Ghelfi, Brent

PERSONAL:

Married; children: two sons.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Phoenix, AZ.

CAREER:

Lawyer, entrepreneur, and writer. Owns and operates businesses; previously served as a clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals and as a partner in law firm in Phoenix, AZ.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Volk's Game, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2007.

Volk's Shadow, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

Commenting on Brent Ghelfi's first novel, Volk's Game, Armchair Interviews Web site contributor Debra Kiefat called the novel "a powerful, visual read that captures the attention of anyone interested in espionage and intrigue." In a review on Bookreporter.com, Ghelfi received further praise from Joe Hartlaub, who noted: "Ghelfi's prose is like a dark drug that pulls you further under its spell with each taste, so that by the end of the book, the reader is exhausted and, though satiated, ready and frantic for more." The novel introduces readers to Russian double agent Alexei Volkovoy, called "Volk." On the one hand, Volk is a maimed veteran of the war against Chechnya and a powerful gangster. He also works as a covert military operative. The plot revolves around Volk's plan to steal a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci that is hidden underneath another painting exhibited at the St. Petersburg museum. Barbara Conaty, writing in the Library Journal, noted that the author's "deft and controlled writing [that] viscerally describes the snarling Russian underworld." A contributor to the Literary Illusions Web site wrote that the author's debut "is just too damn entertaining and its protagonist Alexei Volkovoy … is just too captivatingly violent to ignore."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, March 1, 2007, Barbara Conaty, review of Volk's Game, p. 73.

Publishers Weekly, April 2, 2007, review of Volk's Game, p. 38.

ONLINE

Armchair Interviews,http://armchairinterviews.com/ (October 7, 2007), Debra Kiefat, review of Volk's Game.

BellaOnline,http://www.bellaonline.com/ (October 7, 2007), Karm Holladay, review of Volk's Game.

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (October 7, 2007), Joe Hartlaub, review of Volk's Game.

Eclectic Closet,http://antheras.blogspot.com/ (June 11, 2007), Janelle Martin, review of Volk's Game.

Literary Illusions,http://www.literaryillusions.com/ (February 24, 2007), review of Volk's Game.

Mostly Fiction Book Reviews,http://www.mostlyfiction.com/ (June 14, 2007), Tony Ross, review of Volk's Game.

Volk's Game Web site, http://www.volksgame.com (October 7, 2007).