White Fox

The new novel from a master of the Cold War thriller . . .

'This is Robert Harris storytelling territory' Daily Mail
'Outstanding' Sunday Times
'Tense, exciting and authentic' Charles Cumming, author of Judas 62
'Stunning' The Times
'Brilliantly plotted' John Sweeney, author of Killer in the Kremlin
'A standout thriller' Financial Times

1963. In a desolate Russian penal colony, the radio broadcasts news of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy...

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vasin's new posting as director of a gulag camp in the middle of the frozen tundra is far from a promotion. This is where disgraced agents, like Vasin, disappear - sent to die forgotten. And quietly. But tensions in the camp are running high and when a violent revolt breaks out, Vasin finds himself on the run. With him is a mysterious prisoner - who holds the key to the most dangerous secret in the world: who ordered Kennedy's murder.

In a breathless race that takes them through the Soviet Union - from the barren Siberian wastelands to the stunning halls of the Katerina Palace and the grey streets of Leningrad and Moscow - Vasin must stay one step ahead of the most ruthless spy and police organizations in the world . . . and keep the most wanted man in Russia alive. It's a journey that will push Vasin's loyalty, morality and his patriotism to the limit. And he must confront the ultimate choice: fall in line, or die fighting the system.

With masterful storytelling that weaves together an explosive moment in history with the cutthroat machinations of Soviet politics, Owen Matthews' White Fox captures the paradigm-shifting assassination from a unique Soviet point of view. This is a page-turning thriller - a race against time across Soviet Russia, where the participants face impossible odds and must decide between truth, justice and all-out war.

Reviews

Impressive . . . Matthews' knowledge of the USSR and the Cold War gives the novel the feeling of authenticity . . . a personal note at the end shows why Vasin's struggles are both so convincing and so affecting.