Great thriller that kept me engaged from start to finish. Fabulous plot and characters, and author I will definitely read more of!

1961 and the USSR is about to test the biggest nuclear bomb ever made. At the laboratory in Arcadem one of the chief scientists is found dead,his influential father does not agree with this so a KGB agent, Alexander Vasin is sent North to investigate. Vasin finds himself thwarted at every turn by the local bureau who feathery are undermined and by the scientists who have much to bide. In solving the case Vasin must decide whether truth is more important than the national good.
The story here is fascinating, based on some real life events, and winding a solid crime story.around then. Matthews is confident in his writing about Cold War Russia and his knowledge of the everyday life in the darkest.Soviet times is excellent. The plot is a little.too confused at times and some of the characters are less than believable but this is strong book.

World’s End

It is the USSR in the early 1960s and the terror of Stalin is apparently over. Alexander Vasin, a KGB officer, is sent to the closed city of Arzamas-16 to investigate the sudden death by radiation poisoning of a young scientist who also happens to be the son of a very important man. The city appears on no map, is inhabited entirely by scientists and is the site for the development of the Soviet Union’s most powerful bomb against the capitalist west. Vasin quickly discovers evidence of coverup and determines to get to the truth of the death, along the way making enemies of the local KGB, and many of the scientists, living a life of privilege in their closed city. To make matters worse, Vasin has his own personal problems and his wife has it in her gif to make them much worse.

This is a first-class political thriller, with strong characterisation and a deft and twisting plot which convinces throughout. I found myself comparing Joseph Kanon’s excellent novel, Los Alamos, which has a similar setting and theme, only on the American side. It is a measure of how much I enjoyed the book that I considered it almost as good as Kanon’s. I would certainly read the next in the series involving the idealistic and persistent Sacha Vasin.

A terrific debut chilling a book that stays with you.lgot immediately drawn into this story and read late into the night.A look at Russia at spies.An author I will be following,#netgalley #blacksun

This is an interesting and informative book which is based on real events. I was intrigued and interested in the story. I feel though that I would need to read it again as there is so much packed into it I had avidly watched the series Chernobyl and it was the desire to know more that drove me to read this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Black Sun] - copy via Netgalley

Hardback out now - Paperback edition is out next week in the UK.

Despite the trippy opening pages (from the murder victim's perspective as he suffers a truly awful end from radiation poisoning) this is a gripping thriller set in a 'secret' city where the USSR under Khrushchev is developing the bomb to end all bombs. An elite young man, son of a high ranking scientist, is killed and KGB agent Vasin is sent to investigate. He finds an odd society where the shops are full and people free to read and discuss what they like: so long as the bomb is a success. The book is full of details about Russian life, alongside Vasin!s struggles with the ethics of his job. Despite being in an elite position, many of the scientists have been through denunciation, Gulag and (of course) the war. The book highlights the new guard of the "Secret Speech" era facing off those who only know strategies of power, denunciation and blackmail. This is the first book in a planned trilogy, so more intrigue to come.

One to pick up if you are a fan of Martin Cruz Smith, John Le Carre or Helen Dunmore's KGB books

Based on the real story of the building of the powerful nuclear bomb ever in the USSR in 1961, this is a brilliantly immersive and suspenseful thriller.

In a secret town, called Arzamas-16 soviet scientists are building a hydrogen bomb, RDS-220, projected to be at least five thousand times as powerful as the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. The best scientists have been assembled under the leadership of Professor Yury Adamov (based on the famous Andrei Sakharov who lead the real project) and nothing is spared in their quest to complete the project. Unlike the rest of the USSR, there are no food shortages and Western literature, appliances and furniture all make life a little more comfortable for them.

When one of the scientists is found dead of (radioactive) poisoning by the thallium he was working with, the local KGB wants to write it off as a suicide. However, his powerful father insists on a thorough investigation and Major Alexander Vasin from Moscow's KGB Special cases is sent in to investigate.

Matthews has powerfully brought to life this period of post-Stalinist Russia with it's culture of paranoia and distrust. With a Russian mother and having been a journalist as well as bureau chief for Newsweek in Russia for ten years (2006-16), he has a good feel for Russian culture and history and the novel has a feeling of authenticity, particularly in the way that Vasin is treated by the local town KGB and those in charge of the project as they keep information from him and try to feed him misinformation. Many of the older scientists are scarred and hardened by time spent in the gulags or, if they were lucky, in the secret research labs (sharashka) within the gulags, and nothing is going to get in the way of completing and testing the bomb.

Vasin is an interesting character and the most likeable of the cast. An ex-policeman, he is relatively new to the KGB and unusually is more interested in finding out the truth than accepting a convenient explanation for the death. He is smart and intuitive at reading people and clever enough to evade those watching him when required. However, he is flawed and has his own weaknesses that may be the undoing of his career. Matthews has promised us a trilogy so I'm certainly looking forward to meeting Vasin again.

Based on real events, ‘Black Sun’ and its subject matter of the construction of the biggest ever thermonuclear bomb, is both complex and frightening, but Owen Matthews’ debut novel is so beautifully written, that it’s as if his words come sugar frosted, and were lovingly devoured.

The year is 1961, - Arzamas-16 is a secret city in the Middle Volga, within the Soviet Union, where the residents appear to have all the freedoms of the West - well stocked shops, modern comfortable apartments - they’re able to read whatever literature they like, a privilege that would have been forbidden in other parts of Russia, and they can listen to music from all around the world. However, this is still the Cold War period, and beneath that outward display of normality, is the fact that the scientists and engineers in Arzamas are working on a thermonuclear bomb, RDS-220 - the likes of which has never been seen before - the bomb dropped on Hiroshima is nothing compared to this one, and it’s just 9 days to countdown!

Former Criminal Detective, Major Alexander Vasin of the KGB Special Cases Dept, arrives in Arzamas to investigate the death of a young scientist, Fyador Petrov, who’s father is an academician and a man of influence in Moscow. The official line is that Fyador committed suicide by means of Thallium poisoning, but Vasin thinks differently, he suspects that the top brass are trying to hide something, and their resulting interference leaves Vasin thwarted at every turn. He’s not going to give up that easily though, he may be KGB, but he’s an honest and decent man who likes to see justice served. The tension mounts as his investigations lead him ever nearer to the truth about Petrov. In addition, the nerve shredding countdown to the nuclear test begins.

Though fairly slow paced, it was definitely worth sticking with - its portrayal of the arms race in the Soviet Union, and the geopolitical tension between them and the United States, gives the reader a real flavour of just what a drab, dreary and scary place this was, with its secrets, its accusations, the constant surveillance, and a history of wrongful imprisonments, which guaranteed power in controlling and instilling fear in the general population.

Beautifully written, very authentic, with a perfect blend of fact and fiction.

Owen Matthews's debut novel is a historical thriller, a superb blend of fact and fiction, set in 1961 in a secret scientific research town in the Middle Volga, Arzamas-16, where there are no shortages, and where the residents are allowed to think, act, live, love as they want, free to read anything, listen to any music, in a Soviet Union at the height of its power. This is a book I read with increasing horror, it terrified the living daylights out of me, where leading scientists and engineers under the direction of Professor Yury Adamov, are 9 days from the insanity of testing the most powerful thermonuclear bomb in the world in the Arctic, the RDS-220, a vital national project instigated by Khrushchev himself. One of the architects of the bomb, Fyodor Petrov, has died from radioactive thallium poisoning, a death the town authorities have deemed suicide. However, Petrov has an influential father in Moscow, so KGB Major Alexander Vasin from the Special Cases department arrives to investigate.

Vasin is a honest and intelligent man who believes in justice, an anomaly in the most corrupt of systems that thrives on fear, shame, treachery, surveillance, false denunciations, lies, abuse of power, and the everyday acceptance of killings. A system and state that unashamedly preys on an individual's weaknesses and transgressions. Vasin is plagued by his own flaws, he has been sleeping with his boss's wife, which he knows if discovered, will be the end of him, a violation of property, propriety, hierarchy and respect. Vasin is brushed off by everyone, the imperious Adamov is more interested in ensuring the success of the experimental bomb, and General Zaitsev, an old school Soviet butcher, will countenance no investigation of a suicide caused by poisoning and French existentialism. Vasin is forced to pull in the big guns from Moscow, his much feared boss, General Orlov, in an investigation where he is surrounded by a pattern of dangerous conceits, the testing of a bomb with the capacity to annihilate mankind, secrets, intrigue, forbidden love and where dead men tell whatever tales the living place in their lifeless mouths.

Matthews superbly evokes the atmosphere of this specific Russian historical period with skill and expertise, the culture, the machinations, a General Orlov consigning the sins of the ruling classes into his steel lined safe, and the scientists who spent many of their best years in the gulags, building an experimental bomb intended to bring world peace. The author has his own personal links to the story he tells, based on the reality of a bomb designed by the well known Andrei Sakharov. Sakharov, who turned his back on the obscene concept of creating a black sun on earth, campaigning against atmospheric nuclear testing, implacable in his fierce battles against the Soviet authorities, losing almost everything, and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. A superior, brilliant and thrilling magnetic novel that horrifies, educates, informs and entertains whilst taking the reader into the heart of 1960s Russia. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Random House Transworld for an ARC.

This debut novel is set in the Soviet Union in 1961, during the Cold War. Major Alexander Vasin of the KGB is sent to Arzamas-16, a secret city, to investigate a murder. At the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics, they are building a bomb. Their scientists, their greatest minds, are kept in isolation. They have a comfortable life, by the standards that Vasin experiences in Moscow; from well stocked shops to Motown records, the residents are kept in secluded comfort. However, when a young scientist, Fyodor Petrov, apparently commits suicide by Thallium poisoning, Vasin is sent to discover what happened and placate Petrov’s influential father.

This is an interesting thriller, set in a fascinating era and with an unusual setting. Vasin is a man who believes in justice, but who is not in control of either the situation in Arzamas, or, indeed, in his home life. Vasin fears losing his beloved son, as his marriage falls apart, and struggles to carry out his investigation with the local bigwig, Major General Zaitsev, and his sidekick, Efremov, being less than helpful. Still, Vasin is unconvinced that Petrov killed himself and is sure that a murderer lurks among the scientific community.

With this novel, Matthews realises very well the Soviet era of 1961, and the ghosts of the past that refuse to go away. Denunciations, accusations, secrets, observers, eavesdroppers, whispers and the shadow of the gulag, lie heavily over Arzamas and the characters of this book. I hope this will become a series and look forward to reading the next novel, featuring Vasin.

Terrifying story of the Russian thermonuclear bomb development in the 1960’s built around an investigation into a suicide at a secret facility. The KGB detective suspects murder and the detailed description of the scientific research and his investigation gel beautifully throughout. Full of twists this atmospheric tale stands tall with such as Gorky Park. Excellent!

The blurb for Black Sun by Owen Matthews was highly promising and appeared to be Interesting however I struggled to get into the book as it took too long to get going so it wasn’t one for me

A most insightful well written story of the life and culture in the USSR during the Khrushchev era, a time of soviet supremacy in science and technology. Advances in any field cannot be by collective decision making as demanded during the Stalin era. Dissidents with free thought were then cast into Gulags and it was those that survived that gave fruit to their brilliance that followed. To consolidate Soviet supremacy, it was decided that the world’s most powerful atom bomb should be developed. So, a team of the country’s top men of science and engineering with all required facilities was housed in a closed community for the purpose. It was allowed free thought and access to anything that was available in the world so as to give rein to creativity, protected by its own KGB unit. When a leading atomic scientist is killed in mysteries circumstances a local investigation results in a verdict of suicide. An investigator of a unit charged with investigating politically sensitive crimes is sent from Moscow to verify the verdict. How he has to cope with vested interests, determined to ensure that nothing gets in the way of the test that is imminent, and how he overcomes the barriers that are put in his way to prevent him finding the truth makes any unputdownable and engrossing story. However, when all is done, he must still manipulate the evidence so as to concoct a version that is politically acceptable to ensure his own survival.

Thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not necessarily my typical type of read but something about the plot of this attracted me to it. Got to say for parts of the book I was thinking i'd made a mistake in requesting and reading this ARC but I've got to say once the action kicks in it is entertaining. An above average read with a solid four out of five stars.

Really liked this - a "novel" idea with an interesting setting - a secret Soviet atomic city; seeing things from the perspective of the secret policeman (Vasin); and Vasin's self destructive personality - he's a talented detective, but speaks his mind too much and has a tendency to sleep with the wives of people who are far more powerful than him!

I won't give too much away - a scientist in Arzamas has been poisoned - whas it murder? - days before a hydrogen bomb test. Vasin is sent to investigate and bumps up against the local KGB who have investigated and ruled the death suicide and the head of the facility who sees Vasin as an unimportant minnow who he can't even be bothered to speak to.

Vasin slowly joins the dots to find the truth - whatever that tuens out to be - it's all about power plays and the winners/survivors creating the truth to explain what's happened

This is well worth a read and I'm looking forwrad to next two in the series

Atmospheric whodunnit

It’s the early 1960s and in Arzamas, a place in the Soviet Union which doesn’t officially exist, a key member of a team building a superbomb is found dead having ingested a huge amount of radioactive material. The official verdict is suicide but the dead man is the son of an important Soviet official so Alexander Vasin, a Major in the KGB, is despatched from Moscow to investigate. His arrival is most unwelcome and his investigations soon point to a myriad of possibilities.

Although the characters in this novel are individual and vibrant the overall feeling for at least the first third of the book is of a lack lustre grey. The author manages so well to describe the drab life of normal citizens which contrasts with the lives of the privileged who live in Arzamas – for those, nothing Is too good and luxuries are plentiful and taken for granted. However, the real and unique attributes are Owen Matthews’ ability to paint a picture of life at the time and to describe the very tangible fear everyone has of those in power.

The dowdiness of the first part of the plot is a superb counterpoint to the activity in the final chapters. Just as I was about to get bored the action picks up as Vasin starts to make real progress in his investigations. The plot twists at the end of the story are well worth waiting for and leave the option open for subsequent Vasin criminal enquiries. This novel has been a Sunday Times crime book of the month and easily justifies its selection on its own merits.

mr zorg

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review

Interesting read. Struggled a bit keeping track of the Russian names. And its hard to imagine being watched like that. Good story and interesting character - hopefully we see more of this

Initially I wanted to read this book because it's something completely different and a far cry from my normal reads, However I found it difficult to follow and became confused as to what was happening. This is most probably because of my lack of imagination and not being able to visualise the settings.