The Secret Wife by Gill Paul

When I read the text on the back cover of this book I was a little bit hesitant to read this book. I have read quite a lot about the Romanovs, especially the last family, and felt that I did not need another story about them. Especially, since modern discoveries and science have put an end to the discussions whether one, or more, of the siblings survived their ordeal. I did start it though and I could not put it down until it was finished.

From the web-site of Gill Paul a short introduction.

"Two stories.
Two very different women, linked by the secrets of history. 

2016. After a devastating revelation, Kitty flees to her great-grandfather’s cabin on the shore of Lake Akanabee, New York State. There she discovers the spectacular jewelled pendant that will lead her to an extraordinary, long-buried family secret… 

1914. Russia is on the brink of collapse, and the Romanov family faces a terrifyingly uncertain future. Grand Duchess Tatiana has fallen in love with injured cavalry officer Dmitri, but events take a catastrophic turn, placing their romance – and their lives – in danger…"

Paul has written a fascinating story about a time of turmoil, that affected so many people. It is exciting, emotional and well researched as come to actual events. She has combined real and fictional events into an intriguing story of love and war, that stretches from World War I, the Russian revolution, into World War II and beyond. A fight for love that never ends, that affects the people concerned, but also the people that they meet. It even affects later generations. 

The two parallell stories work very well. Kitty's inheritance leads her to her great-grandfather of which she has hardly heard anything. Going through his cabin, talking to people, researching the internet, she slowly gets to know more about the man he was and the secret he kept. In the end his life and destiny give her a new look on her own life and relationships. It is Kitty and Dmitri who are the narrators. Through Kitty we learn more about the bigger story of the Romanovs and through Dmitri the smaller, more detailed parts of the story. It works very well in getting the story through. 

I really took to this story and the writing of Gill Paul. The link goes to her web-site, where you see other books she has written, both fiction and non fiction. I will certainly read something more of her. This was a book I really loved and although it is a romantic story, she has kept it on a realistic base, which makes it all so real.