FOUND WANTING

David Rintoul brings a satisfying noirish sensibility to this thriller about a contemporary British foreign service officer who is suddenly caught up in an intrigue involving the end of tsarist Russia and the undying rumor that Nicholas and Alexandra's youngest daughter, Anastasia, somehow survived the family's massacre. It’s a well-worn tale, of course, but Goddard manages enough new twists to keep the mystery fresh, and in Rintoul he has an able accomplice. The story propels its hero, Richard Eusden, across Europe, and Rintoul expertly handles all the accents Goddard throws at him—Danish, Finnish, American, Russian—without ever overdoing it or stooping to caricature. M.O. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2010]