Mark_S

For a first work, Fossey has a knack for creating real characters that force readers to both accept them as real and root for them throughout the story. I enjoyed the relationships, the conflicts, and the way that Fossey created such a unique storyline in such an unexpected setting. I was also a big fan of the opportunity for redemption that Fossey created for more than just one of the principal characters. Probably the best indicator of how much I enjoyed this book was that I read it in less than 24 hours. As a high school teacher, I would definitely recommend it to book clubs and plan on passing it along to the teachers who run one in our English department.

While I have enjoyed everything I have read through BookBrowse, this was definitely my favorite. Instead of the gradual/slow beginning that can sometimes plague even a great plot, Prescott jumped right into the story. I enjoyed her style, the way she developed the principal characters, and the unique timeline. At times, it reminded me of the structure of Catch-22 (minus the dark satire). This was not a book to read chapter by chapter; I read this in huge chunks at a time. As a teacher, I found myself flagging excerpts that I could use to make connections to other texts, and I plan to share this possibility with our social studies teachers as well. I can definitely see it being a hit with any book club, and a must read for any historical fiction buff, especially those with an interest in Russian-US relations.

After a somewhat slow start, I truly enjoyed this book. The pacing picked up, and I definitely got caught up in the plot line. There were enough twists and surprises, and I definitely did not see the ending coming. The author did a fine job of developing the characters with just enough detail to make their moral imperfections intriguing. This would be a great fit for an adult book club, but I think the nuances of the marital relationships might be less interesting to a younger audience.