The Eye of the Red Tsar will renew the interest of anyone fed up with the cookie-cutter murder-mystery books written by other authors. The protagonist, Pekkala, is a former employee of the recently assassinated Tsar, for whom he performed personal investigations. Banished to Siberia when the Communists took over, Pekkala is brought back by Stalin to work in a similar capacity. The complexity of Pekkala's character makes him real and likeable, and his insight and intelligence is unmatched. He's an odd addition to Stalin's staff; with one foot in the new Russia and the other foot dragging reluctantly out of his Tsarist past, Pekkala gives us a rare and fascinating insight into both worlds. The story is well written and focuses on dicovering who murdered the Romanov family, the location of their bodies, discovering where the Romanov "fortune" has been hidden, and whether or not the stories of Anastasia's survival are real. Of course, a little bit of history, politics, romance and humor are intertwined, and the results are a great read. Highly recommended for the reader looking to be entertained with an intelligent and though-provoking mystery!