Red Sky at Noon

‘The gripping final instalment of the Moscow Trilogy tells of a man wrongly imprisoned in the Gulags and his fight for redemption. Meticulously researched… In this searing tale of love and war, most moving is the redemptive relationship between a soldier and a nurse that blooms amid the brutality. An homage to the author’s favourite Russian writers and the Western masterpieces of Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy and Elmore Leonard, such influences pervade this atmospheric tale told in the author’s distinct own voice.’

— Observer

‘Mythic and murderous violence in Russia… there are power-drunk Nazis and Soviet traitors, including a particularly memorable villain… Written with brio & deep knowledge of its fascinating subject matter… a deeply satisfying pageturner.’

— Book of the Month, The Times

‘In this third volume of The Moscow Trilogy, the fate of combatants and civilians is often harsh. With his feel for vivid and immediate drama and impressive research, the author evokes the extreme turbulence and violence impacting on individuals. Writing with passion, Montefiore makes the point that, up against the huge forces of war, the struggle for personal resolution can be tragic – but never wasted.’

— Daily Mail

‘The final instalment of Montefiore’s loosely connected Moscow Trilogy: amidst the killing and the chaos, a group of prisoners are offered a chance of redemption on a secret mission behind enemy lines on horseback. Montefiore has a keen sense of place and an eye of unexpected details. Switching between the frontline on the Russian steppes and Stalin in the Kremlin, this is an EXCITING FAST-PACED ADVENTURE AND A LAMENT FOR LOVE IN DARK AND BRUTAL TIMES.’

— Mail on Sunday

‘I devoured Red Sky at Noon. A heartstopping, heartbreaking, technicolour epic. A grand homage to the Russian masters Babel & Grossman, echoes of Hemingway & Dostoevsky, and a propulsive delight that is entirely Montefiore’s own. Gripping storytelling allied with intimate, unsqueamish knowledge of Russian history – a special combination.’

— AD Miller, author of Snowdrops

‘A GRIPPING tale… Montefiore is BRILLIANT at depicting the BROODING MENACE… the [penal battalions] are given increasingly risky missions, it is Benya’s journey on horseback that we follow behind enemy lines in the grasslands of southern Russia… An EPIC tale… The language is arresting… It’s beautifully done: a WESTERN ON THE EASTERN FRONT.’

— Daily Telegraph

‘Exhilarated and terrified… Golden is plunged into a world where violent death could arrive at any moment and any pleasures that present themselves (an unexpected affair with an Italian nurse, for example) must be seized immediately. Sebag Montefiore PAINTS HIS VERBAL PICTURES of the WAR IN BOLD PRIMARY COLOURS… SHEER ENERGY OF STORYTELLING AND GRAND SWEEP OF NARRATIVE.’

— Sunday Times