Determined to prevent what he thinks is WW III, without proper authority, Captain Edward van der Welde confronts a column of unidentified tanks at the Orwell Bridge in Suffolk.
Facing a court martial, he escapes and goes AWOL.
To clear his name, he works undercover for British Intelligence hoping to find out who was behind the invasion.
Hunted by the Military Police, Edward is given a new Russian identity as Dimitri, the nephew of Sir Oleg Meinditski, a charismatic oligarch with an estate in Suffolk.
Falling in love with a young woman who works for Sir Oleg and seduced by the unimaginable wealth of his 'uncle,' he soon loses track of whose side he is on.
He is drawn into a coup planned by disaffected oligarchs who want regime change in the Kremlin. He also writes the manifesto for a new political movement led by Sir Oleg who hopes to get the keys to Number 10 after the next election.
Dimitri doesn't want to go back to being Edward...
Ed Handyside Myrmidon Press Cornerstones Editor
You have an intriguing and original story - and an obvious and an uncommon talent for imaginative storytelling and characterisation. You are also a very fluent and proficient writer
with a good command of the language... Your sample chapters demonstrate that you have the rare components of novel writing, those precious, not easily taught ones, in abundance.
Table Reads Magazine
Maskirovka, a pulse-pounding thriller by debut author Willi Pochinov plunges disgraced officer Edward van der Velde into a web of Russian deception, coups, and disinformation from Suffolk to the Black Sea, where truth is the ultimate casualty. In an era where truth is a battlefield and deception reigns, Willi Pochinov's debut novel, Maskirovka, emerges as a gripping political thriller that captures the zeitgeist of our disinformation age. But Maskirovka is more than a thriller-it's a meditation on trust in an age where reality itself is weaponized. As Edward grapples with his dual identities and the machinations of those around him, readers are left questioning: when nothing is as it seems, who can you believe? For fans of espionage and political drama, this fiercely contemporary novel is a must-read, proving that even in his ninth decade, Pochinov is a formidable new voice in the genre.
A deftly crafted, impressively original, Cold War themed novel of cleverly scripted suspense and harrowing adventure, "Maskirovka" by novelist Willi Pochinov demonstrates the author's genuinely impressive flair for the kind of narrative storytelling skills that make for a simply riveting read from start to finish.
An especially and unreservedly recommended pick for community library Suspense/Thriller collections.
Midwest Book Review
(Oregon)
