The Master Craftsman by Kelli Stuart

 

About the Book:

In 1917, Alma Pihl, a master craftsman in The House of Fabergé, was charged to protect one of the greatest secrets in Russian history--an unknown Fabergé Egg that Peter Karl Fabergé secretly created to honor his divided allegiance to both the people of Russia and the Imperial Czar's family. When Alma and her husband escaped Russia for their native Finland in 1921, she took the secret with her, guarding her past connection to the Romanov family.

Three generations later, world-renowned treasure hunter Nick Laine is sick and fears the secret of the missing egg will die with him. With time running out, he entrusts the mission of retrieving the egg to his estranged daughter, Ava, who has little idea of the dangers she is about to face. As the stakes are raised, Ava is forced to declare her own allegiance--and the consequences are greater than she could have imagined.

This modern-day treasure hunt from award-winning author Kelli Stuart transports you into the opulent and treacherous world of the Russian Revolution to unearth mysteries long buried.

My Review: 

I love treasure hunts so the description of the story totally had me hooked. The story is a split-time novel that goes back and forth between the time of the House of Fabergé (early 1900s). Learning about the history of Russia was interesting and some of the quips between Ava and the other characters had me smiling. 

That being said the story took me a while to get through (which may have just been me in a reading slump), and there were pieces that disappointed me. There were a few swear words, talk of an affair that seemed to be accepted or the very least swept under the rug, and there was no mention of anything really to do with Christianity. When I read books from a Christian publisher, I am looking content that does not have swear words, content that addresses sin at some point, and content that uplifts the Lord. If I wanted worldly fiction, I would choose other publishers. 

It was a story with an interesting premise, and the writing was done well, but there are definitely things that concern me.

I voluntarily received a complimentary copy from Revell. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars