DNF. This read more like biography than true crime to me. Maybe that changes as the book goes on, but I wasn’t interested in reading about the Russian revolution from the perspective of a little girl.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

A famed general’s young daughter, Anna, crosses the globe to escape the Russian Revolution and carries a box with her. The box held evidence of what became of the Romanovs’, the Russian Royal Family. Anna’s grandson, Peter Sarandinaki, set out to find the truth. He has the help of an international team of searchers and scientists.

While I say the only royal family that intrigues me is the Romanovs, I had no idea that 18 family members were killed, including the Tzar’s brother..whose body is still missing. Nor did I recognize how controversial in Russia, the church, and immigrant communities, identifying the bodies was (still is).

Thank you NetGalley and University of Nebraska Press | Potomac Books. I always enjoy learning!

I really enjoyed the first half of the book and wish that historical content about the Romanovs and Russia featured more thoroughly in the second half. The first half was well-written and engaging, while the second half I admittedly just flipped through vast sections due to the dry writing.

Mystery, history, revalations--what happened to the last Russian tsar and his family?? Fascinating discussion of the search to discover what happened to the last of the Russian , and where they are finally buried.

I would say I'm a casual reader of Russian history, as it's not my particular field of study or deep zone of interest. This book was interesting in how it relayed the fall of the Romanovs and the scattering of the White Russians, but there was something about it that just couldn't engage me entirely. The forensic aspects of the narrative were interesting, but I think I just wasn't as invested in the personal family history. All in all, it was a new way to approach the subject, so I do appreciate that.

My husband and I lived in Finland from 2010-2012 on a job assignment and were fortunate to travel to St. Petersburg while it was still relatively easy to do so. I have long been fascinated by the history of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and after them, the Romanovs. This book adds to our understanding of the terrible fates of the Romanovs, and the author’s due diligence in adding to the knowledge of the era and his family’s legacy. This is a well-researched and interesting book, although the reader should probably have an interest in Russian history to fully appreciate it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Potomac Books for the ARC to review this interesting book,

I absolutely could not put this book down. I know next to nothing about Russian history so I find this book fascinating. I do not know about the last Russian royal family Czar Nicolas II and his wife and daughters who were brutally murdered by Bolsheviks under Lenin’s direction. Communism was in the rise and society was in shambles at the time and the monarchy was a target that the peasants were angry at, which made them the perfect target for Communism to attack and gain power. How they were able to keep their burials hidden for so long is amazing. Most people would not have been able to stay silent, but to seems that the Communist leaders were very powerful at the time and to speak out would have been too dangerous. Even 80 years later, when most of the excavating was done, many people still didn’t find themselves able to believe that this was truly the royal family. There was much arguing amongst Russian and Russian-American groups b/c of long-held beliefs and bitter rivalries. The author had grown up hearing about this his story through his grandmother, who had escaped not long before the fall of the monarchy and had helped guard a small box containing evidence of the crime. This led him on a lifelong journey for the truth. This noon read like fiction at times, it was so fascinating and so fantastical. It’s also quite sad to think about the tragic and brutal end that so many people came to during this time. There was much trouble and turmoil in the country in the early 20th century and you really come to feel sympathy for those who struggled through those terrifying times. Very well written and a fascinating read.

The mystery of the Romanov family has captivated the world for over a century. For Sarandinaki the fate of the Romanov family was personal - he grew up hearing his grandmother's harrowing escape from the Bolshevik Revolution and guarding the evidence from the original investigation into the family's disappearance. Sarandinaki does a masterful job weaving his family's life story with the history of Russia and what happened to the Romanovs. The book was slow to start - the story lacked cohesion at the beginning - the recollection of his grandmother Anna's time escaping with Anna's father (a general in the Russian military fighting for the tsarists) but once the family settled in France, it was less convoluted. Overall this is a very fascinating story - one that many are familiar with, but from a different aspect than previously explored. This was a behind-the-scenes look at the discovery of the Romanov burial site (the initial and then Alexei and Maria), the DNA confirmation, and the reasons confirmation took so long - and why some still dispute the scientific findings. While Romanov mystery was solved, Sarandinaki still hopes to find the remains of Tsar Nicholas II's brother Michael Alexandrovich and his secretary Nicholas Johnson. whose deaths predated Nicholas II, his family and their servants. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Russian history or the Romanovs.

This was really fascinating, particularly the sections on White Russians migration post-Revolution. I think I had expected this to be a bit more straight history as opposed to familial memoir which was my own failing. I also really liked the insight on the search for the bodies of Grand Duke Michael and his secretary as that is a portion of the story that often gets glossed over. As ever though, the tragedy of this story really gets to me.

Lots of information and lots of details. Clear, concise and easy to read. My thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Thank you to the author and publisher for making this book freely available via NetGalley. My review is my honest opinion.

I chose In Search of the Romanovs because the topic of the Romanovs and the Russian Revolution interested me since reading/watching books and movies that were directly based on those topics. I tend to prefer nonfiction told in a more narrative style, so the start of this book was satisfying. However, the chapters that detailed the background (lead up to the revolution) were dryer and more like a history text book. As the investigation began, it became more narrative, but also repetitive. It did present a lot of information in a prose that was relatively easy to follow except for some of the detailed scientific explanations.

Overall, it was informative but I think I was looking for a book that went into more detail about the revolution itself. Still, it would probably be of interest to someone specifically interested in The Romanovs and forensic investigations. If I could use half stars, I would rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I had huge hopes for this book. Perhaps the description is what set my expectations askew. After going through a full history of the narrators connections with a relative we find their connection with the Romanoffs. This part was intriguing but read very text book and dry. That's okay though as I saw this as a lead up. I was woefully disappointed to real the approximation of 3rd party accounts. I was hopeful when the author became involved. Then disappointed. I understand the authors want, even need to write this book, but the story left a lot to be desired.

Wow, this is packed with information and so much detail! I am not extremely knowledgeable on this subject but have always been interested. The writing can feel a little choppy and doesn’t have that overall polish of a mass marketed book. But I quickly became absorbed in the story and actually ended up feeling this added to the charm! It’s incredibly touching what great lengths the author went to, in order to tell his grandmother’s story and not have it lost. The history can be complicated but feels accessible and is balanced with emotion and personal impressions. It does get bogged down in parts but overall I learned a lot and enjoyed this exclusive perspective.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a gift this book is to those interested in the Romanovs. Author Peter Sarandinaki's ability to intertwine his family's history that is related to the Romanovs with that of his search for their remains leads the reader on a truly gripping journey. The exhaustive research presented grounds the reader in an understanding of the key players and all of the moving parts (and obstacles overcome) in order to allow for a proper burial of the family. Absolutely fascinating and a book that will stay with me!

History is one of my loves and I have always been enamored with the assassination of Czar Nicholas II and his entire family by the Bolsheviks during the revolution.

This account reads like a crime novel told from the point of view of a family that had ties to the Romanovs and stories passed down through generations about the murders. The author, the recipient of those stories, takes on the task of discovering the bodies buried unceremoniously by their killers and identifying them so there would be no doubt to their identity. Along his journey he will dispel the rumors of a surviving daughter and bring to rest what really happened.

Science is the winner here, where strides in DNA research has made it possible to identify remains from so long ago. An interesting read.

As a true crime fan I can't believe I hadn't heard about this before. I am amazed at how horrific people can be in today's society.

I have been interested in the Romanovs since seeing a movie about them in middle school. Then came the Anastasia movie, which continues to be one of my favorite animated films. Then later I wrote a report on the use of mitochondrial DNA to identify the Romanov remains. Needless, to say, I continue to be fascinated by this story and now I can add Peter Sarandinaki’s account to my knowledge. I enjoyed how the story unfolded as if Peter himself was telling you his experience over dinner which helped prevent the story from being the dull recounting that some non-fiction can be. He also manages to make the reader feel invested the whole way through, to the point that I now find myself wondering when, if ever, the Russian Orthodox church will accept the buried remains as actually being the Romanovs.

Nonfiction books can be hard to suggest to people, you hear nonfiction and immediately think of boring books. However I’m so glad that books like In Search of the Romanovs exist, to show that nonfiction can be fascinating, educational, and eye opening.

If you like CSI, historical fiction novels, true crime, or the legend of Anastasia I think you will definitely enjoy this book.

The story of the Romanov family has fascinated people on an international scale for over a century. The author approaches this famed story with a personal connection, and his passion for this subject is evident on every page.

This nonfiction story is told in 2 parts. The first part through the memory of the author’s grandmother, Anna. Detailing her family’s perilous journey as they fought for their lives, and eventually fled their homeland of Russia when the Bolsehviks rose to power and slaughtered the Imperial family.

The second part is told through the author’s own perspective. Explaining how he ended up being a champion for the discovery of the Romanov family. Helping to uncover the truth of what happened to them, and provide a proper burial to honor their memories.

The first part of this book read more like a historical fiction novel, it was a heartbreaking journey that Anna and her family had to endure. The sheer strength they showed during the destruction that surrounded them was astonishing.
The second part is written more like a true crime story. It can get pretty technical with all the forensic details, but the author did such a great job at explaining the process of forensic sciences. I’m not the most scientific minded person, if I could understand it you can too! Part 2 also shows the political loopholes that had to be found in order for the research teams to get around Russian bureaucracy.
I learned so much from this book, and highly recommend it. It was heartbreaking, educational, and full of hope. This was a fantastic way for the author to honor his grandmother and those like her that faced a dangerous adversary and chose to stand up to it.

“In that way, what Anna began, a century ago, will move forward, generation by generation, and perhaps we’ll care more about justice, more about our history, and more about the kind of place the world needs to be.”
My rating is 4.5/5

Thank you to netgalley for the DRC.
The hunt for the lost princess Anastasia and the rest of her family was elusive.could she have escaped, or was this nothing more than historical fiction….
I was skeptical when I began reading, but I’m so glad I gave this book a chance. What I thought was going to be full of conspiracy, was informative and enlightening and based on scientific reasoning.
Throughout the book, the author mentions his late grandmother and how she helped uncover the mystery with a well guarded family secret,

Regardless of my personal feelings about the Romanov's, I admire all the research that went into finding their remains and at last be laid to rest properly.

I really enjoyed reading this summary of all the investigations to try to find the Romanov family remains. It's a detailed review of all the different finds, medical investigations and politics but it's through the lens of the author's family history, which is a different perspective. I really enjoyed the history/family lore he shared of his grandmother (and extended family) and her experiences as well as getting a few more glimpses into some of the conflict/disagreements in the scientific community around the remains/investigations.

I received an advance readers copy from the publisher and net galley to review.