Review of "Vodka Neat" by Anna Blundy
Posted: 25 Jul 2014, 16:41
Review of "Vodka Neat" by Anna Blundy
When Faith Zanetti returns to Russia as a foreign correspondent for a British newspaper after a long hiatus, she has little idea of how quickly the past will catch up with her. Almost immediately after arriving, the hard-drinking Zanetti is accused of the murders of a couple who once lived next door to Zanetti and her Russian husband, a black marketeer whom she married when she was just a teenager. That was fifteen years before; now, she must relocate her estranged Russian husband to have any chance of finding out who committed the crime and why.
The journey to that discovery is the centerpiece of this mesmerizing story, with the brilliant (if jaded and often drunk) Zanetti leading the chase through the streets of post-Cold War Russia. Along the way, she will discover things about herself and others, as well as her past life in Russia, all of which seem unimaginable. This captivating snapshot of the modern Russia (blended with a youthful recklessness seen through the eyes of an adult Zanetti) is what makes this thriller so compelling.
When Faith Zanetti returns to Russia as a foreign correspondent for a British newspaper after a long hiatus, she has little idea of how quickly the past will catch up with her. Almost immediately after arriving, the hard-drinking Zanetti is accused of the murders of a couple who once lived next door to Zanetti and her Russian husband, a black marketeer whom she married when she was just a teenager. That was fifteen years before; now, she must relocate her estranged Russian husband to have any chance of finding out who committed the crime and why.
The journey to that discovery is the centerpiece of this mesmerizing story, with the brilliant (if jaded and often drunk) Zanetti leading the chase through the streets of post-Cold War Russia. Along the way, she will discover things about herself and others, as well as her past life in Russia, all of which seem unimaginable. This captivating snapshot of the modern Russia (blended with a youthful recklessness seen through the eyes of an adult Zanetti) is what makes this thriller so compelling.