#BlogTour: The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul @annecater @headlinepg @GillPaulAUTHOR @Phoebe_Swinburn #HisFic #99pEbook

Book Synopsis:

A Russian princess. An extraordinary sacrifice. A captivating secret…

From the author of The Secret Wife, a gripping journey through decades and across continents, of love, devastating loss and courage against all odds.

1918
With the country they once ruled turned against them, the future of Russia’s imperial family hangs in the balance. When middle daughter Maria Romanova captivates two of the guards, it will lead to a fateful choice between right and wrong.

Fifty-five years later . . .
Val rushes to her father’s side when she hears of his troubling end-of-life confession: ‘I didn’t want to kill her.’ As she unravels the secrets behind her mother’s disappearance when she was twelve years old, she finds herself caught up in one of the world’s greatest mysteries.

The Lost Daughter is available in ebook and paperback now. The ebook is currently only 99p.  You can purchase a copy of both here.

My Review:

The Lost Daughter is another superb book from Gill Paul.  I’m a huge fan of Russian history and the fate of the Romanov family has always intrigued me.

The story is told in two parts.  One follows Maria and her experiences in Russia and the other follows Val as she tries to solve the mystery her father left behind.

My favourite character was Maria as I really admired her bravery and determination particularly when in such a hopeless situation.  She never gives up always believing that there is a way out and things will get better.  Her immaturity at the beginning, particularly involving the opposite sex was very touching to read about, even when it gets her into some difficult situations.  It was very interesting, and brave, of the author to suggest Maria as the daughter who survives rather than the popular presumption of Anastasia.  I felt that added an unusual angle to the story and made it more intriguing.

The author has obviously done her research and I felt I could really picture  the Romanov family’s last days.  I felt huge sympathy with the characters and the situation they find themselves in.  The reader is made aware early on in the book about what is going to happen to the family so I was on tenderhooks from the start waiting for things to turn.  The fear and tension felt by those involved were almost palpable and I found myself holding my breath at times.

This was a fast paced, hugely addictive book which was very hard to put down.  There was always lots of action happening and things being discovered that makes you want to keep reading to find out more about.  I did find some of the scenes with Val quite hard to read, particularly when they were describing her experience with her violent husband.  I especially liked how the author has cleverly included actual historic events into the story.  I always enjoy being able to look these up and learn more.

This is the third book by the author that I have read and in my opinion it’s the best so far! If you haven’t read anything by this author yet I would recommend starting with this one.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for invitations me onto the blog tour and to Phoebe from Headline for my copy of the book.

About The Author:

Gill Paul is an author of historical fiction, specialising in relatively recent history. Her new novel, Another Woman’s Husband, is about links you might not have been aware of between Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, and Diana, Princess of Wales.

Gill’s other novels include The Secret Wife, published in 2016, about the romance between cavalry officer Dmitri Malama and Grand Duchess Tatiana, the second daughter of Russia’s last tsar, who first met in 1914. Women and Children First is about a young steward who works on the Titanic. The Affair was set in Rome in 1961–62 as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton fell in love while making Cleopatra. And No Place for a Lady is about two Victorian sisters who travel out to the Crimean War of 1854–56 and face challenges beyond anything they could have imagined.

Gill also writes historical non-fiction, including A History of Medicine in 50 Objects, and a series of Love Stories, each containing fourteen tales of real-life couples: how they met, why they fell for each other, and what happened in the end. Published around the world, this series includes Royal Love Stories, World War I Love Stories and Titanic Love Stories.

Gill was born in Glasgow and grew up there, apart from an eventful year at school in the US when she was ten. She studied Medicine at Glasgow University, then English Literature and History (she was a student for a long time), before moving to London to work in publishing. She started her own company producing books for publishers, along the way editing such luminaries as Griff Rhys Jones, John Suchet, John Julius Norwich, Ray Mears and Eartha Kitt. She also writes on health, nutrition and relationships.

Gill swims year-round in an open-air pond – “It’s good for you so long as it doesn’t kill you”– and is a devotee of Pilates. She also particularly enjoys travelling on what she calls “research trips” and attempting to match-make for friends.