Robert Harris: Kolymsky Heights

March’s Book of the Month was chosen by Robert Harris, a novelist of historical fiction and political thrillers. Some of his well-known titles include Fatherland, The Ghost Writer, An Officer and a Spy and, Archangel, all of which were adapted into film.

Robert’s Book of the Month is Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson.

‘Few literary pleasures exceed that of an immersive thriller. One of my favourites is Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson. The plot centres on a secret laboratory buried inside a mountain in a frozen region of Siberia. A coded message from the director of the facility is smuggled out, addressed to an Oxford academic, Johnny Porter, a brilliant linguist descended from Canadian Inuits. He is persuaded by the CIA to infiltrate Russia and find out what is going on. What follows is a three-part adventure story in the tradition of John Buchan – mystery, discovery and finally chase, as Porter tries to outwit the Russian security services on his trail and escape with the secret from Siberia. It sounds absurd, and in many ways, it is, but it is also utterly compelling. Published in 1994, after the USSR had collapsed, it was not the commercial success it should have been. Nevertheless, it stands as a classic British thriller in the tradition of The Thirty Nine Steps, Rogue Male and The Day of the Jackal.’

Thank you to Robert Harris for recommending this book!

Every Book of the Month is sent to each of our projects with a bookplate sharing why it was chosen. You can order your copy of Kolymsky Heights and our previous Books of the Month from our affiliate list on Bookshop.org:

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To see our previous Books of the Month, click here.