Excerpt from The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Then I understood.

I wrapped the painting in enough bubble wrap to mummify a mastiff. She followed me into the hall. I'd sweep her off her feet and we'd waltz out the door. Never mind the daughter sleeping in the other room. The tabloids would call me heartless, but I won't raise another man's child as my own. We'd buy a mansion on the Riviera, and I'd learn how to do all the things the nouveau riche do, like buy cuff links and belittle the work ethic of the poor. I'd leave her heartbroken in Marseilles. She'd never recover. The tabloids would call me a cad, but I wouldn't play by society's rules. Everything in my life would be different. I just had to kiss her. I shook her hand. "It's been good to see you, Alexei," she said as she closed the door, and I knew she meant it. She's not a very good actor.

Excerpted from The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra. Copyright © 2015 by Anthony Marra. Excerpted by permission of Hogarth Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.