‘Moscow Underground’ by Catherine Merridale

Published by Fontana, 
14 Aug 2025.
ISBN: 978-0-00876153-0 (HB)

It is 1934 and Anton Markovich Belkin works as a criminal investigator for the Russian state.  Having survived Stalin’s early reforms and the first Five-Year Plan, Anton simply wants to get on with his job without drawing attention to himself.  However, his desire for a quiet life is threatened by two people.  The first is his father Mark, a painter with whom Anton shares a home on the outskirts of Moscow and who has a dangerous habit of speaking out against the country’s politicians.  The second is an intimidating up-and-coming member of the secret police called Victoria Maksimovna Volkova.  She and Anton were once lovers, and he still cares deeply for her.  Volkova now wants Belkin to revisit the evidence in a recent murder case.  He tells her it isn’t a good idea, but resistance is – as they say – futile.  

 

Vita tells Anton that the victim, Professor Dovlatov, had been examining items discovered as a result of the tunnelling which is being done in preparation for Moscow’s first underground railway.  A report by the Railway Police supports their swift arrest of a young boy for the deadly assault, but Vika is not convinced.  She suspects that Dovlatov’s death may be linked to something more sinister than a random attack.  Her hunch is about to put Anton, his father, and Vika herself in jeopardy.

 

Anton’s first-person narrative imbues the novel with immediacy, and this adds to the tension that builds relentlessly as the novel progresses.  The protagonist is instantly likeable.  His wry humour is amusing and enjoyable as he describes the increasingly autocratic Russian state.  The book also introduces a host of unusual characters, some sinister, some evoking empathy.

 

The novel’s title establishes Moscow’s Metro as integral to the story.  The proliferation of tunnels intended to move citizens in various directions beneath and beyond the Russian capital mirrors different subplots that lead, and mislead, the protagonist, and reader, as the story unfolds.  It conjures up the notion of an underworld where mysteries, old and new, could be, and probably are, buried.  Secret passages are exposed, sludge is displaced, and both have the potential to reveal not only old baubles but also old bodies. Who knows which saints and sinners have passed unseen through such subways?  Who knows how the dark channels might be used if the discord of the past few years worsens – which we know it will.

 

Catherine Merridale’s writing is informed, crisp and assured.  Her description of Moscow oozes with threat and suspense as Stalin pushes forward relentlessly to create a new Russia.  The author’s knowledge of the period underpins and enriches the novel, without ever distracting from the murder mystery which is centre stage.

 

Moscow Underground encompasses love, death, societal revolution and politics.  Anton is an engaging protagonist from the outset.  Self-deprecating yet determined, he encapsulates all the traits of a great detective.  I can’t wait to see him take on his next investigation - hopefully with Vika.  

 

Exhilarating, addictive and highly recommended.

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Reviewer: Dot Marshall-Gent

 

Catherine Anne Merridale, was born 12 October 1959. She is a British award-winning writer and historian with a special interest in Russian and the former Soviet Union. She was educated at Andover Grammar School, and at Cricklade College, that is also in Andover. She studied history at King's College, Cambridge, graduating with a first class (BA) degree in 1982. She continued her studies at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies and completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree.  Merridale was Professor of Contemporary History at Queen Mary, University of London. She has been a senior research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, since her retirement from full-time academia in 2014.                                                                    

catherinemerridale.com

Dot Marshall-Gent worked in the emergency services for twenty years first as a police officer, then as a paramedic and finally as a fire control officer before graduating from King’s College, London as a teacher of English in her mid-forties.  She completed a M.A. in Special and Inclusive Education at the Institute of Education, London and now teaches part-time and writes mainly about educational issues.  Dot sings jazz and country music and plays guitar, banjo and piano as well as being addicted to reading mystery and crime fiction.