Ken Follett dives into the turbulent world stage of 1914 with The Man From St. Petersburg. Walden is a lord and peer of the realm in the British Empire and as such a stalwart defender of that empire who is willing to do whatever it takes to support if the potential war actually starts. When approached by Churchill with a proposition to clandestinely negotiate a treaty with Russia through the family of his wife, who is a native Russian. However, his efforts to do so quickly wind up opposed by Feliks, a poor Russian peasant who wishes for nothing more than to have a government that does not oppress the poor. In order to achieve that he will do whatever it takes, including a clandestine assassination of the Russian diplomat who is in talks with Walden about a potential treaty for in case of war. What neither expect is for Walden’s Wife, Lydia, who happens to also be a former lover of Feliks and Walden’s daughter, Charlotte, to end up involved in the ongoing battle between the two opponents. Now they each must decide what is more important, love of country or love of family.
This was definitely one of the more convoluted stories from Follett but still an awesome read. I am not just saying that because I am a fan of his, though I am actually a fan of his. In terms of plot this story has a lot going on and there are times where it feels like the drama is slightly played up in order to create more of an emotional impact for the way the ending played out. There are a lot of reveals in the later half of the story that will probably throw you for a bit of a loop though there are hints for several of them from pretty early on if you pay attention. While I liked the characters and they were pretty fleshed out, I also felt like they weren’t necessarily anything overly special. In many ways they felt like any number of other similar characters I have come across in other works. That being said, I actually really liked the character of Charlotte mostly because I felt so sorry for her. The idea that she was left so uneducated about certain things, all in an effort to protect her innocence, was seriously disconcerting even if I knew that was unfortunately pretty accurate all things considered. I was also mildly disturbed by how easy it was for Feliks to pull off some of his assassination attempts though I am aware that this would not necessarily be the case nowadays. The story was pretty good and I did enjoy reading but it didn’t grab my attention the way some of Follett’s other works have in the past. I would still consider this to be good though and am happy giving it four out of five stars.
This is an adult historical thriller so I would think it would hold appeal for readers who enjoy either thrillers or historical fiction and even more so for those who tend to enjoy both. I would recommend some caution for younger readers because, like always, Follett is remarkably blunt and upfront about certain things which means there is some violence and some adult content. Not necessarily a lot of either and not anything overly graphic but enough that I would suggest only readers over the age of about sixteen should read this. It is still a really good work even if I enjoyed it slightly less than some of Follet’s other works. If it sounds like something you might like, consider trying it out. If you do feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.