Volk's Shadow

Volk's Shadow by Brent Ghelfi continues where the first novel in the series, Volk's Game, left off. Colonel Alexei Volkovoy (a.k.a. Volk) is still recovering emotionally from the betrayal of General Nemstov, the man he sees as a father figure, and the departure of the woman he loves, Vayla. Volk, however, has other worries as he attempts to prevent the destruction a building owned by an American oil company and the death of the company's stop employees by Chechen terrorists. This quickly leads our Russian anti-hero on a search for the man (Abreg) who once held him prisoner in a Chechen camp for six months and tortured him, and who's now killing Russian soldiers who participated in the massacre of civilians at Starye Atag. Also, in the middle of this is the search for the priceless Faberge eggs, a missing twelve-year-old girl who's been taken by a sick predator, the creation of a new oil broker (Maxim) and his quest to control Russia's precious oil reserves, the search for a missing American Senator's daughter, and the death of the Chechen terrorist leaders. Volk is definitely going to have his hands full with juggling several important objectives, but never fear, Valya returns to help him and to watch his back. The author, Brent Ghelfi, does an excellent job of juggling (like Volk) several sub-plots and then successfully tying everything together by the end of the novel. He manages to keep the tension ratcheted up to a fever pitch with the action coming at the appropriate intervals so that the reader never has time to be bored. The bad guys are every bit as colorful and wicked as the ones in the last novel--Filip Lachek, the man who seeks revenge against Volk for killing his son and plans to slowly torture him to death, Abreg, the Chechen terrorist, who's the only man alive that Volk has ever been scared of, and Constantine, the mysterious person of power behind the Russian leaders, who has the power to destroy Volk with a simple snap of his fingers. Fast paced and utterly suspenseful, Volk's Shadow carries us to the next level with a closer look at Alexei Volkovoy and his dark, violent past, the Russian Mafia, the politicians who will stop at nothing to gain power over a struggling country and its vital resources, and the terrorists who seek revenge against those who tortured and killed their wives and children so many years ago. Volk's Shadow isn't for everyone. It's filled with violence and torture and betrayal, yet the story also shows the kindness and hope that can prevail in even the worst of us. With just two books to his name, Brent Ghelfi is quickly establishing himself as the author to go to, if you're a reader who desires something different from the normal brand of fiction and that's more in your face with its gritty realism. Highly recommended!

This sequel to Ghelfi's outstanding debut (last year's "Volk's Game") is another high-stakes adventure set in the dark underworld of crime and corruption that plagues modern Russia. Col. Alexei Volkovoy, an ex-Special Forces soldier and one-man wrecking crew, is tasked to recover a missing Fabergé egg. His search puts him up against the Russian mob, Chechen guerrillas and powerful apparatchiks in the Kremlin, but none of them are a match for Ghelfi's cunning anti-hero. Volkovoy is not an especially likeable man -- he's violent, suspicious and irretrievably damaged -- but he's a fascinating one to read about. "Volk's Shadow" doesn't move with the lightning pacing of the first book -- in most parts it's more mystery than thriller -- but even so Ghelfi delivers the goods.

As Volk's Shadow opens,Volk is dispatched by the General to handle the bombing of AMERCO an oil company.His instructions are clear:Do not delay.Do not negotiate.Attack.It's clear after the op something is not as it seems.A female hostage disappears who knows alot more than she is telling.For this outing Volk is teamed with Lt. Golko Kachan a by the book investigator.Volk will use brutal methods to open doors that Kachan hesitates to employ.Volk's time served in Chechnya has brutalized him,but he can be compassionate.As a favor he searches for the young grandaughter of a friend for the elderly Masha.The young girl has been taken by a sexual predator.These seemingly unrelated cases will take Volk back to the Chechen mountains to confront an old enemy from Volk's past. As in VOLK'S GAME the writing is razor sharp with magnificent descriptions of the city of Moscow and the Chechen mountains.A first rate thriller all the way.Volk is the Russian answer to Mitch Rapp,Jack Reacher,and Jack Bauer.

In Volk's Shadow, Volk is an everyman character who through circumstances has developed his own morality. It is what we all do but because his circumstances are so extreme his morality or ethic is also extreme. Unlike most of us, Volk is aware that his morality developed through his history and did not come supernaturally. It was a theme started with Volk's Game. By developing Russia (in essence, it is a main character in this book) all of the characters are more understandable. Life is harsher and survival isn't a given in Russia. It is not unlike prison. And like prison, Russia has developed its own code of conduct. Also, like prison, there are sadists, thugs, victims, and survivors. Volk is a survivor who has managed to keep some of his humanity. As a reader, you are forced to ask yourself, who would you end up being?

In Moscow, terrorists apparently bombed the headquarters of AMERCO, an American oil company. The attackers take over the oil company's bombed out offices holding hostages. His superiors order Russian army Colonel "Volk" Volkovoy to breach the offices and do what it takes to bring down the Chechen terrorists. However, nothing goes according to Volk's plan as they seem to be waiting calmly for his arrival. Volk knows betrayal is the norm in Putin's Russia, but wonders if he is to be sacrificed for someone's promotion. He follows clues of criminal activity as he begins to doubt the Chechens had anything to do with the Moscow bombing. From the brothels of Moscow to Chechnya he runs into betrayal after betrayal as he finds his investigation constantly expanding to include the surfacing of a valuable Faberge egg; the kidnapping of a preadolescent girl and a video of Russian massacre of Chechens. Yet as he misses his beloved Valya, he wonders if the murky Russian atmosphere will ever be clean as money seems to buy anything including crimes and culpability cover-ups. There is so much going on that fans will wonder where suspicious, dedicated, yet ethical Volk gets the mental energy to keep up the incredible pace especially since he is a major cynic re Putin's Russia. The story line is fast-paced and filled with twists and betrayals, a way of life at least in Volk's Russia. Timely as the world watches the transition of power, Brent Ghelfi provides a deep dark thriller in which the real star is an alarming gloomy Russia fueled by oil economics and superpower return ambitions. Harriet Klausner