1985, a year before the Chernobyl disaster. Hidden away in a wine cellar in the western Ukraine, Chernobyl engineer Mihaly Horvath, brother of a Kiev Militia detective Lazlo Horvath, reveals details of unnecessary risks being taken at the Chernobyl plant. Concerned for his brother and family, Lazlo investigates—irritating superiors, drawing the attention of a CIA operative, raising the hackles of an old school KGB major, and discovering his brother's secret affair with Juli Popovics, a Chernobyl technician.

When the Chernobyl plant explodes scores of lives are changed forever. As Lazlo questions his brother’s death in the blast, Juli arrives in Kiev to tell the detective she carries his brother’s child. If their lives aren’t complicated enough, KGB major Grigor Komarov enters the fray, reawakening a hard-line past to manipulate deadly resources.

Now the Ukraine is not only blanketed with deadly radiation, but becomes a killing ground involving pre-perestroika factions in disarray, a Soviet government on its last legs, and madmen hungry for power as they eye Gorbachev’s changes.

With a poisoned environment at their backs and a killer snapping at their heels, Lazlo and Juli flee for their lives—and their love—toward the Western frontier.

“In his new mystery thriller, Chernobyl Murders, Michael Beres creates a drama of revenge from the old Soviet order leading us on a chase across Ukraine while passionately capturing the terror, confusion, and anguish of refugees of an environmental disaster we will never forget.”
~ Mary Mycio, author of Wormwood Forest, a Natural History of Chernobyl

“Do not be fooled. This is no ordinary murder mystery. Rich with characters, beautifully written, and fascinating with insider details, Chernobyl Murders by Michael Beres is an unforgettable journey into one of the Cold War’s most explosive episodes. From Kiev to Chicago, Pripyat to Vienna, you’ll feel the pulse-pounding threat of discovery and the white-hot heat of chase in this outstanding thriller. Beres serves up a feast of a story.”
~ Gayle Lynds, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Last Spymaster

“Whenever I spend time in Chernobyl, I see ghosts. I wonder about those who once inhabited this abandoned land. In his thriller, Michael Beres unearths some of these ghosts. He tells a compelling tale of a police detective and a nuclear researcher whose fates are thrown together by the Chernobyl catastrophe. I must confess, I’m no fan of detective thrillers. But Chernobyl Murders kept me up night after night, turning pages when I should have been turning out the light.”
~ Michael forester Rothbart, Documentary Photographer of After the Nukes