U.S.S.A.

In 1988, after a brief but devastating war, the United States has occupied the Soviet Union. The Gulags are empty, the KGB has been dissolved. Ex-CIA agent and private investigator DEAN JOPLIN, sardonic, cynical, feels trapped between two worlds. Then he takes on a grisly murder case, which twists through a surreal, chaotic country where American commercialism — Sleeping Beauty’s castle is under construction in Red Square — is replacing communism, and the wounded Russian soul cries out for vengeance. His investigation leads to Siberia, targeted by American nuclear missiles during the final, unhinged spasms of the war. Condemned by the outside world to isolation, the inhabitants are desperate for freedom – and Dean’s murder case holds the key.

REVIEWS

This is a unique, very clever, and disturbing look at America and Russia in the near future…. Superb, sinister, shocking and a little too believable.
— Nelson DeMille, Author of “Plum Island”, “The Gold Coast”

The setting for this totally beguiling thriller is so clever it could stand without the plot…. irresistible.
–Kirkus Reviews Starred Review

This superior thriller owes something to Tom Clancy, but much more to Raymond Chandler.
–Publishers Weekly

Strong, suspenseful plot and colorful characters, some of whom we wouldn’t mind getting to know over caviar and a bottle of Stolichnaya… audacious originality.
–The Baltimore Sun

David Madsen has invented a fresh setting for his novel of the near future, and he exploits it well. Bottom line: One of the most unusual mysteries of the year. One of the best, too.
–The San Diego Union

A first-rate thriller with plot, action, characters and social extrapolation expertly combined.
–Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

The Finns who know the Russians and Russia better than most people, were very impressed by Madsen’s excellent knowledge of the country and its people.
–Licht Agency, Finland

A stunning ‘what-if’ fantasy.
–Houston Post