Owen Matthews - Black Sun

Many people helped this book in its journey onto the page—first and foremost my dedicated and patient editor, Robert Bloom at Doubleday, who worked tirelessly above and beyond the call of duty to shape and polish Black Sun . Without my genius agent Toby Mundy I would never have hooked up with Rob, or thought to make Alexander Vasin the hero of a trilogy. And without the encouragement of my friends I would never have imagined writing my first thriller in the first place. Particular thanks to Lisa Hilton, Jonny Dymond, Andrew Jeffreys, Charles Cumming, and Richard Stow for all their help and support while the book was being written. And to Xenia, Nikita, and Teddy for putting up with a writer in the house, which is no easy fate. Finally, a bow to the real Alexander Vasin, my late uncle, who as a young Soviet tank commander lost a leg outside Smolensk in 1944 but despite his disability rose to be the USSR’s deputy minister of justice and a wise and loving husband to my aunt Lenina.

Owen Matthews reported on conflicts in Bosnia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Iraq, and Ukraine and was Newsweek magazine’s bureau chief in Moscow from 2006 to 2016. He is the author of several nonfiction books including Stalin’s Children, Glorious Misadventures, and An Impeccable Spy.

This is a work of historical fiction. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical and public figures, are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical or public figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are entirely fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the entirely fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2019 by Owen Matthews

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York, and distributed in Canada by Penguin Random House Canada Limited, Toronto.

www.doubleday.com

DOUBLEDAY and the portrayal of an anchor with a dolphin are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Cover design and illustration by Michael J. Windsor

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Names: Matthews, Owen, author.

Title: Black sun : a novel / Owen Matthews.

Description: First edition. | New York : Doubleday, [2019]

Identifiers: LCCN 2018043265 (print) | LCCN 2018048828 (ebook) | ISBN 9780385543408 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780385543415 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Soviet Union—History—1953–1985—Fiction. | GSAFD: Mystery fiction. | Suspense fiction.

Classification: LCC PR6113.A8914 (ebook) | LCC PR6113.A8914 B53 2019 (print) | DDC 823/.92—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018043265

Ebook ISBN 9780385543415

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