Vienna Waltz

A murdered Russian princess creates a diplomatic imbroglio in this magnificent mystery set in the midst of the glittering palaces and ballrooms of the Congress of Vienna. As the heads of state and foreign ministers of Russia, England, Austria, and France gather in the wake of Napoleon's defeat in 1814 to determine the new map of Europe, diplomatic wife Suzanne Rannoch is summoned to the quarters of the beautiful Tatiana Kirsanova. There she discovers her own husband, Malcolm, beside Tatiana's bloody corpse, claiming to have found her only moments before. Despite doubts about her husband's story, Suzanne helps him to untangle the murdered woman's history—a dangerous mix of love affairs and espionage—in the process uncovering the secrets of her uneasy union with Malcolm. With an impeccably researched setting and a cast of historical characters ranging from French diplomatic mastermind Talleyrand to a youthful Franz Schubert, Grant's third novel (after Beneath the Moon, as Tracy Grant) is a brilliantly multilayered mystery and a must-read for fans of the Regency era. (Apr.)