The headquarters of an American oil company hemorrhages chemical-pink smoke into the Moscow night, the aftermath of an apparent terrorist attack. A Russian army captain carrying a priceless Fabergé egg and digital evidence of horrific wartime atrocities is murdered and relieved of both these prizes. And in the snowy mountains of southern Russia, a terrorist named Abreg—who once held Volk captive in a Chechen mud pit—hatches a plan to lure him back into his grasp.
Volk's Shadow finds Colonel Alexei Volkovoy—covert agent of the Russian army and major player in the Moscow underworld—once again struggling to stay afloat in the swirling currents of Russian political and economic intrigue. This time, however, he is without his sidekick and lover, the ethereal Valya Novaskaya. Aching for the soul mate he pushed away, Volk begins to doubt himself, becoming even more detached from the brutality of his actions. When he takes out his inner pain on the wrong man, he gains a powerful enemy in the highest reaches of the Kremlin, and only after he travels back to Chechnya to eliminate his old nemesis, Abreg, is Volk's debt finally repaid.
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"This is a fantastic thriller. It got me through the deadly O'Hare-LaGuardia connection after Xmas, which is really saying something. "
— Ami (5 out of 5 stars)
Ghelfi [is] a master at painting a modern Russia so dark and scary that it would give Stalin pause.... Quite thrilling.
— Kirkus“Volk is less Arkady Renko than a Russian Jack Reacher, making Volk’s Shadow as noir as a winter night in Saint Petersburg.”
— Library Journal (starred review)“Mesmerizing…Crisp characterization and strong visual prose keep the story moving to its harrowing climax.”
— Publishers Weekly“Narrator Stephen Hoye handles the intrigue well and displays his wide-ranging vocal abilities with realistic Eastern European accents.”
— AudioFile“Ghelfi [is] a master at painting a modern Russia so dark and scary that it would give Stalin pause…Quite thrilling.”
— Kirkus Reviews" Another adventure story of Alexei Volkovoy as he tries to survive in the Russian underworld. "
— Rob, 5/7/2010" A nice follow up to Volk's Game. I enjoy this author's complex multi-layering of subplots. "
— Veach, 7/17/2009" The story drags a bit but the characters are so intriguing you have to keep reading. "
— Amber, 1/21/2009Brent Ghelfi is the author of the critically acclaimed Shadow of the Wolf and The Venona Cable as well as Volk’s Game, which was nominated by the International Thriller Writers for Best First Novel of 2007 and by Mystery News and Deadly Pleasures magazines for a Barry Award for Best Thriller.
Stephen Hoye has worked as a professional actor in London and Los Angeles for more than thirty years. Trained at Boston University and the Guildhall in London, he has acted in television series and six feature films and has appeared in London’s West End. His audiobook narration has won him fifteen AudioFile Earphones Awards.