Orest Stelmach

I received a free advance e-copy of this book and have chosen to write an honest and unbiased review. I have no personal affiliation with the author. Wow! Another great story in the Nadia Tesla series. Nadia Tesla, private investigator, has been hired to solve a murder of a window prostitute in Amsterdam. Couldn’t put it down. The action and suspense never quits. There is a dysfunctional family, espionage, and danger. This is a well-written crime thriller/mystery with a great plot and good character development with an unusual and surprising ending. I found the name of the Russian leader, Putler interesting. Could this be a play on names, for instance Putin/Hitler? This book is well worth the read as are all of the books written by Orest Stelmach. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.… (mehr)

This is an edgy murder mystery, set in modern Holland and Belgium. The murder victim is the twenty-something daughter of Russian immigrants and is working as a prostitute in Amsterdam's red light district (where prostitution is legal). Nadia Tesla is a Ukrainian investigator whose biggest client is a Russian oligarch, Simeon Simeonovich (a.k.a. Simmy) . She also happens to have a crush on him. Simmy asks Nadia to investigate the brutal murder because her mother is one of Simmy's old friends. Nadia goes undercover as a "window prostitute" in the red light district and gets a clue that leads her to Bruges, a historical city in Belgium. From there the story takes off on a race to find the killer. There's a spectacular and exciting conclusion to the hunt for the killer. However, the most shocking event is after that and includes an appearance by the Russian president.

There's plenty of political rhetoric in the story about modern day Russia and the views of Russian immigrants who have left the country. The Dutch hate the Russians and give them a hard time. Nadia is Ukrainian and wears her ethnicity on her sleeve.

This is the 4th book in a series featuring Nadia and Simmy and this is the only one I've read up to now. I think this one can be read as a standalone, although some things may be more meaningful to a reader if they have the Nadia?Simmy backstory from previous books in the series. The relationship between Nadia and Simmy has apparently developed over earlier books and it is as much part of the story as is the murder mystery. There's a bittersweet ending in this book which affects their relationship, although the groundwork is laid for the series to continue.

Nadia is the most interesting character in the book and her story makes reading the book worthwhile. She's a smart cookie and willing to do the tough stuff to get the job done. The undercover work as a window prostitute is a good example of that. I found the book to be reminiscent of the Ava Lee series by Ian Hamilton and the Aimee Leduc series by Cara Black.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy.… (mehr)