I thought this was a great mystery. The setting - 1930's Russia under Stalin - only added to the sense of danger and suspense. I will definitely read another one. I thought the author did a great job capturing the inner conflict of the characters. There is conflict between the atheist state and the religious beliefs many of the older characters learned from their mothers and their grandmothers, conflict regarding knowledge of things that are happening that are wrong, wondering if they are justified in the longer term goal of building the Soviet State. Over all hangs the fear of saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. Added to all this, the disappearance of something valuable and a couple of gruesome murders.