The Master Craftsman by Kelli Stuart ~ Book Review

It is 1917 and in St. Petersburg, Russia the tensions are running high.  The revolution is about to begin.  Master jeweler to the Romanovs, Karl Faberge, is getting ready to flee.  His associations with the house of Romanov has put him and his family in peril as anger at the Tsar continues to fuel the people.  Placing his trust in one of his craftsman, Alma Pihl, Karl gives her a treasured Faberge egg to hide, one that no one has ever seen, one that could bring doom upon them all.  He created it in secret in an effort to bring out in his artistry his torn allegiance and heart to both Romanov family and in what the people of Russia were going through under the leadership of this Tsar.  Knowing the danger it would bring, Alma hides the treasure even from her husband as they continue to try and escape Russia to her family home in Finland.

In present day,  Ava a history major who has had to settle to working in a coffee shop,  enjoys a close relationship with her Mom.  But her relationship with her father is non-existent.  So when her aunt contacts her mom to let them know her father is dying it puts Ava into turmoil.  Does she, at this point, want to go see the Dad who left them when she was little?  But the need to know why he left them is stronger than the anger and her and her mom head off to go see the man she knows nothing about.  Nick Laine has spent his whole life hunting treasure.  It has been the driving force behind all his decisions including the one to leave his family.  But now as he lays dying, he entrusts the details of his latest hunt to the daughter he has not known in the hopes she will pick up the hunt.  Ava in an attempt to reconcile with and get to know her Dad before he passes away agrees to take on the crazy assignment of going to Russia and finding clues to missing Faberge egg.  But little does she know the peril she is about to embark upon that will make her question if it is worth her life to get to know her Dad.

I loved this story.  Anything to do with the Romanov time period is a buzzword for me in stories, so I jumped on this one, especially since I have never read a story that had to do with Faberge.  I must admit every time a certain egg was mentioned it sent me on a fun bunny trail looking it up to see what it actually looked like and also the history of Faberge and Alma Pihl.  The story was really well written, well researched and the intrigue captured me right from the start.  There were a few little things that were minor annoyances:  a few too many mentions of  how good looking a certain character was accompanied with the mandatory "shiver down the spine".  And I don't know if the disguises employed on the hunt were necessary or believable but hey, what do I know about treasure hunting?  It was easy to look past that in the fun, intrigue and danger of the present day hunt told alongside the historical story of this missing egg.  Is this egg an actual thing?  I don't know but it made for a great page turning read.

I gave it a 10/10

Reading Goals Met:  A book purchased in 2020-2022, Read Your Shelf Challenge May Prompt:  A New to You Author