THE KIRILOV STAR

Nicolette McKenzie's narration starts out on a pulse-pounding note as a Russian count's family flees the Bolsheviks. As the novel shifts focus to the surviving daughter, it takes on melodramatic tone. The daughter faces betrayal by her first husband and a second loveless marriage, as she believes her truelove is dead. McKenzie wrings every teardrop from the melodrama. Listeners will feel all the daughter's emotions, from gratitude at her adoption by a British noble to fear and anger when she's held prisoner in Russia. Even as the plot takes one unlikely turn after another, listeners will want to find out whether Lydia finally finds happiness. McKenzie turns this into a jewel. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2014]