Is it disrespectful and inappropriate to use a real historical atrocity in a work of fiction? Or is it worse to make one up? A problem I was confronted with when placing spy Alexsi Ivanovich Smirnov in 1944 Rome for my novel The Double Agent. History, and novels, are made from significant events, and in…
A Single Spy by William Christie follows Alexsi Ivanovich Smirnov, a Russian orphan forced to become a spy during WWII, as he navigates the war and his mission—one that could change the very course of history. In 1936 in Soviet Azerbaijan, 16-year-old Alexsi—orphaned to a life of petty thievery—rides with the Shahsavan to survive and…
Every Wednesday, we here at Criminal Element will put together a list of Staff Picks of the books that published the day before—sharing the ones that we are looking forward to reading the most! This week, we're enjoying a trip to the past thanks to Michael Cannel's new true crime thriller and William Christie's riveting…
A Single Spy by William Christie follows Alexsi Ivanovich Smirnov, a Russian orphan forced to become a spy during WWII, as he navigates the war and his mission—one that could change the very course of history (available April 25, 2017). “A single spy―in the right place and at the right moment―may change the course of…
