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Alan Williams
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The Beria Papers: The scandalous diaries of a Russian tyrant Kindle Edition

by Alan Williams (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.8 out of 5 stars 197 ratings
A gripping Cold War thriller! Perfect for fans of Len Deighton, John Le Carré, Tom Clancy and Ian Fleming.

Are the scandalous Beria Papers a forgery?

1973



When the shocking diaries of Lavrenti Pavlovich Beria — former head of Stalin’s secret police — are apparently smuggled out of Russia, experts hurry to determine their authenticity.

Sensing a bestseller, an American publisher soon buys the rights to the diaries from a mysterious overseas contact.

As predicted, The Beria Papers become an overnight sensation as the world learns the true extent of Beria’s horrific political and sexual exploits.

But with international relations at breaking point, the CIA and KGB embark on a thrilling chase across Europe to find the source of the harrowing memoir.

And as they close in on three unscrupulous individuals, they begin to question whether The Beria Papers are all that they seem…

THE BERIA PAPERS is a classic political thriller with a chilling mystery at its core.

'the natural successor to Ian Fleming' - Books and Bookmen
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  1. Print length
    328 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Accessibility
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  4. Publication date
    June 7, 2020
  5. File size
    700 KB
  6. Page Flip
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  7. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

ALAN was a journalist who covered most of the world's trouble spots, among them Vietnam, Israel during the Six Day War, Czechoslovakia during the Soviet invasion, Ulster, Mozambique, and Rhodesia. He gained a controversial reputation: in Algeria both the French army and the Arabs complained about him; in Beirut he encountered Kim Philby the day before he left for Moscow. Alan was also involved in the Hungarian Revolution, and bluffed his way into East Germany when it was closed to the world. He has put all this experience to excellent use in books that will thrill fans of Len Deighton, Ian Fleming, and the great spy stories that kept viewers spellbound in the 1960s and 70s.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B089SZQPGJ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sapere Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 7, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 700 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 328 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1800550728
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 out of 5 stars 197 ratings

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Alan Williams

Alan Williams

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3.8 out of 5 stars
197 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Jersey #32
    5.0 out of 5 stars Who is fooling who?
    Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    A cleverly written story about writers in persist of a story, others in pursuit of a great scam about the Old USSR's main killer under Stalin's ruthless rule. All wound around Beria's Papers.
    One person found this helpful
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  • English Prof
    3.0 out of 5 stars A Literary Hoax Around One of History's Great Monsters
    Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2020
    My Recommendation
    I recently had the opportunity to review an ARC of Alan Williams' "The Beria Papers", from Sapere Books, and while I cannot say that it was altogether satisfactory from my point of view, I suspect many readers of mysteries, historical or otherwise, might be entertained. The narrative is a kind of tale within a tale much of the time, with three would be millionaires scamming a publisher for the rights to what purports to be a manuscript authored by the notorious Lavrenti Beria, Stalin's secret police chief (at the time the NKVD) and one of the most feared people in Stalin's Russia. For those of you unfamiliar with this particular blot on humanity, it is worth noting that his voracious sexual appetites were given free reign during his time in power, without regard to anything approaching any kind of self restraint. Essentially, if a woman caught his eye, she was fair game, and her preferences were not of any consequence to Beria. He was a known sadist and reputedly open minded in his selection of women, with a pronounced preference for young women and a willingness to murder or imprison any persons, relatives or otherwise, who might take issue with his choices. In a word, he was a monster. At any rate, things do not go well for our would be forgers. The book is set in the twilight of the Communist empire, and no one finds it desirable to let this material come to light unchallenged. The plot revolves around this conundrum, and as it shifts from its central character, in some sense Lavrenti Beria, and focuses more on the machinations of those striving to perpetrate this literary fraud and the forces determined to expose it, I find it less interesting and somehow diminished. Even so, the plot careens along rather predictably, and I am confident it will find an audience.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • AmazCust1203
    3.0 out of 5 stars 3 Stars for Sensationalism, 0 for Historical Accuracy
    Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2021
    What we wouldn't give for ACTUAL journals written by Beria. But these aren't it...I applaud the sensationalism. It's good reading if you merely want to be entertained. I sustain what I've long sustained - Beria was not a Communist hardliner. He started as a kid who jumped on the bandwagon of Revolution and ended up getting pulled in deeper. He happened to be exceptionally good at his job...I've long taken all the claims of rape with a grain of salt, although I don't believe he's completely innocent of having abused power. People like to label him a "monster," but it's salient to remember Beria was the IMPROVEMENT. It wasn't called the "Beria thaw" by mistake. I think his attempts to de-Stalinize the USSR the minute Stalin passed speaks volumes about him. The fat Commissars, who enjoyed the power games and the wealth that came with it, just weren't ready to give it up. Beria is one of the most intriguing, misunderstood characters in this drama. A lot of that comes from his files being locked away. The truth just isn't available.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Todd Simpson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story
    Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2016
    What a great concept for a story. Deceiving the world that Beria’s diary that has suddenly surfaced is real. Not so hard to do if it’s full of actual events that happened. Mind you I would applaud anyone that could pull it off. One thing this book does very well is to highlight what monsters Joseph Stalin and Lavrenti Beria were. I enjoyed that the Author has taken us to a number of different countries, and the detail he has gone into with some unique and interesting characters. I don’t think Boris Drobnov and Thomas Mallory expected that the KGB and CIA would be hunting them down, once the Beria’s diary was released. I like the ending, it was different and not something I expected. I look forward to more from Alan Williams in the future.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Jamini S.
    1.0 out of 5 stars Sex stands the test of history.
    Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2016
    I didn't dislike it.
    It just wasn't what I expected it to be.
    No wonder they were done away with:they were such a poor lot. Skimmed the surface.
    There were too many typos in the Kindle version.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book
    Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2016
    I really enjoyed this book. It was originally published over 40 years ago but it's probably got even better with age. A thriller they way they used to be. Highly recommended.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Well written, great idea. Not sure it counts as an actual thriller, though ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 20, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    A really interesting concept - someone sells what are supposedly the secret diaries of Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin's much-feared head of the secret police, which contain lots of juicy references to Soviet politicians who were young at the time, but now running the USSR. The US and the Russians try to find out where the diaries have come from, and whether they are real or not - although it's not really a surprise that they are not.

    It's well structured, with the story of the diaries forgers told in flashback, and other characters moving in and out of the overall story as required, as opposed to having one hero cop/agent at the centre of the investigation. There are excerpts from the fake diairies included throughout the book - to be honest, these are the best bits! The story also makes sense - there's nothing really outlandish or Hollywood in the plot (apart from the basic concept!) The characters are all perfectly believable, without ever being more than two-dimensional, and mostly one-dimensional - which is fine, as it doesn't clog up the story.

    The one thing it is not, though, is an actual thriller. There are incidents, but they are not really written in a particularly stand-out way. Towards the end, it becomes obvious where the plot is heading - the main resolution effectively happens off-screen, as it were.

    I would call it a good book with a great idea, but not a genuine thriller. The plot is more film-noir than anything else.

    Recommended, with a few reservations - not for those looking for a seat-of-your-pants reading experience.
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  • Douglas
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on September 24, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    As expected but very slow delivery
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  • Aftermath
    5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Eye opening, very authentic, really quite exciting in places. Left me thinking, it could happen!, A really interesting read, indeed
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  • Peter Dunn
    2.0 out of 5 stars I could not finish this book
    Reviewed in Canada on March 28, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I am far from a prude and have a bit of a salty mouth at times, but felt like a lot of gratuitous smut in this book was not necessary. The basis of the plot itself - finding a diary of a man like Beria - could have been very sound, without all this extraneous perversity. I lasted about 60 pages and then deleted it from my tablet.
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  • Alastair
    3.0 out of 5 stars A holiday read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I found it an interesting subject but felt that the characters were a little unbelievable.

    I gave it three stars because I did find it an easy read but overall it was not a book that I found riveting.
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