Title: Killing Juri Kasagan
Author: William Scoales
Publisher: Xlibris US
ISBN: 978-1499074109
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 332
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent
Hollywood Book Review
Killing Juri Kasagan is a fascinating and intriguing novel about international intrigue and family bonds. William Scoales has written a novel that will enthrall readers.
Killing Juri Kasagan tells the story of Juri Kasagan, a prisoner from Russia in 1990 just as the Soviet Union is collapsing around the world. He is being chased by other criminals who want to harm him. Juri is also being pursued by his daughter, Anna, a Ukrainian woman who wants to find her father with the help of Alex, a Connecticut lawyer when they meet up in in the Spanish city of Cadiz. On their journey to find him, they encounter more trouble than they could have imagined.
Killing Juri Kasagan is a complex novel with a fascinating cast of characters. People from all over the world come to Cadiz and Juri is a character who’s looking for redemption and escaping the demons of his past. He’s an atypical protagonist who isn’t an evil criminal, but also isn’t a complete angel, either. Anna is a complicated character who is searching not only for her distant father, but her identity as well. She is a powerful and strong woman who can navigate the globe, but is also vulnerable and unsure of her future. She is not a damsel in distress, but a multidimensional character, a refreshing change for female characters in crime fiction novels. Many of the international characters in the novel bring their distinct personalities to the novel as well, from gruff American Alex to the melancholy Roma people.
Cadiz is an interesting setting in the novel as well. Scoales’ writing is so descriptive and evocative that readers can easily imagine themselves sailing along the Spanish Seas. Scoales’ writing is also very well-researched with many languages represented in the novel, like Russian and Spanish. Killing Juri Kasagan also showcases Scoales’ expertise in history throughout the novel.
This book would be best for readers who like novels about international intrigue and the Cold War, like novels from John Le Carre or Graham Greene. The novel would also be best for readers who want to read books about international characters that unite together in an unlikely place. Killing Juri Kasagan would make an excellent book club selection or could be a foundation for group discussions about Russian or Soviet Union history. Killing Juri Kasagan is a novel that take readers on an unforgettable journey.