The Kamchtka Incident
The first body was found on Kronotsky Volcano, and it was far more than troubling...
Ksenia leaned forward, riveted. “You got a good look at it?”
Matthias swallowed, his voice rising and shaking. “Its eyes stared straight at me.”
“A tiger?” Nikita asked. “We have the largest tigers in the world here. We call them Amurs,” he explained.
“It wasn’t a tiger, no way. Everything about it was wrong. I knew that whatever I was looking at was fucking evil. Look, I’m from Cape Town, South Africa. I’ve been on plenty of safaris, man,” he said.
“Okay. Can you give us more details about the attack?” she asked.
“All I saw was an explosion of white. It leapt out from the tree line, bru, and hit him hard. Dragged him off, just like that, okay!? I couldn’t do a damn thing. He was torn to pieces. There’s nothing more to tell.”
Ksenia glanced at Nikita. “Well…”
“I’m not crazy, hey! I swear to God, I’m telling you the truth,” Matthias insisted, his hands gripping his shot glass.
Unperturbed, Nikita pulled a business card from his back
pocket and handed it to Matthias, the shield embossed above the number. “Call us if you think of anything more, or have any questions,” he said evenly.
“Sorry for your loss,” Ksenia offered. She stood up and began putting on her coat.
“Ja, thanks,” Matthias croaked.
Ksenia watched as he stared at the card with distant eyes.
“Will it be hunted down?” he asked.
“If an animal kills people as a food source, they are killed here,” she replied.
“How?” Matthias asked.
Nikita pulled his coat on and looked at Matthias. “A wildlife expert will shoot the problem animal,” he said.
Ksenia and Nikita stood up and headed back out. It was early twilight, and the air was getting quite cold. Early Kamchatka springs were typically cold in the evenings and still felt like winter — the kind that seeped through a jacket and settled in the bones.
As they walked across the parking lot, Nikita lit a cigarette, cupping his hands around the lighter, protecting the flame from the wind. “Well, that was cheerful,” he said as he blew out the smoke. Ksenia said nothing, pulling her hood around her head.
I didn’t expect this scene to become one of the most unsettling moments in the book, but it did. And it’s the first time my characters realize maybe they’re not dealing with a normal predator — or even a known species. I didn’t set out to write a creature thriller. I didn’t even set out to write about Russian investigators. But stories have a way of choosing their own direction, and mine began with a single question: What if something from the Pleistocene — something that once walked the Earth during the last Ice Age — came back?
But that’s when my investigators came in: Ksenia Starikova, a police captain in the MVD. Nikita Rostov, a Major of Justice in the SKR. Two agencies that rarely work together — and two people who don’t always agree on how to uncover the truth.
In a way, Russia’s justice system is a maze of overlapping empires. The local Ministry police — the MVD —handles ordinary crimes. The Investigative Committee — the SKR, Russia’s version of the FBI — steps in when things turn serious: murders, major accidents, anything the state considers important. And the FSB, the old KGB’s shadow, takes over whenever it wants. Above them all sits the Prosecutor’s Office, deciding which cases live, die, or vanish.
But in this case... perhaps they come together in a dusty downstairs office marked - Department X. The story begins in the capital of Kamchatka—Petropavlovsk —but outside the city, it's a remote wilderness. One of the wildest, most primitive, and most mysterious places left on the planet, with hundreds of volcanoes, hot mineral waters, and active geysers. A place where the modern world feels very far away.
Heli-skiers sometimes know about Kamchatka becuase its one of the premier areas of the world to be dropped off by a helicopter at the top of a peak somewhere, and ski down the best virgin "powder" in the world. Travelers, hunters, extreme sportspeople, outdoorsmen, and scientists may know a thing or two about Kamchatka as well. (or curious writers)
Michelangelo once quoted: I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. In some ways, I suppose I did have the story in my head, and when I wrote it - and I set it free— which is much easier than chiseling marble and slightly less dangerous than resurrecting Ice Age animals.
If you’re curious to know more, The Kamchatka Incident is available through global retailers. Fingers crossed that the book does well and finds its way to your bookshelf. I like being on bookshelves - even if it's a little dusty spot in the corner, or atop a volcano in Kamchatka.
* * *
Ksenia leaned forward, riveted. “You got a good look at it?”
Matthias swallowed, his voice rising and shaking. “Its eyes stared straight at me.”
“A tiger?” Nikita asked. “We have the largest tigers in the world here. We call them Amurs,” he explained.
“It wasn’t a tiger, no way. Everything about it was wrong. I knew that whatever I was looking at was fucking evil. Look, I’m from Cape Town, South Africa. I’ve been on plenty of safaris, man,” he said.
“Okay. Can you give us more details about the attack?” she asked.
“All I saw was an explosion of white. It leapt out from the tree line, bru, and hit him hard. Dragged him off, just like that, okay!? I couldn’t do a damn thing. He was torn to pieces. There’s nothing more to tell.”
Ksenia glanced at Nikita. “Well…”
“I’m not crazy, hey! I swear to God, I’m telling you the truth,” Matthias insisted, his hands gripping his shot glass.
Unperturbed, Nikita pulled a business card from his back
pocket and handed it to Matthias, the shield embossed above the number. “Call us if you think of anything more, or have any questions,” he said evenly.
“Sorry for your loss,” Ksenia offered. She stood up and began putting on her coat.
“Ja, thanks,” Matthias croaked.
Ksenia watched as he stared at the card with distant eyes.
“Will it be hunted down?” he asked.
“If an animal kills people as a food source, they are killed here,” she replied.
“How?” Matthias asked.
Nikita pulled his coat on and looked at Matthias. “A wildlife expert will shoot the problem animal,” he said.
Ksenia and Nikita stood up and headed back out. It was early twilight, and the air was getting quite cold. Early Kamchatka springs were typically cold in the evenings and still felt like winter — the kind that seeped through a jacket and settled in the bones.
As they walked across the parking lot, Nikita lit a cigarette, cupping his hands around the lighter, protecting the flame from the wind. “Well, that was cheerful,” he said as he blew out the smoke. Ksenia said nothing, pulling her hood around her head.
* * *
I didn’t expect this scene to become one of the most unsettling moments in the book, but it did. And it’s the first time my characters realize maybe they’re not dealing with a normal predator — or even a known species. I didn’t set out to write a creature thriller. I didn’t even set out to write about Russian investigators. But stories have a way of choosing their own direction, and mine began with a single question: What if something from the Pleistocene — something that once walked the Earth during the last Ice Age — came back?
But that’s when my investigators came in: Ksenia Starikova, a police captain in the MVD. Nikita Rostov, a Major of Justice in the SKR. Two agencies that rarely work together — and two people who don’t always agree on how to uncover the truth.
In a way, Russia’s justice system is a maze of overlapping empires. The local Ministry police — the MVD —handles ordinary crimes. The Investigative Committee — the SKR, Russia’s version of the FBI — steps in when things turn serious: murders, major accidents, anything the state considers important. And the FSB, the old KGB’s shadow, takes over whenever it wants. Above them all sits the Prosecutor’s Office, deciding which cases live, die, or vanish.
But in this case... perhaps they come together in a dusty downstairs office marked - Department X. The story begins in the capital of Kamchatka—Petropavlovsk —but outside the city, it's a remote wilderness. One of the wildest, most primitive, and most mysterious places left on the planet, with hundreds of volcanoes, hot mineral waters, and active geysers. A place where the modern world feels very far away.
Heli-skiers sometimes know about Kamchatka becuase its one of the premier areas of the world to be dropped off by a helicopter at the top of a peak somewhere, and ski down the best virgin "powder" in the world. Travelers, hunters, extreme sportspeople, outdoorsmen, and scientists may know a thing or two about Kamchatka as well. (or curious writers)
Michelangelo once quoted: I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. In some ways, I suppose I did have the story in my head, and when I wrote it - and I set it free— which is much easier than chiseling marble and slightly less dangerous than resurrecting Ice Age animals.
If you’re curious to know more, The Kamchatka Incident is available through global retailers. Fingers crossed that the book does well and finds its way to your bookshelf. I like being on bookshelves - even if it's a little dusty spot in the corner, or atop a volcano in Kamchatka.
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