain be provided to Russia.  His plan also included collectivisation.  Farmers were forced off their land, and if they didn’t accept collectivisation, their land and animals were simply taken from them.

When Stalin came to power, the demand for grain became even harsher.  During the period 1932 - 1933, people in Ukraine began to starve to death.  To those in power, their deaths were irrelevant.  Any talk of famine was vehemently denied.  People were transported out of Ukraine to other parts of the Soviet Union or simply executed for talking against the authorities. During this period it is estimated that 4.5 million Ukrainians died.  News of the famine was suppressed.  With so many deaths, there were very few people available to seed the next crop, of seeds were even available!  Russians were resettled onto the lands, but even that was ineffective.  This time became known as the “Holodomor”.

After the famine was over, and the country was beginning to recover, no one was allowed to talk of the time, however many people kept the memory of the time alive.  In the aftermath, the Soviet Union would deny that the famine ever happened.

When Germany invaded in 1941 the Ukrainians thought of them as liberators.  However, that was not to be.  Hitler wanted the rich land for his Aryan super race.  He regarded the Ukrainians as sub-human.  Many more would die during this time.

Following the war there were many Ukrainians who made sure that the memories of the famine were not lost.  Fortunately, they lived outside the Soviet Union and were able to tell their stories.  As the fiftieth anniversary of the famine neared, stories of the famine were published.  Ukrainians living in Canada were now part of the middle class and able to fund these works.  However, the Soviet Union did their best to counter these publications with publications of their own.

Then in 1986, Chernobyl happened.  The USSR no longer looked competent.  Gorbachev, the Soviet leader launched “glasnost” or transparency.  This would in turn unravel the deceit of the famine.  By 1993, Ukraine was independent of the Soviet Union.

As author Anne Applebaum notes in her conclusion, the Holodomor was genocide perpetrated by Stalin and his followers.  Applebaum’s research is extensive and up-to-date, including the Russian invasion of Crimea and the fact that Russia is once again in full denial that the famine ever occurred.

This book is well researched and well written.  Applebaum doesn’t pull any punches.  She points out that Ukraine still exists, but modern threats exist in the form of modern technology, which Russia puts to good use to attack a sovereign nation.

I had been aware of the Holodomor, but not to the extent that Applebaum has detailed it in this book.  For any fan of history, this is an essential book to read.

Caveat Emptor

Ruso has just returned to Londinium from Gaul with his new wife, Tilla, to find that his old friend Valens has arranged for him to investigate the disappearance of a tax man up in Verulamium.  The following day an innkeeper reports finding the body of the missing man, but Ruso has suspicions.

When Valens performs the autopsy on the dead man, he discovers that he had been hit over the head.  A Council man from Verulamium arrives in Londinium asking questions and confusion arises when his wife tells Ruso and Tilla that the dead man is the father of her child.

A day later, while ruminating on his investigation to that point, Ruso runs into Metellus, the governor’s head of security and Ruso’s former employer.  Metellus tells Ruso that the dead man had been working for him.  He threatens Ruso to provide him with information before going to the procurator; he holds information about Tilla, which is threatening.

Up in Verulamium, while visiting one of the town’s councillors, the body of the brother of the first victim is discovered.  Ruso isn’t sure what to make of this.  Is he confronting more lies?  Is his own safety compromised?

Author Ruth Downie has several more trials and tribulations ahead for Ruso as he tries to solve this conspiracy and murders in Verulamium.  Will he be able to bring those responsible to justice?  The reader will have to turn the pages and find out in this thoroughly enjoyable historical thriller.

Dead Man's Lane

Someone has dropped off a bag at the Tradmouth police station containing a skull.  DS Rachel Tracy has put it on DI Wesley Peterson’s desk because of his background in archaeology.  Who dropped it off and is it an old or modern skull?  Fingerprints on the bag point to a former criminal, and he willingly shows them where he had found the skull.  It was in the home of a killer who now resides in prison.

Later in the day, a birdwatcher discovers a body floating in a nearby lake.  Initial examination shows it to be a woman and hit appears that she was strangled.  Then an anonymous call comes in that another body had been found inside the home of an elderly man.

Both victims are quickly identified.  The woman turns out to have been the half-sister of a notorious killer who is currently in jail.  Not long after this the body of a man is found in the mud of a tidal creek.  At first it was thought to be a drowning, but stab wounds make it a very different situation.

With three deaths in a short time, can Peterson nab the killer before he strikes again?  Author Kate Ellis has a number of surprises awaiting the audience in the remaining pages.  This was another good quick read by this author, with a bit of added tension.

Sacrilege

July of 1584, and the treat of plague hovers over London.  Giordano Bruno remains in the city in order to get his manuscript to a printer.  He is surprised to find that Sophia Underhill has been shadowing him for some time.  When he confronts her, she is dressed as a man and wants to be known as Kit.  Sophia has an unusual story to tell; she is wanted for the murder of her husband.  She denies any wrongdoing and wants to find the real killer.

In order to help Sophia, Bruno would have to travel to Canterbury, where the crime had occurred.  This would require the permission of the French ambassador, with whom Bruno lives, and from Walshingham, Queen Elizabeth’s master spy for whom Bruno works.

Having been given permission to travel to Canterbury with admonishment to use a different name, Bruno is not at ease because he is going to have to share his room with Sophia who travels as his boy assistant.  They will have to be careful so that no one recognises Sophia.

Bruno leaves Sophia with a Huguenot family while he stays at an inn to begin his investigation.  Firstly he must introduce himself to Walshingham’s man in Canterbury, Harry Robinson.  Robinson informs Bruno that Walshingham had sent him to Canterbury to keep a watch on the cathedral’s treasurer, Langworth.  Langworth is closely connected to Henry Howard, who was recently imprisoned for fomenting rebellion against the queen.

The day after arriving in Canterbury, Bruno discovers the murder of an apothecary whom he had visited the day before.  Why would anyone want to kill him?  Could it be connected to the murder of Sophia’s husband?

Before he knows it, Bruno is accused of the murder and jailed.  Fortunately , Robinson stands bail for him.  Now he has to prove his innocence.

Can he survive being jailed and the forthcoming court case?  There is so much against him.  Author S. J. Parris’ historical thriller is full of tension that the reader will find themselves full of tension wanting to know how Bruno will escape this.  Be prepared for surprises along the way.  This was a thoroughly enjoyable read and hard to put down.

Deadly Secrets

DCI Erika Foster was in the way to Christmas lunch when she arrived on a crime scene.  DC John McGorry informs her that the victim had been badly slashed to death on her doorstep.  Foster decides to forgo lunch.  It doesn’t take long for them to arrest a potential suspect; someone who seemed to have been stalking the victim.  However, shortly after showing him evidence, he commits suicide in his cell.

A couple of days later when Foster and DI Moss go to speak to a man who had been having an affair with the victim, they find that he too had attempted suicide.  Fortunately, they arrive in time to prevent that from happening.  Speaking to a neighbour afterwards, they learn that he had been with the victim on the day she had died.

The next person Foster and Moss speak to is an elderly lady for whom the victim worked.  She informs them that the victim had been assaulted by a man wearing a gas mask a couple of months before.  This puts a new light on the case.

However, when Foster’s elderly father-in-law has a fall and breaks his hip, she takes herself off the case and hands it over to Moss so that she can care for him.

Can Moss solve the crime, which had Foster struggling to solve?  Author Robert Bryndza has a few surprises in store for Moss, Foster and the reader over the next several chapters.  A thoroughly enjoyable read and hard to put down.

The Mechanical Devil

DCI Gerry Heffernan and DI Wesley Peterson have been handed the case of a missing seventeen year old girl.  She abruptly left the drama school she was attending and hasn’t been heard from since.

On top of that, they have a double murder to contend with.  A man and a woman were found shot to death not far from each other in a remote rural area.  They likely have been dead for a few days.  There seems to be no connection between the pair.

Meanwhile, archeologist Dr. Neil Watson and his team have just opened a recently discovered child sized lead coffin and found a doll of sorts inside it, which seems to have mechanical clockworks inside it.

Some time later, the police have another shooting on their hands.  This time it appears to be a vicar, but why would he be living in a down and out house?  Do they have a madman in the area randomly killing people?

Author Kate Ellis has written many threads into this murder mystery, but many seem to just dangle there leaving Peterson with a dead end.  In addition, Peterson has family difficulties to deal with, which interfere with his investigation.  A good quick read.

Prophecy

September of 1583, and Giordano Bruno is being warned by Sir Francis Walshingham that he has to restrict his friendship with Walshingham’s new son-in-law, otherwise the French ambassador, to whom Bruno is also close might become suspicious.  Walsingham on the other hand is suspicious of Mary, Queen of Scots, connection to the French, and their hopes to overthrow Elizabeth and place Mary, a Catholic on the throne of England.

The pair have been called by Lord Burghley to examine the body of one of Elizabeth’s maids of honour.  She had been killed outside the palace, the symbol for Jupiter carved into her breast, in one hand was a crucifix and in the other a wax effigy of the Queen.  Already the servants are whispering about the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, and the prophecy of famine and death, which it brings.

The first thing Bruno learns is that the young woman had been secretly meeting with a man at court.  Castlenau, the French ambassador believes that it is a plot to make the Catholics look bad.  While meeting with the ambassador and others, Bruno learns how letters are being smuggled to Queen Mary, and that Lord Howard supports a Catholic invasion, not just from France, but also from Spain.

When Bruno is passed a series of items belonging to the dead girl, he is unsure of their importance until he accidentally drops a hand mirror, which is part of the items.  Inside the mirror is a piece of paper with planetary symbols and the date, November 17.  What is the significance of these?  Bruno then goes to Dr. Dee with a container of perfume, which was also in the possession of the dead girl.  They discover that it is actually a poison.  Could this have been meant for the Queen?

While at a concert hosted by the Queen, Bruno is taken away by Walshingham and Burghley to investigate the murder of another young woman.  This is the woman who had passed the items on to Bruno.  Why was her death foretold by Dee’s scryer?

Are there more deaths to come?  How can Bruno, who is living in the French embassy, prevent them?  He needs to gather more evidence.  Author S. J. Parris’ thriller is based on facts and has plots within plots, within plots running through this story.  One wonders at the machinations of the spy world then and now.  A thoroughly enjoyable read.