The Secret Speech.  By Tom Rob Smith.
 
In 1956, Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev denounced former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin for mass murder, abuse of power, and a long list of other crimes.  This speech was never officially published outside the party, but news of its contents spread. It is credited with partially sparking the uprising in Hungary later that year.  This is the background for Smith’s “Secret Speech”.
 
Leo Demidov, former officer in the MGB, the secret police, finds that his past has come back to haunt him.  The wife of a priest Leo betrayed has returned from prison – one of the many prisoners released after Stalin’s death -  as the head of a band of criminals.  She arranges for the  kidnapping of Leo’s daughter. 
 
The ransom price is the return of the woman’ husband from a Siberian Gulag.   The Russian establishment refuses to negotiate with the criminals, so Leo heads to Siberia, without government approval,  to break the priest out of prison.
 
The story takes us from Moscow to Siberia to Budapest, Hungary, during the 1956 revolt.  It’s well-written,  fast-paced, and brutal.  I’d recommend it for lovers of thrillers.  It may be a little too violent for most people.