Snow Wolf

This is an outstanding book! It has a wonderful combination of a fasciniating and exciting espionage story, viewed at times in a wonderfully nostalgic background through the eyes of Anna Khorev. The novel also takes us to some fascinating areas of the world, and describes them beautifully. I whole-heartedly recommend it. The plot is primarily set in the post-war USSR, where the CIA have plotted to kill Joseph Stalin (Operation Snow Wolf), the mission being coordinated by Jake Massey, who enlisted the aid of Alex Slanksi and Anna Khorev, with the KGB under Levrente Beria attempting to thwart them at every opportunity. The characters are well developed, as are the relationships between them. And, in spite of its length, the novel remains fast paced, and addictive. I couldn't put it down.

When I first saw the book, I thought it to be some silly James Bond-like novel, without any knowledge of history in general and Russian history in particular. But after reading the reviews I desided to give it a try.Am I glad of that!It recreates athmosphere of the era as good as Alan Furst, and the blend of fact and fiction is very intriguing. The characters are well-drawn and realistic (and believe me, very few American writers can write realistic Russian characters, and not Crazy Ivan stereotypes).The characters are not in the way of the action, but the action also doesn't get in the way of characters. These people have reasons for the things they say and do, and these are personal reasons, and not just moving the plot.I'm not sure in some of the geography of the novel (I think that distances between Moscow, Novgorod and Leningrad wouldn't allow the characters to cover them in the time it took them in the novel)- but that's the only point against the novel I can think of. This is one of those novels that prove, that a great thriller, doesn't have to be "as current as the headlines" - great story and great characters matter far more!

This book is simply excellent. It is gripping, full of action, intriguing, surprising and shocking. The description of the events, the characters and the expressions are very well detailed. I think is Meade's best book so far, followed by Sands of the Sakkara (which was very enjoyable also). Anyway, it made my commuting more enjoyable.

An excellent novel for any Russophile or History buff. I found it putting it down to be most difficult. After reading numerous other books on similar topics I can say that this is assuredly one of the best! A must-read!

I was entranced by Meade! One of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much, is that it is not writen like every other thriller! Meade varried from the "normal" plot line and writing style of most thrillers from this genre and I think it paid off. It appears to me from reading the reviews posted here that you either love it or hate it...there is no inbetween. If you are looking for a book that follows all of the typical spy novel rules...then SNOW WOLF is not for you. If you are willing to read a different type of intrigue that does not include super-human spies and every cliche imaginable that also requires a deeper mental ability, then this is the book for you!