Ryan, William: The Holy Thief. First Edition/First Printing. *Signed & Numbered*

This is a first edition and first printing of The Holy Thief by William Ryan, published by Mantle in 2010.

The book and protected dust jacket are in Fine condition with no inscriptions and not price clipped.

Signed and numbered edition, this being number 406 of only 500 copies.

Description:

Moscow, 1936 and Stalin's Great Terror is beginning. In a deconsecrated Church, a young woman is found dead, her mutilated body displayed on the altar for all to see.

Captain Alexei Dimitrevich Korolev, finally beginning to enjoy the benefits of his success with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Militia, is asked to investigate. But when he discovers that the victim is an American citizen, the NKVD -the most feared organisation in Russia- becomes involved. Soon, Korolev's every move is under close scrutiny and one false move will mean exile to The Zone, where the enemies of the Soviet State, both real and imagined, meet their fate in the frozen camps of the far north.

Committed to uncovering the truth behind this gruesome murder, Korolev,enters the realm of the Thieves, who run Moscow's underworld. And as more bodies are discovered and the pressure from above builds, Korolev begins to question who he can trust; and who, in this Russia where fear, uncertainty and hunger prevails, are the real criminals. Soon, Korolev will find not only his moral and political ideals threatened, but also his life . . . 

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