I’m over the moon to be kicking off the blog tour today for The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt by Sarah Armstrong and published by Sandstone Press. My thanks to the publishers, author and Ruth Killick for the opportunity and the book.
About the book
It’s 1973 and Martha has been sent down from Cambridge for distributing left-wing leaflets and doing no work. To escape parental disapproval, she marries her friend Kit, posted to Moscow by the diplomatic service. Kit is gay, so having a wife could keep him safe. In Moscow, Martha struggles to make sense of a difficult but fascinating new world. Who can she trust? Who can she even talk to? She takes Russian lessons, makes the wrong friends, becomes familiar with a strange and wonderful city, and unwittingly becomes a spy.
The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt is available to by now – Amazon
My thoughts
I don’t think I’ve read a spy thriller for quite a while so when I read the description for The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to get stuck in and oh boy when I did, I found it very difficult to put down.
Martha comes from quite a privileged background and when she is dismissed from university and sent back home it’s clear she’s a let down to her family. They won’t let her contact her uni friends and they have a job lined up for her so she can’t get into anymore trouble.
When Kit (Christopher) lands a job in Moscow it makes perfect sense for Martha to go with him, she can escape the claustrophobic arms of her parents but does Martha really know what she’s letting herself in for?
Oh I really liked Martha and Kit, they have a lovely friendship and really understand each other. Martha throws herself into studying Moscow before she heads off and I couldn’t help feeling a little excitement for her, travelling to a new country and starting a new life. Things aren’t quite straight forward though, she’s been warned she’ll be spied upon, conversations will be listened in on and life won’t be quite as easy as it is in Cambridge but Martha is determined to try to make a go of it.
Sarah Armstrong has really wrote a story that totally pulls you in, the descriptions of 1970’s Moscow were wonderful, they jump off the page and come to life right in front of you. It was so nice to read about Martha’s adventures exploring, even if at times it gave you a sense of unease, the thought of being watched or putting a foot wrong. It’s a strict country and I’m not sure I would have coped if I were in her shoes.
The pages couldn’t turn fast enough for me as I tried to figure out some of the things that were going on, I won’t say too much for fear I’ll give something away but it’s an interesting story that gets the old mind going, I really wasn’t sure where it would end up.
The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt is a clever story, it’s not fast paced but it draws you right in, giving the feeling you are part of the story, looking over your shoulder and talking in quiet whispers. This is definitely a book I’ll recommend, and I’ll be looking forward to reading more from Sarah Armstrong too.
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About the author
Sarah Armstrong is the author of The Insect Rosary (‘a brave debut’- Anne Goodwin) and The Devil in the Snow (‘an intriguing and compelling story – Liz Trenow). Her short stories have been published in magazines and anthologies, and she teaches undergraduate and postgraduate creative writing with the Open University.
Sarah lives in Colchester with her husband and four children.
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