With foxes, we must play the fox.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS served as reference: Svetlana Alexievich’s Voices from Chernobyl, C.C. Bailey’s The Aftermath of Chernobyl, R.F. Mould’s Chernobyl Record, Adriana Petryna’s Life Exposed, James Forsyth’s A History of the Peoples of Siberia, John Ziker’s Peoples of the Tundra, Ian Halliday’s Native Peoples of Alaska, and Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia, Volumes I and III.
I am indebted to the following people for their assistance with this enterprise. Jaromir Jagr unwittingly inspired the plot. The men, women and children of Chernobyl inspired the writer. Lou Paglia, Neil McMahon, Jeff Palmer, Mary Jane Cronin, and Jim Cronin read early drafts. Elaine Thomas offered exhaustive input, infectious enthusiasm, and moral support. Scott and James Palmer of Palmer Group Media provided invaluable web design and social media exposure. Scott also created brilliant alternate cover art. Charlotte Herscher guided me to a superior final draft and made the experience a pleasure. Daphne Durham and Andy Bartlett turned a writer’s dream into reality. It’s a privilege to work with them and the rest of the Thomas & Mercer team. Erica Spellman-Silverman of Trident Media Group discovered the book and promoted it relentlessly. She is agent, counsel, and friend. My parents, Eudokia and Bohdan Stelmach, provided an education and instilled in their children a love and appreciation for America that remains the same today.
First and last, of course, I thank Robin for her love and unwavering support.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Orest Stelmach was born in Connecticut, the child of Ukrainian immigrants. He didn’t speak English until he began school as a child, going on to earn academic degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of Chicago. Along the way, he earned his living washing dishes and stocking department-store shelves, later teaching English in Japan and managing international investments. In 2012, his short story “In Persona Christi” was published in the Mystery Writers of America anthology Vengeance. He speaks Ukrainian, Spanish, and Japanese. The Boy from Reactor 4 is his first novel.
Review
“A top-notch, fast-moving thriller with gripping authenticity from Stelmach’s knowledge of politics, history, and crime in Eastern Europe and America.”
“Stelmach brilliantly pairs breakneck pacing with heart-of-gold insights into regions as beautiful as they are troubled. The Boy From Reactor 4 is phenomenal.”
This debut thriller takes the reader from New York to Ukraine. Nadia Tesler is an immigrant’s daughter, and while she is fluent in Russian, she is not close to her mother and lost her father as a young teenager. All she remembers of him is a perpetually angry man, and she knows nothing of her family background. A stranger contacts her, saying he knew her father well, and they arrange a meeting, but he is shot dead on the street in front of her, whispering a cryptic message as he dies. She quickly realizes her own life is in danger and sets out on a quest to decipher the message, learn some of her family history, and keep one jump ahead of whoever is after her. It isn’t until she visits her ancestral homeland that she really starts deciphering her family story. The key turns out to be Adam, a young hockey star who grew up skating at Chernobyl and now suffers from radiation syndrome; he has a secret that many want—and will kill to get. This is a fast ride with lots of thrills and will appeal to adrenaline junkies.
Copyright
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Text copyright © 2013 Orest Stelmach
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Thomas & Mercer
P.O. Box 400818
Las Vegas, NV 89140
ISBN-13: 9781612186085
ISBN-10: 1612186084