Part crime novel, part political thriller, part business novel, Vodka is a bit of a mixed bag. In parts, it's good, in other parts the writing leaves a little to be desired, such as when someone ran their hand down another characters cheek, to their temple - what's going on with that anatomy?

That aside, it has a steady momentum that (slowly) builds to a rather climactic ending, there's some intrigue, a serial killing mystery, a fair heaping of gang conflict and a serving of Russian politics running alongside the attempted privatisation of a vodka distillery that's run by the leader of a gang who has the best interests of his employees at heart. If you liked Monstrum and Gorky Park you may like this, it's a similar atmospheric Russian set novel taking place in the immediate period following the collapse of the USSR/Soviet Union.

Overall, I did enjoy it. ( )

Maybe it's (at least partially) because I have such a strong affinity for both Russia, and the mafia, and also for books dealing with murder mysteries, but I greatly enjoyed this novel. It wasn't perfect, but I thought Starling did a wonderful job of portraying characters and most situations quite realistically, and I am very eager to read all the rest of his work! ( )

This book has everything but the kitchen sink, which is both good and bad. There's politics, spies, mafia, vodka, communism, capitalism, amputees, orphans, alcoholism, murder, torture, vampires, and true love. Once it got going, I had a hard time putting it down. Was it ridiculous? Yes. Was it entertaining? Yes. ( )

An intense fast-paced political thriller/crime novel. Good interpretation of Russian political intrigue and Russian versus Chechen mafia in Moscow, as Russia was just emerging as a separate country in 1991-92 (not Soviet Union any more), great account of that disastrous involvement of Soviets in Afghanistan, and quite a colorful depiction of the dangers of alcoholism. Mostly fair take on Russian character, even if sometimes exaggerating the darker side of it (I say "mostly", because some insinuations are absolutely not true: like the assumption that it is inherent in Russians to inform on each other - ridiculously not true...). But all in all, a decent page-turner, even though a little over the top in its volume. ( )

It is December 1991, and the Soviet Union has just collapsed. Russians are used to lines and empty shelves, but now they have to cope with a dangerous power vacuum - and a war between brutal mafia gangs for control of the city. Alice Liddell, an American banker, has come to Moscow to oversee the privatization of Russia's most famous vodka distillery - the Red October. Faced with the charismatic, ruthless Lev, the distillery director and head of one of the warring mafia gangs, Alice's very difficult job is starting to look impossible. Lev's archenemy has vowed revenge on him, and a series of bizarre child killings are only adding to the complications and the terror of this dangerously volatile moment in history. - jacket notes A decent thriller. ( )