The Lost Daughter

Paul (The Secret Wife) stirringly tracks the lives of two young women through the 20th century as they circle a Romanov mystery. In Russia in 1918, Maria, the 18-year-old daughter of the deposed Tsar Nicholas Romanov, escapes the revolution and finds safety in the anonymity of the countryside; in Australia in 1972, Val Doyle née Scott is married and has a child. But it isn’t until Val’s cold father Irwin Scott dies that she learns he had changed his name from Ivan Skorokhodov. Val moves through the mid-’70s, facing challenges with her abusive husband while following clues left by her father to investigate his possible connection with the Romanov family. In Maria’s story line, she finds love and eventually has a family, but in Leningrad, she must once again fight for survival during the Nazi siege in WWII. Paul adroitly balances her two story lines, showing the resilience and strength of both Maria and Val in their respective circumstances. This epic story is so engrossing that readers will have difficulty putting it down. (Aug.)