Cheryl's Book Nook

Sounds like my kind of book. This one is going on my wish list to get. Alexei Volkovoy--known to the underworld as Volk--is a hardened veteran of the conflict in Chechnya, a gun-for-hire now living in a lawless Russia, serving two corrupt masters: one is Maxim, a psychotic Azeri mafia kingpin, the other a mystery man known only as "The General." When Volk and his lover, a wild-eyed, white-haired young Russian named Valya, are hired by both men to steal the same lost painting from the Hermitage Museum, Volk must choose which to betray, and what that betrayal will cost him. His decision will lead this honest thief into the dark heart of the new Russian oligarchy, where only cash and violence can open doors.

An international cabal drives Volk back to blood-soaked Chechnya, where he confronts an old nemesis and reunites with his lost love in this gripping sequel to the acclaimed series debut. Volk's Shadow finds Colonel Alexei Volkovoy — covert agent of the Russian army and major player in the Moscow underworld—once again struggling to stay afloat in the swirling currents of Russian political and economic intrigue. This time, however, he is without his sidekick and lover, the ethereal Valya Novaskaya. Aching for the soul mate he pushed away, Volk begins to doubt himself, becoming even more detached from the brutality of his actions. When he takes out his inner pain on the wrong man, he gains a powerful enemy in the highest reaches of the Kremlin, and only after he travels back to Chechnya to eliminate his old nemesis, Abreg, is Volk’s debt finally repaid. Go to http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/ for all the details on how to win a copy but hurry as this contest ends at 5am EST t...