The Romanov Cross
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4.4 • 5 Ratings
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
Almost a century ago, a desperate young woman crawled ashore a desolate Arctic island carrying a mysterious emerald-encrusted cross and a terrible secret.
In the present day, Army epidemiologist Frank Slater is facing a court-martial, but after his punishment is mysteriously lifted, Slater is offered a job no one else wants — to travel to a small island off the coast of Alaska and investigate a potentially lethal phenomenon: The permafrost has begun to melt, exposing bodies from a colony that was wiped out by the dreaded Spanish flu of 1918. Frank must determine if the thawed remains still carry the deadly virus in their frozen flesh and, if so, ensure that it doesn't come back to life.
The colony, it transpires, was once settled by a sect devoted to the mad Russian monk Rasputin, but there is even more hiding in the past than Frank’s team is aware of. By the time Frank discovers that his mission has been crashed by a gang of reckless treasure hunters he will be in a brutal race against time.
With his signature blend of fascinating history and fantastic imagination, critically acclaimed author Robert Masello has once again crafted a terrifying story of past events coming back to haunt the present day . . . and of dark deeds aching to be unearthed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this fascinating, funny, and frightening supernatural thriller, Masello (Blood and Ice) skillfully weaves together the story of the deaths of the Russian royal family with the possibility of a new worldwide influenza pandemic. St. Peter's, a small island off the coast of Alaska's Seward Peninsula, was once the home of a tiny community of followers of Rasputin, the notorious Russian monk. St. Peter's sole living inhabitant, if living is the right word, is a Romanov the recipient of a blessing from Rasputin, or maybe it was a curse. The island's graveyard contains victims of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918. Global warming is now heaving the coffins to the surface and into the sea. Field epidemiologist Maj. Frank Slater and his team journey to St. Peter's to see if any of the original flu virus is still a danger to humanity. The inhabitants of the nearby town of Port Orlov play key roles in the action in particular the fetching mayor, Nika Tincook, and the local ne'er-do-wells, Harley Vane and his wheelchair-bound brother, Charlie, whose petty criminal deeds threaten the world. Toss in a pack of slavering wolves, the undead, and a chilling ending, and the result is a terrific, can't-put-it-down read. Fine prose and plotting help solidify Masello's position at the top of this crowded subgenre.
