The title of DANCER, DAUGHTER, TRAITOR, SPY, Elizabeth Kiem's debut novel, is a tribute to the legendary thriller master, and it works well with the novel's first quarter taking place in Moscow. The rest of the book doesn't lose any of its Russian-ness when the action moves to Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, also known as "Little Odessa." Marina, daughter of the Bolshoi's primaballerina and a dancer herself, lives the life of a normal albeit wealthy Russian girl until her mother disappears. Told that her mother is exposing a dark Soviet secret, Marina and her father flee to the United States.
Here, Marina learns English, continues her dancing and makes friends, but the intrigue she and her father fled has followed them. The paranormal element of this story makes an appearance from time to time with Marina's ability to see the future and her mother's ability to see scenes from the past.
Kiem does a nice job of evoking Russia in 1982 around the time of Brezhnev's death, however, I am not sure the YA audience will connect with this time period as well as older readers. While much of Marina's character rang true, I found some of her terminology archaic and jarring and wished more time had been spent on the dance as the title implied. Kiem brought in a number of supporting characters and while some came to life for me, the plot became too convoluted at times to make room for them all to shine.
If you're looking for a book where the focus is on the paranormal elements, this is not the one. DANCER, DAUGHTER, TRAITOR, SPY has much more suspense than paranormal with a touch of romance. The problem with the intrigue portion of the book was too many players and a lot of confusion with some questions never finding answers. That said, Kiem has a way with language that brings her surroundings to life whether it's 1982 Russia with its long bread lines, Brighton Beach with its Russian gangsters or the dirty streets of Manhattan which don't resemble anything Marina had read in books.
Her writing is impressive enough that I would definitely give a future book a try. While this one didn't appeal to me, others may enjoy it. Lots of references to music both classical and pop throughout the story, will give the story more depth to fans of culture and music of all kinds.
A new breed of spy novel combines classic thrills (The Americans, John Le Carre, and Alan Furst), Bolshoi intrigue, and elements of the paranormal.Marina is born of privilege. Her mother, Sveta, is the Soviet Union's prima ballerina: an international star handpicked by the regime. But Sveta is afflicted with a mysterious second sight and becomes obsessed with exposing a horrific state secret. Then she disappears. Fearing for their lives, Marina and her father defect to Brooklyn. Marina struggles to reestablish herself as a dancer at Juilliard. But her enigmatic partner, Sergei, makes concentration almost impossible, as does the fact that Marina shares her mother's “gift,” and has a vision of her father’s murder at the hands of the Russian crooks and con artists she thought they'd left behind. Now Marina must navigate the web of intrigue surrounding her mother's disappearance, her ability, and exactly whom she can—and can't—trust.
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