Review: DEATH IN ST. PETERSBURG (Lady Emily #12)

Happy Friday friends!

Today I’m reviewing the twelfth book in Tasha Alexander’s Lady Emily series, DEATH IN ST. PETERSBURG. We’re so close to finishing this review series, I almost can’t believe it! As long as I stick to my schedule (which is easier said than done, lol) we’ll be done around the middle of June.

Which means I need to find a new way to occupy myself until the next book comes out, which obviously means I’m going to wind up rereading the whole series again, right? Right.

Anyways! Let’s get to it. Here’s a courtesy Spoiler Alert, just in case I give a little too much away!

I read this book in about four days, and while it’s not my favorite Lady Emily book, it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat! I really enjoyed this book because we got a glimpse of author Tasha Alexander’s other passion: ballet. I was never a dancer growing up, and I know next to nothing about ballet, so the ballerina subplot was really fun and interesting to me!

This installment brings Emily and Colin Hargreaves to St. Petersburg, Russia, where a ballerina has been viciously murdered. In St. Petersburg in the late 1890s, ballerinas were celebrities to begin with, but with the murdered ballerina appears to come back as a ghost, first at her own funeral and then periodically throughout the city, always eluding Emily, Cecile and Colin, rumors and superstition start to swirl. The Hargreaves and their beloved friend, Cecile, don’t believe in ghosts, though. Immediately, they know something is going on—and Colin’s discreet work for the Crown may have something to do with it.

The story delves deep into the communist uprising and the political conflict surrounding the tzar and the working class in Russia in the late 1800s and early 1900s, which I found really interesting. I don’t know too much about this time frame beyond what I know from the animated Anastasia film, but it always spoke to me. This book was a fun dive into the more political story, as Emily mingles with both the noble class and the working class, with Nemetseva, the beloved slain ballerina acting as a link between the two worlds.

The ending of this book really threw me for a loop. I had guessed the murderer early on, but began second guessing myself as the story went on. Some people might call it a red herring; I thought it was entertaining. I won’t spoil the end, because it was a bit of a shock and Emily’s actions are just so Emily—you have to experience it yourself to get the full effect.

On Goodreads, I rated it 5 stars, but after some reflection I would probably change that to a 4 or 4.5. Like I said, it’s a great story and super fun, but not my favorite in the series (but I still loved it!)

Go read this series!