Praise for

The Confessions of Gabriel Ash

Running Wild Press

The Confessions of Gabriel Ash, a literary Cold War thriller with echoes of John Le Carré and A Gentleman in Moscow, alternates between the glittery backdrop of 1980s New York and the sinister grottoes of Eastern Europe. The story UN Ambassador Gabriel Ash must tell—in a voice that’s sardonic, self-delusional, and uniquely his own—will result either in his release from captivity or the loss of his life.


“Lee Polevoi’s delightful, darkly comic novel is, for me, reminiscent of Graham Greene’s Our Man in Havana, for its send-up of world governments, the craft of intelligence, and corrupt and vacillating diplomacy. I liked it a lot!”

Ron Hansen, author of The Kid


The Confessions of Gabriel Ash is a joy to read—a thriller so shrewd it invents its own country before the fall of what was once called the Iron Curtain. Its hero, a disgraced diplomat, understands lethal politics and is wonderfully roguish, stubborn, self-defeating, and really very clever. With current ironies abounding, it’s a page-turner and an old-fashioned pleasure of a book.”

Joan Silber, author of Secrets of Happiness and Improvement 

“How to describe Gabriel Ash—bon vivant, enfant terrible, rescuer of a King—all these and more in this picaresque novel of a UN diplomat from the fictional country of Keshnev. Gabriel Ash, who must find his way out of both a literal and figurative imprisonment, comes fully alive in these engrossing pages. The Confessions of Gabriel Ash is a rollicking, supremely imaginative adventure, written in prose as dashing as its hero himself.”

Steven Schwartz, author of The Tenderest of Strings

“In The Confessions of Gabriel Ash, Lee Polevoi has deftly crafted a tale of international intrigue—a page-turner that leaves you wondering what will happen next. Clearly an accomplished and masterful writer, Polevoi has a particular knack for writing gripping dialogue and bringing his characters to life.”

Tara Taghizadeh, Founding Editor and Publisher, Highbrow Magazine


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