If you read only one Robert Harris thriller, read Archangel

The story of a Stalin bloodline is truly chilling

What? Not Enigma? Not The Ghost? Right, not Enigma. Definitely not The Ghost. In Archangel, Robert Harris brought together the parts that have made each of his other novels in some way remarkable. There’s a historical What-if mystery, an erudite figure at the center of the book, and a chilling final section filled with tension.

A British historian travels to Russia for a conference. There he learns of the existence of Stalin’s secret diary. He tracks it to the northern city of Archangel, where he makes a terrifying discovery.

Without giving the end away, I must tell you that the conclusion of the novel is particularly poignant in these days of Ukrainian troubles and a new kind of Stalin in the Kremlin yearning for the good old days of the Soviet Union. Even more reason to read this one.