Beautiful Assassin : A Novel

EDITORIAL REVIEW: A breathtaking tale of love, loyalty, and intrigue set in the early days of World War II from the acclaimed *New York Times* Notable Book author of *Soul Catcher*, which *USA Today* hailed as "a marvelous historical novel" World War II threatens to engulf the globe. The beleaguered Soviets, struggling to hold back the rising German tide, face despair and defeat daily. Yet just as all seems lost, a fearless female sniper named Tat'yana Levchenko gains fame in the Battle of Sevastopol with her remarkable composure and stunning skill. Offering hope in her nation's darkest moments, she becomes a Soviet hero, and word of her beauty and prowess eventually reaches Washington, D.C. Soon, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt invites Tat'yana to visit America and tour the country with her. For the Soviets, Tat'yana's newfound friendship with the wife of the most powerful man in the world is an opportunity to garner public support for a much-needed second front in the warbut it's also a chance to gather information about President Roosevelt's plans. Surrounded by those who would exploit her position, Tat'yana becomes a pawn in a battle for information, and she is forced to question the motivations of everyone she knows, including the American captain who has been assigned as her translator. But as quickly as she rises to fame, Tat'yana vanishes. Did she defect? Was she silencedand if so, by whom? Decades later, a clever journalist will discover Tat'yana's story . . . and reveal the truth. In *Beautiful Assassin*, Michael White delivers a heartrending story of war, betrayal, and a mother's love that can never be extinguished. Lyrical, evocative, and powerfully moving, this is a tale you will not soon forget. ϡ쯦랠

"World War II threatens to engulf the globe. The beleaguered Soviets, struggling to hold back the rising German tide, face despair and defeat daily. Yet just as all seems lost, a fearless female sniper named Tat'yana Levchenko gains fame in the Battle of Sevastopol with her remarkable composure and stunning skill. Offering hope in her nation's darkest moments, she becomes a Soviet hero, and word of her beauty and prowess eventually reaches Washington, D.C. Soon, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt invites Tat'yana to visit America and tour the country with her." For the Soviets, Tat'yana's newfound friendship with the wife of the most powerful man in the world is an opportunity to garner public support for a much-needed second front in the war - but it's also a chance to gather information about President Roosevelt's plans. Surrounded by those who would exploit her position, Tat'yana becomes a pawn in a battle for information, and she is forced to question the motivations of everyone she knows, including the American captain who has been assigned as her translator. But as quickly as she rises to fame, Tat'yana vanishes. Did she defect? Was she silenced - and if so, by whom? Decades later, a clever journalist will discover Tat'yana's story ... and reveal the truth.

Publishers Weekly

In 1942, heroic Red Army sniper Tat'yana Levchenko, the eponymous heroine of this mildly compelling WWII-era thriller from White (Soul Catcher), travels to America as a goodwill ambassador. Her ostensible mission is to drum up financial and material support for the U.S.S.R. and to persuade FDR to open a second front in Europe. Stalin's secret police have other goals in mind, but Tat'yana wants only to return to her beloved homeland and continue killing German soldiers. Eleanor Roosevelt takes a shine to the young woman, who becomes the darling of the American press. Reluctantly, the beautiful sniper goes along with her espionage agent handler's demand that she spy on the first lady. In the end, Tat'yana must make a fateful choice involving an American army captain she's grown to love. Some readers may find Tat'yana's ethical and romantic struggles in the U.S. a letdown after the first part of the novel detailing her actions in the battle of Sevastopol. (Apr.)

ESPIONAGE & SPY THRILLER. Elizabeth Moynihan, a young journalist, has hit the jackpot. It's 1992 and a chance remark has sent her to a small farm in the middle of nowhere in Colorado. There resides Russia's most notorious sniper-turned-spy, the one-time beautiful assassin, Tat'yana Levchenko, and she's ready to tell her story. During the Second World War, Tat'yana was Russia's secret weapon. After the Germans killed her daughter, aged four, she enlisted as a sniper for the Russian army. Having finally achieved her goal of killing three hundred Germans, she was badly injured in a siege and shipped back to Moscow. She was presented to Stalin, paraded among the ranks of high society and before the world's press. Her duty to her country not yet over, she was sent to America, to befriend Eleanor Roosevelt, touring the nation with her, securing support for the war. And all the while, she was to send vital information about American armament and troop plans back to her homeland. Michael White is a wonderful storyteller, and his work is long on atmosphere, and packed with action. Kevin Baker, author of Paradise Alley Michael White, author of Soul Catcher and the New York Times Notable Book A Brothers Blood now brings us Beautiful Assassin a stunning, relentlessly thrilling, and richly evocative historical novel. Fans of Sebastian Faulkss Charlotte Gray , Ian McEwans Atonement , and Margaret Atwoods The Blind Assassin will adore this gripping tale of secrets and suspicionas a beautiful Russian woman, one of World War Twos most decorated snipers, is caught between her governments deadly intrigues and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. For the Soviets, war hero and sharpshooter Tat̓yana Levchenko's newfound friendship with the wife of the most powerful man in the world is an opportunity to garner public support for a much-needed second front in the WWII--but it's also a chance to gather information about President Roosevelt's plans. Then Tat̓yana vanishes. Did she defect? Was she silenced--and if so, by whom? Decades later, a clever journalist will discover Tat'yana's story ... and reveal the truth