From New York Times bestselling author Tasha Alexander comes the latest installment in the Lady Emily series. Death in St. Petersburg is a gripping new tale that will mesmerize fans of historical fiction and classic mysteries alike. After the final curtain of Swan Lake, an animated crowd exits the Mariinsky theatre brimming with excitement from the night’s performance. But outside the scene is … performance. But outside the scene is somber. A ballerina’s body lies face down in the snow, blood splattered like rose petals over the costume of the Swan Queen. The crowd is silenced by a single cry– “Nemetseva is dead!”
Amongst the theatergoers is Lady Emily, accompanying her dashing husband Colin in Russia on assignment from the Crown. But it soon becomes clear that Colin isn’t the only one with work to do. When the dead ballerina’s aristocratic lover comes begging for justice, Emily must apply her own set of skills to discover the rising star’s murderer. Her investigation takes her on a dance across the stage of Tsarist Russia, from the opulence of the Winter Palace, to the modest flats of ex-ballerinas and the locked attics of political radicals. A mysterious dancer in white follows closely behind, making waves through St. Petersburg with her surprise performances and trail of red scarves. Is it the sweet Katenka, Nemetseva’s childhood friend and favorite rival? The ghost of the murdered étoile herself? Or, something even more sinister?
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I enjoyed reading this book–my first by author Tasha Alexander. I especially liked her setting in St. Petersburg–a beautiful city that I’ve visited twice! Haveing been there, and visited both the Hermitage Museum and Faberge–I thought the author did a great job of incorporating these two scenic momuments into her story. I thought her use of ballet, the terminolgy and the execution of the dance was a formdialbe asset to the narrative. It’s obvious that the author is well versed in ballet, and made the mystery realistic. Lady Emily and her husband Collin come across as an interesting British couple in the late 1800s and early 1900s before Tsar Nicholas and his family are murdered.
As always, well researched and well written.
Charming series!
Death in St. Petersburg by Tasha Alexander is the latest A Lady Emily Mystery. Lady Emily Hargreaves is in St. Petersburg, Russian enjoying the season thanks to an invitation from Cecile du Lac. Lady Emily and her husband, Colin enjoyed watching Swan Lake at the Marinsky Theater and exit to discover body of ballerina Irina Nemetseva outside in the snow. A gold Faberge egg is found underneath her body. Did Irina steal the egg or has Sebastian Capet stroke again? Irina had disappeared halfway through the performance and was replaced by Ekaterina Petrovna. The next day, Prince Vasilii meets with Lady Emily asking her to find Irina’s killer. Her investigation will take her across St. Petersburg from the Winter Palace to modest apartments belonging to the dancers. Join Lady Emily on her latest case in Death in St. Petersburg.
Death in St. Petersburg can be read alone. I had not read the previous eleven books in the series (did not know it was part of a series until I started reading the book) and I had no trouble. I did, though, have difficulty with all the various Russian names. Each person went by more than one name which makes it confusing. The author did a wonderful job at describing St. Petersburg and the world of ballet. You can tell that she did her research on the era, city, and is knowledgeable about ballet. The mystery was simple and can easily be solved long before the reveal. There is a lack of action regarding the investigation. It is mostly questioning and speculation. There are flashbacks into the early years of the two ballerinas that help readers understand their characters. Death in St. Petersburg is a slower paced story as Tasha Alexander sets the stage (very descriptive writer). I did like Lady Emily who is a woman ahead of her time in many ways. If you are looking for a light historical mystery, pick up a copy of Death in St. Petersburg.
I have been a fan of the Lady Emily mysteries since the first book in the series. This story did not have the usual rhythm that draws you into her mysteries almost immediately. Lady Emily’s friend Cecile invites her to travel with her and enjoy the New Year’s celebrations in St. Petersburg. Lady Emily Hargreave accepts the invitation as her husband Colin recently departed for St. Petersburg at the request of the crown. While the three of them are attending the ballet a murder occurs outside the theatre which begins the story of Lady Emily investigating the murder while Colin is doing his own investigation on another matter for the crown. I did not enjoy the characters as much as in previous books. Though the book was still worth the read I kept waiting for the storyline to pick up and was disappointed when it did not.
I love this series. I have read them all.
Okay, I admit it – I loved the book! The writing is superb and the descriptions put you right there with the participants. I love Emily and Colin – what a strong, loving, caring, and supportive couple they are! What threw me was having to constantly stop and sound out the Russian names. Normally with unusual (to me) names, I just decide what they are going to be and call them that whether it is correct or not. For some reason, I couldn’t do that with this book – maybe it was because I was loving the book and wanted to get the names correct.
Colin Hargreaves travels all over in his role as a spy in support of the crown. Lady Emily usually stays home worrying about him and entertaining herself with solving her own mysteries. However, when he is sent to St. Petersburg, Emily also gets an invitation to visit her friend in St. Petersburg. She knows Colin won’t let her go with him, so she leaves the day after him – and sends him a missive letting him know she is on her way and letting him know that she can stay with her friend while she’s there or she can stay with him – whichever he prefers. Of course, he wants her with him!
Colin spends his days and often long into the night working on his mission while Lady Emily spends her time with her friends and attending various entertainments. Then, there is the opera. Swan Lake featuring a new ballerina in the dual role. She is flawlessly beautiful and graceful beyond compare – so – finding her dead body, covered in blood, directly after the performance is really shocking. Add a fabulous stolen Faberge Egg underneath her body and you have a real mystery on your hands.
Lady Emily has been asked to investigate the death, by a friend of the victim, because they have no confidence in the state’s investigators. The suspects and motives are legion. Is it an old love, a current love or one of the many wealthy and high-ranking men who want to be her lover? Investigating in a foreign land isn’t easy, but Lady Emily solves the case, and the perpetrator may surprise you.
I like that the chapters switch between the current time (January 1900) which is told in the first person by Lady Emily and the earlier years told from Katenka’s point of view. Seeing the friendship between Katenka and Irusya Nemetseva in those earlier years is very nice. They give you a real feel for what it must have been like in ‘the state system’ in place in Russia at the time.
There are many political undercurrents in the case and any one of them could have bearing on the case. Then, add in the delightful Sebastian Capet (from earlier books) and you have a real mystery. Who stole the egg? Is that why the dancer was murdered? Was she involved in political intrigue? Was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time? You’ll just have to read the book to see.
I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!
“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”