Disappointing sophomore effort after the excellent North of Boston. Spy novel featuring Washington DC surgeon seeking her grandmother in Siberia. Filled with CIA (whose recruitment tactics and inactions are somewhat not believable) and gulag horrors, but partially redeemed by suspense and by interesting takes on indigenous people. ( )

Natalie March is a busy doctor whose life is upset when a woman from Russia, who claims to be her cousin, tells her that their grandmother is alive. This is after Natalie believed for years that she was dead. Her grandmother, Katarina Melnikova, suffered greatly at the hands of Stalin during the labor camps and Natalie is delighted that she is indeed alive. When her cousin is killed, Natalie is ever more determined to meet her grandmother.

She never expected, however, to be faced with danger. As a matter of fact, she is thrown right in the middle of international intrigue, but remains focused on finding her grandmother. Natalie becomes deeply embroiled with an unlikely assignment and is faced with protecting her family and her country. In so doing, she finds herself in hairy situations. More than once, I found myself holding my breath while reading this story.

I did not expect the action, mystery, espionage and more when I began this book. I was completely drawn into this story. It was a true thriller, but it was also very touching at times. I had a hard time putting this book down. For a doctor to become a spy of sorts was definitely intriguing, especially as she was in a world far different from her own.

Elisabeth Eto is a new name for me, but is definitely someone that I will follow and I look forward to reading much more by her.

Many thanks to Polis Books and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )

This is not just a book – it is an adventure!

When Natalie March, an American physician, travels to Russia to keep a promise for her mother Vera, she has no idea what is in store for her. Vera has always been haunted by the disappearance of her Ukrainian mother Katarina Melnikova who was sent to a gulag when Vera was only a baby. It had been assumed that Katarina died. Natalie has no idea that she will get pulled into a spider web of dangerous family secrets, murder, and deception, dodging Soviet security and going head-to-head with the US’s CIA. Natalie goes to amazing (and often shocking) depths to reunite the threads of her family, testing her courage and determination time after time.

I enjoyed reading of the day-to-day life in the remote parts of Siberia, along with the vivid images painted by Ms. Elo. The scenes with the Evenki people – the “Reindeer people” – were totally delightful. This had me off searching the internet for information and photos of the Evenki.

Elo’s writing quickly pulled me into the story. Her description of the geography of Siberia is totally breath-taking. She also delivered a heart-stopping international intrigue storyline reminiscent of James Bond – 007. I never knew what to expect. At times quite staggering, this story of survival had me on the edge of my seat. I am purposely staying somewhat vague as I do not want to spoil any of the surprises in the story. Just be prepared for a WILD ride!

It is beautifully simple writing, a style not often encountered today. First person narrative, told from only one character’s perspective, and only one timeline. What a relief from the two or three different perspectives with dual story lines. Truly masterful control of the story.

Thank you to GoodReads and Polis Books for the advance reading copy to review. All opinions are my own. ( )

I read Elisabeth Elo’s first mystery, [North of Boston] back in 2014. It is a delightfully complex book that introduces a hard-to-warm-up-to young, 2nd generation Russian woman protagonist in a story that fascinatingly mixes the perfume industry and the New England fishing industry. New authors can be risky reads, but I found Elo well worth the risk. And so, I was pleased to see recently i that the author had a new book out. And even more pleased and surprised to be offered a copy by author herself (she saw that I had read and liked the first book) with no obligations attached.

[Finding Katarina M] begins in the DC area where Dr. Natalie March has a visitor to her office—a young Russian dancer from northern Siberia who claims she is her cousin, a long lost relative on Natalie’s mother’s side. Natalie is skeptical at best, but becomes both shocked and intrigued when she is told that a grandmother, who was thought to have died in a gulag sometime after 1949, had escaped, and was still alive. When the dancer is later found murdered in NYC, Natalie feels a duty to inform the family in Siberia, and she is invited to visit. Almost from when her shoe touches Russian soil, her trip doesn’t go exactly as planned….

[Finding Katarina M], is a different kind of book than Elo’s earlier book; this new one is a definitely a thriller: it moves fast and offers the expected suspense, anxiety and excitement. Natalie, a medical doctor, is a fabulous, no nonsense action hero: intelligent, resourceful, good in emergencies, and she wears sensible shoes (which any believable action hero would, right?). The setting of most of the book is in Russia, and in particular Siberia, which I found fascinating. I found myself sometimes thinking back to the snowy Russia of Rosa Liskom’s novel [Compartment No 6]. This is not to say that I didn’t find some parts a bit incredible, but I do love a book that can take me places and entertain along the way, and Elo’s new book does exactly this. ( )