First published 2006
Esther Solomonova works as secretary to "Prince" Nick in the chaos of 1922 Berlin. The Russian émigré has fled to Germany like thousands of others, scraping together a living among the refugees and opportunists. When Nick discovers a woman in an asylum who claims to be Anastasia, the surviving Romanov grand duchess, he sees his chance at the imperial fortune. He drags the reluctant Esther into his scheme to coach Anna Anderson for her claim to the Russian royal inheritance. But Anna insists someone wants her dead. Esther dismisses this as delusion until people connected to Anna start dying. She turns to Inspector Schmidt, a German police officer still committed to justice in a city spiraling toward extremism. Together they dig into Anna's past and the motives of her supposed enemies. The investigation pulls them deeper into danger as hyperinflation destroys the economy and political violence spreads through the streets. Esther must decide whether Anna Anderson truly escaped the massacre at Ekaterinburg or represents something else entirely.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Berlin, Russia, Ekaterinburg
Period: 1922, 20th-century
432 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow
Content warnings: violence