Brent Ghelfi, Volk's Game

Volk's Game

Brent Ghelfi

Holt, Jun 2007, $23.00

ISBN: 0805082549

Alekei "Volk" Volkovoy lost a leg during the Chechnya hostilities. Still in spite of his combat injuries, the Russian works two jobs with lethal efficiency. He is a formidable criminal not to mess with who makes large sums of money in all of the major illegal activities; he is also a covert military operative comfortable with assassination.

In St. Petersburg's renowned Hermitage Museum, Volk's two vocations merge when he learns of an unknown Da Vinci masterpiece hidden underneath the work of some minor leaguer, Pierre Mignard. He recruits the beautiful, cold-blooded killer Valya to help him steal the Leda and the Swan. Together they begin the quest to purloin the Da Vinci even as another team member makes the mistake of double crossing these two effective killers.

VOLK'S GAME is a delightful, over-the-top, antihero thriller that satirizes the James Bond tales using stereotypes to lampoon 007 and other super agents of a like ilk. The storyline starts at hyperspeed and keeps accelerating until the final bloody confrontation. Volk is a fascinating lead character who is not admirable yet readers will enjoy his escapades, especially when he goes on an avenging rampage. Not for everyone, fans who enjoy the antics of a kick butt macho rogue, perhaps thug might better describe him, will want to tour Russia's underbelly with Volk as a guide to the seamier side of life.

Harriet Klausner