A Single Spy - 25 or so book challenge - #1

Title: A Single Spy
Author: William Christie
Published: 2017 (NEW!!!)
Where I got it: The Berwyn public library. It was on the "NEW!!!" Shelf (the shelf with the new books)
More info: It is NOT a series, it's a Single book. 388 pages and 64 chapters.
I'm only about 128 pages in, but I REALLY like this book so far. Most of the story is pretty fast paced.

Summary: Alexi, an orphan and a thief, has been living with only his instincts under the watchful eye of the Soviet Union until he is captured while trying to escape the USSR. (If I go any farther, it ruins the book and goes into spoiler territory).
Cont. After being arrested, turned into a spy, and forced to become a Soviet double agent in Nazi Germany, his self-preservation skills are pushed to their limit.
So far that is what has happened, I haven't finished the book yet.

The beginning of the book takes place in the early 1930's of Soviet Russia, also known as the USSR.
Personally I think this aspect gives the writer a lot of leeway to make a story. Outside of the USSR, not much is known about how the inside of the country works. Due to this, I feel as if it gives the writer more freedom to make fictional characters and stories, as there aren't well known facts to contradict the stories.

I do not think the book would work out as well in a different setting, as there haven't been many Nations that have been as secretive or with as dangerous a climate as the USSR. The turmoil against Big Brother within the public and within other Countries is nowhere near as high. Again, I do think that the early 20th century USSR is still the perfect setting for this story, but in modern times I feel as if this could take place in China or North Korea, or other Dictatorships. They all have populations silenced by their government, which results in hidden rebellion within their society. The contradiction between the people and the government is the main driving factor in A single spy,