Kiev, 1992: After the USSR’s demise litters the landscape with nuclear weapons and radioactive materiel, warhead expert Anton Zvezda goes AWOL in disgust when his strategic bomber base mutinies against Moscow and declares loyalty to newly independent Ukraine. His only comfort after the Soviet Union’s collapse is his Russian Orthodox faith. But when signs of the Apocalypse threaten his church, he puts his skills to work on a terrifying plot.
A modern tracking system could stop him and smugglers like the nuclear inspector with a secret stash of bomb-grade uranium. It would also help a couple of American military contractors do some business and keep their jobs. But while Washington bureaucrats block their efforts, Iraqi spy Tariq abu Bakr is in Kiev to shop for a Bomb – on pain of death — until the brilliant and beautiful Sveta learns the secret that can thwart his plans and achieve her ambitions.
Their paths collide against exotic and dangerous post-Soviet landscapes, where talking cars hide Red Mercury, mad monks meet messengers from God — and the clock ticks on a nuclear bomb in Istanbul. Will Brother Boris be able to stop it?
Inspired by the author’s reporting on Ukraine’s nuclear weapons for leading Western newspapers, Doing Bizness: A Nuclear Thriller twists “loose nukes” tropes into a suspenseful, darkly comic and utterly believable historical thriller. Based on true events – both surreal and terrifying — it really could have happened.
This fast-paced and immensely enjoyable thriller, shot through with black comedy, has the accuracy and power of a nuke-tipped cruise missile.
Askold Krushelnyckyj, An Orange Revolution
A page-turner thriller and history rolled into one great book!
Susan Viets, Picnic at the Iron Curtain
