To Kill a Tsar

‘This is a dense, meaty affair which pulls off the trick of gripping the reader and bringing a complicated, alien world to life.’

— Guardian

‘He blends historical fact and fiction in a vivid recreation of the world of The Idiot and Crime and Punishment.’

— The Times

‘Elegantly serpentine plotting and finely etched characters confirm his place in the front rank of the new English thriller writers.’

— Daily Mail

‘A very accomplished novel which can be enjoyed as a gripping and moving thriller. Yet it is more than that, for it invites us to reflect on questions of morality, and on that age-old question of when, if ever, violent means may be held to justify worthy ends; whether, indeed, such ends can ever be achieved if the means are inescapably criminal.’

— Allan Massie, Scotsman

‘Exciting … an important book for devotees of the spy story.’

— Shots Magazine

‘A gripping thriller set in a world of treachery.’

— British Fantasy Society

‘To Kill a Tsar … had me biting my fingernails with the suspense.’

— Andrew Roberts, Daily Telegraph

‘Bravura story-telling … Andrew Williams is the real thing; a writer who can marry popular genres to the sophisticated treatments of political arguments.’

— Independent

‘Williams has done his homework and each setting rings true … a well-constructed period thriller … you will get caught up in conspiracy and counter-plot.’

— Shots Magazine

‘Sheer escapism … To Kill a Tsar is a bold portrait of revolutionaries seeking to assassinate Tsar Alexander II in St Petersburg … gripping authenticity.’

— Oxford Mail

‘Authentic, moving, though-provoking, gripping … as good as historical thrillers get. Don’t miss it.’

— Beverley Guardian

‘I was totally absorbed in this very gripping, sensational historical mystery, with a factual basis and with the nail-biting tension of whether the protagonists will be arrested or not. This is only the author’s second novel and yet it was shortlisted for both the Walter Scott Prize and the CWA Ellis Peters Award. The depth of research that the author undertook with this book is to be applauded. I was completely captivated by the very tightly plotted depth of this story which I think is the best historical romantic mystery that I have had the pleasure of reading this year. I hope to include it in my top five books of 2011. If you enjoy a marvellously evocative historical mystery then this is the next one to buy if you have not done so already.’

— Eurocrime

Copyright

JOHN MURRAY

First published in Great Britain in 2010 by John Murray (Publishers)

An Hachette UK Company

© Andrew Williams 2100

The right of Andrew Williams to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

All characters in this publication — other than the obvious historical figures — are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

Epub ISBN 978-1-84854-346-1

Book ISBN 978-0-7195-2391-5

John Murray (Publishers)

338 Euston Road

London NW1 3BH

www.johnmurray.co.uk