Slow at the beginning but picked up half-way through. Scary that it's so easy for a society to become like this.

A great read. The author has clearly done a lot of research on the place & period, but it simply informs the story and the character, there's no "here's where I show off what I found out".

I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. It takes place in the dark days of Russia and presents us with a Russian population that lives in fear and suspicion. When a young doctor is pulled reluctantly into a cancer case with an unhappy ending, his life turns into a living hell. There is a sense of impending doom right from the begining of the story as this doctor and his family prepare for the possibility that he will be wrongfully arrested.I loved getting to know the characters and was very interested to read about what Russia may have been like for people in that time period. There was a great deal of suffering and injustice and we get a good glimpse of how vulnerable the people are, both the average citizen and those higher up. I found the book so interesting that I am going to read her previous book "The Seige" next.