"The Romanov Legacy", by Jenni Wiltz

What happened to the missing fortune of Nicholas 11, the last tsar of Russia? No one has yet solved this mystery till Natalie Brandon, a schizophrenic since childhood, believes the account exits and knows it can be found….but Natalie is not the only one wanting to get hold of it. The Russian Prime Minister Maxim Starinov also has his eyes on the treasure and has all the resources and power to obtain whatever he wants.

By far from being an historical fiction this action-packed story is more a thriller tempered with ghostly visions than anything else. In my view, this is highly fictionalized and has little to do the Romanov true drama. I was disappointed to notice this but again I should have read the synopsis better. The historical figures could have easily be replaced by whomever and still be a good novel.

Having said this, the story has some merits: We find a tale that unfolds smoothly and a narrative that is clear and concise. Each step is easy to follow, we do go back in time and forward to the present in alternate chapters as the rumour of the treasure passes down from generation to generation. Natalie’s nightmarish visions are well done although it gave a sci-fi feeling to the experience. Everything was a bit farfetched. The characterization was good but not out of the ordinary: the good guys were the run of the mill, the bad guys as expected had a typical tenacious style to them, forget about the historical figures they were in names only. Read this novel for the suspense but definitely not for its historical values.