The Romanov Cross grabs the reader from the first four words: “Sergei, do not die,…” and doesn’t let go. Not your typical mystery thriller, The Romanov Cross combines the frozen wilderness of Alaska, Inuit Eskimo history, the Spanish flu that killed thousands in 1918, Tsar Nicolas II and his beautiful daughter Anastasia, the always-mysterious and haunting Grigori Rasputin, and the threat of another epidemic reminiscent of 1918. From these seemingly unrelated elements, author Robert Masello builds a novel that won’t disappoint the reader.

The story is centered on St. Peter’s Island, a small, frozen, rocky, and miserable place off the coast of Alaska. The small island had been settled by a colony of Russians in the 1900s, who were subsequently wiped out by the Spanish flu. A coffin from the graveyard on the presumptively uninhabited island has slipped into the sea due to the permafrost melting. The body in the coffin was a victim of the Spanish flu, and, fearful of a deadly breakout of the flu from more dislodged coffins, the government sends epidemiologist Frank Slater to investigate this frightening possibility.

Dr. Slater, having just been the subject of a court-martial and now no longer in the military, leads a small group of scientists and support personnel tasked with making sure the virus is indeed dead and no longer a threat.

On the island, the team has to compete with, among other things, treasure-hunting thieves, a pack of mysterious wolves, and the virus itself.

We are treated to a history lesson on the lives of the Romanovs – a history permanently linked to St. Peter’s Island and the present-day events. It may seem unlikely that a book that alternates between two very real historical events – the Spanish flu and the end of the Romanov dynasty – can be fast-paced and suspenseful, but this book is. We grow to care about Dr. Slater, Anastasia, and the spunky Inuit mayor of Port Orlov, Nika Tincook. The history of the Inuit people and Port Orlov adds depth to the character of the mayor and the overall texture of the book.

Whether you like history, science, mystery, thrillers, romance, or even a bit of the supernatural, The Romanov Cross has it all. The many characters are extremely well-crafted and developed without confusing the reader. This book will take you on an adventure from the first sentence, taking you back one hundred years and then to the present at a moment’s notice, all while maintaining a fast pace and your interest until you finish the last sentence.

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The Romanov Cross was written by Robert Masello and was released on March 5, 2013.