Red Winter

At the start of this pulse-pounder set in 1920 Central Russia from Smith (The Child Thief), Nikolai Levitsky, a deserter from the Red Army, returns home to the village of Belev, where everyone appears to be missing, including his wife and sons. When Nikolai does find one person, Galina Petrova, an elderly friend of his late mother, she tells him that Belev was attacked by Koschei (aka the Deathless One), a monster from children’s fairy tales. According to Galina, the Koschei took all the villagers, leaving behind one decapitated corpse. Nikolai’s search for his family across Russia exposes him to evidence of the futility of the conflict between the Reds and Whites. Luminous prose complements the compelling plot (e.g., “the low winter sun poured light through cloud and smoke and fire, reddening and casting a crimson glow across the yard and the field beyond, where the frost glistened red as if each crystal had been formed with the blood of men”). (July)