Shadow Pass

A Novel of Suspense

De: Sam Eastland

Narrado por: Paul Michael

Pekkala: He was the Romanovs’ most trusted investigator. Now he’s Stalin’s greatest fear.

He operates in the shadows of one of history’s most notorious regimes. He seeks the truth in a nation where finding it can mean death - or worse. His name his Inspector Pekkala, and this time he’s taking on a case with implications far deadlier than anything he can imagine: A shattering revelation that was never meant to be unearthed.

Its official name is T-34, and this massive and mysterious new weapon is being developed in total secrecy in the Russian countryside, a 30-ton killing machine. Its inventor, Colonel Rolan Nagorski, is a rogue genius whose macabre death is considered an accident only by the innocent.

And Josef Stalin is no innocent. Suspecting assassins everywhere, he brings in his best - if least obedient - detective to solve a murder that’s tantamount to treason. Answerable to no one, Pekkala has the dictator’s permission to go anywhere and interrogate anyone. But in Soviet Russia that’s easily a death sentence. The closer Pekkala gets to the answers, the more questions he uncovers - first and foremost, why is the state’s most dreaded female operative, Commissar Major Lysenkova, investigating the case when she’s only assigned to internal affairs?

Pekkala is on a collision course not only with the Soviet secret police but the USSR’s deepest military secrets. For what he is about to learn could put Stalin and his Communist state under for good - and bury Pekkala with them.

Brilliantly researched and rivetingly plotted, Shadow Pass is a superb story of suspense in a series growing only richer - and with a detective getting only better.

©2011 Sam Eastland (P)2011 Random House

Rounded Up to 4 Stars

This is my second Pekkala book. Like the first one, it is borderline 3.5 to 4 stars. Again I rounded up because the plot was interesting to me and I learned some historical information (verified outside the book and google). In the big picture, I found several things unbelievable: Pekkala working for Stalin, Pekkala's trust of the people he arrests or detains, and Stalin's forgiveness of anyone for anything regardless of age or parentage.

Narrator performed well and captured the characters. I wish the narrator had performed Pekkala's voice a little differently but it still worked. The only real gripe is that the narrator didn't read the chapter numbers throughout the book. That may be the editor's fault but I think when listening to a book it is important to know the writer has moved to a new chapter, I also think that it helps if the narrator takes a longer pause when the writer changes time periods during a chapter so you know as a listener that there is a change in location/time/people.

In summary, I will probably read the next book but might wait awhile to do so. It was okay but I see no need to rush to the next book.

One of my Rare 5-Star Rating

I am a huge fan of this series and can't wait for the next book (The fourth book in the series - The Red Moth) to be released in audio. This book, Shadow Pass is the second in the series

It has already been published in print, Kindle and eBook formats, but audio is still in the works (HOPEFULLY).

I enjoyed the first Inspector Pekkala book, The Eye of the Red Tsar, and was anxiously anticipating this book. I was very much pleased with the outcome.

This book take Pekkala on a new mission with some of the same characters and also tells us a little more about the history of Pekkala. Like the entire series, the main theme or story revolves around actual history told through the eyes of a fictional character, Pekkala.

The narrator Paul Michael likewise does a fantastic job and I would happily choose another book given he is the narrator.

Overall HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! I would definitely recommend taking them in order.

Pekkala investigates Russian T-34 tank mystery

This is the second book in the Inspector Pekkala series and this time Pekkala is tasked with investigating the mysterious death of the man who was heading up the secret T-34 tank development in the years leading up to WW2. I really enjoy the team of Pekkala and Kirov and the banter between the two. The muster was quite complex and actually develops into a series of mysteries. The plot moves at a good pace. What is interesting in this book, and which also featured in the first book, is that there are a lot of vignettes into Pekkala’s past, so there becomes a story line (from the past) within the main storyline (from the current). I also like how the author smoothly sets the story’s context within the political and social culture of Stalin’s Soviet Union. All in all, this was an enjoyable book to read.