March 15, 2011

Review: The Trinity Six


I love a good thriller, and so was excited to get this review copy in the mail last month. The premiseis interesting, the characters mainly believable, and the well-layered plot drives you along, just not as intensely as I would have liked. I won't offer any spoilers, but the general idea is that the five Cambridge spies were actually six, in that one more associate spun off to Oxford, worked for the Soviets for awhile, then flipped into a double agent.

The first part of the book is all about a London prof and biographer of the current Russian leader (Sergei Platov, a paper-thinly-veiled riff on Vladimir Putin) who is in financial straits and needs a new bestseller book deal. And certainly a book revealing a sixth spy in the infamous ring would lead to that. But when the main character turns over that rock it reveals all manner of slimy and unpalatable creatures, deaths ensue, there is international travel and intrigue, a chase, and a new, deeper, darker mystery unfolds, one that British intelligence has been hiding for decades.

Again, the idea and premise of the plot is good. I just found the execution too predictable. I knew who the sixth man was too quickly and the essence of the second secret, if an interesting idea, was neither surprising nor entirely credible (some scenes drawn in the Kremlin might have helped). Maybe I just read too many thrillers. The main character, Sam Gaddis (a choice of last name as homage to one of the great Cold War scholars, perhaps?) is well drawn and believable, if a bit more adventurous than one would expect a college prof to be. And the story is entertaining enough and full of some interesting bits of history.

Koroche, in the end, this is a decent beach read that could have used a bit more tension and might have benefited from a bit more Russian flavor.

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955