Tatyana Levchenko, a Russian WWII sniper had 300 German kills. She hates the Germans because they killed her 3-year old daughter and threaten her country. Her husband, Kolya, with whom she has basically a platonic relationship, also serves in the Russian Army. Because of her celebrity, she is sent to the U.S. (ostensibly) to raise money and urge America to enter the battle, but in reality to spy on Mrs. Roosevelt and to get American military secrets . The book is compelling up to this point.
While in DC she befriends Mrs Roosevelt and shortly thereafter falls in love with her translator. While I enjoyed the espionage part of the story and felt for the dilemma Tatyana was in, I didn't buy her falling in love with the translator over the course of a few weeks.
To defect or not becomes the question. ( )

Tatyana Levchenko is a Ukrainian Russian, a WWII sniper with nearly 300 German kills. She intensely hates the Germans because they killed her parents and her 3-year old daughter. Her husband, Kolya, also serves somewhere in the war, but they have lost touch. Because of her remarkable skill, after being severely wounded, she becomes a pawn of the Russian secret police, and is sent to the U.S. ostensibly to raise money and urge America to enter the battle, but really to spy on Mrs. Roosevelt and to learn about the rumors of a massive weapon, code name Enormous. She falls in love with her translator, and eventually defects, living the remainder of her life in fear of discovery and death. This was a page-turner, and White uses his considerable skill at detail, showing an enormous breadth of research behind this story. She is a compelling and sympathetic character, and her travails more than once had me in tears.

For all the books I have read over the years set around or during World War II, I have yet to explore every facet of it. The Soviet Union's involvement is one such area I am still relatively new to. And so, when the opportunity arose to read and review Michael C. White's novel, Beautiful Assassin, I was quick to volunteer. The novel opens with an American journalist on her way to meet who she believes is the namesake of the novel, a woman she has long been searching for. The two women talk long into the night as Tat'yana tells the story of her life all those years ago.

Tat'yana was once a Soviet Hero, having killed over 300 soldiers. She had come to the United States as a guest of Eleanor Roosevelt, but under the watchful eye of the Soviets who dictated just about every word she spoke and every move she made. She had been told her purpose was to draw support from the Americans and to encourage the U.S. to become more active in the war, to fight the Germans alongside the Soviets. Only, she soon learned that she was to also glean as much information as she could from her new friends. Tat'yana did not want to be a spy as it went against her very nature. She was loyal to her country, but she also knew the faults of her government. She was put in a difficult situation, having to choose between her country and a new one.

Tat'yana is not someone anyone would expect to become a soldier. She was an academic, a poet. When tragedy befell her family, however, she was desperate and full of rage. The only thing she wanted to do wass strike out at the enemy. Her skills in marksmanship proved an asset in the war.

Although women fought alongside men in the Soviet Union, Tat'yana and other female soldiers did not have it easy. There were those who did not believe a woman's place should be on the battlefield and they made life difficult. As Tat'yana tried to prove herself in a man's world, she quickly learned that it would be an ongoing battle. While others sought to keep her in her place, Eleanor Roosevelt had other ideas. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt instantly takes a liking to Tat'yana, a capable, strong woman, as does Tat'yana to Mrs. Roosevelt.

There was so much I liked about this book. Tat'yana is an interesting character who evolves as a person over the course of the novel. Because Tat'yana is telling her story in hindsight, she has insight into the events that took place all those years ago, and so she comes at it from a place of maturity we might not have seen from her younger self. Tat'yana is by no means perfect. She is strong and yet vulnerable. She did not always make the best or even the most heroic choices.

At 464 pages, this novel has a lot packed into it; it is at once a war story, a political thriller, and a historical novel with a touch of romance. Although I enjoyed nearly every aspect of the novel, my favorite time was spent when Tat'yana was in the Soviet Union. I felt like I got to know Tat'yana best during that time as well as her family, including her husband and her relationship with him.

Once Tat'yana arrived in the United States, I felt as if the plot began to overshadow the characters. I found the later romance portion of the novel difficult to buy into if only because Captain Taylor was not as well-developed a character as I would have liked. He is charming and mysterious, and while I could understand the attraction between Tat'yana and him, I never felt like I got to know him as well as I did her character. I never lost my fascination and interest in the story and of Tat'yana, however, and I was anxious to see how it all turned out in the end.

Beautiful Assassin was a satisfying read overall. I enjoyed the time I spent with Tat'yana and look forward to exploring the author's other novels. ( )

Beautiful Assassin tells the story of Russian sniper, Tat'yana Levchenko, whose kill-count of three-hundred Nazis during World War II, together with her rare beauty, attract the attention of the Russian Government. Deployed with a Russian delegation to the United States, ostensibly to drum up U.S. support for the war effort, Tat'yana gradually learns that her Russian handlers have a dark alterior motive. They want her to gather intelligence on President Roosevelt and the Manhattan Project, taking advantage of her friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the romantic interest of the young Army Captain who serves as the Roosevelts' translator to support a deeply entrenched Russian spy network operating in the United States.

The authentic historical detail, strong characterization, and (mostly) believable plot of this historical spy novel make it a worthwhile read for those with an interest in the time period. The pacing, however, prevents this from being the page-turning spy thriller that many readers would expect. Too much of the story was spent building up to the espionage stuff, leaving too few pages to exploit the true dramatic conflict between Tat'yana's allegiance to mother Russia and her new American friends. I also question the need for the flashback narrative structure, as virtually the entire story consists of an aged Tat'yana recounting her life for an investigative journalist in a way that reminded me too much of the movie Titanic.

So while this novel held my attention it fell short of being a great historical spy novel. ( )

The Beautiful Assassin is the story about a Russian sniper who, after becoming a hero in her own country, is sent to the United States presumably to help promote the war effort but finds herself tangled in a plot to spy on the U.S. and, specifically, on Eleanor Roosevelt. I have mixed feelings about this book. It was a bit slow moving and drawn out at times, yet fast paced in others. As a fan of historical fiction, I enjoyed the aspects of the story that highlighted the tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during WWII as well as the insight into Eleanor Roosevelt’s personal life … although I must say that the friendship between Tat’yana and the First Lady as well as the interplay between Tat’yana and her superiors is a bit farfetched and unbelievable at times. If interested in historical fiction or reading about the former Soviet Union, you may find this book enjoyable. For me, this book as a whole was just okay.

[Reviewed as an advance review copy as part of Book Browse's First Impressions program] ( )