I found this book fascinating. I have read a lot about the Romanov family and this period of Russian history. I have read a lot of different theories about the fate of the two youngest children. This book is fascinating because of the historical detail in it. It has obviously been very well researched. Whether or not you believe in this books version of what happened to Anastasia, this book is definitely worth reading.

I’ve always enjoyed books about the Tsar, his family and the house of special purpose. Many have been written as a fiction story with facts thrown in but the way this was written had me hooked from the first page. It was so interesting and I loved every single word. I could literally picture every event and description more so than with any other similar book I’ve read.
I did wonder through out if this was written as a fiction book with facts or was this account of events actually told by a man on his death bed.... either way I enjoyed it so very much. I couldn’t not put it down to go to sleep. It was one of those I can’t wait to read my book, turn the phone off and I finished it within 24hrs. I started to slow my pace to make it last longer.
I have already told my book club friends just how good it was. Whether you believe it or not I would highly recommend this book.

The Malinovsky Papers by H. Jones is a brilliant historical mystery centred around the Romanov family.

I chose to request an advanced copy of this book because I learnt a small amount about it as part of a module on Russian Politics and Literature as part of my Politics course at university. In particular, I was interested in the continued conspiracy theories surrounding the fate of the Romanov family.

Whether you choose to believe the theory outlined in this book or not, there is no doubt that this is a thoroughly researched and highly entertaining book.

The Malinovsky Papers begin with a foreword by Hannah Jones explaining how she came to be in possession of the papers and why she believes them to be authentic and chose to publish them. They were sent to her by the son of a professor she had held in high esteem when he was alive, Nicholas Malinovsky.

In the event of his death Nicholas had left the contents of the papers to his son Andrei and Andrei had contacted her for her professional opinion.

The Malinovsky papers comprised of the following material:

One Sealed box not to be opened until after the first manuscript has been read
27 Audio Tapes
Two Manuscripts
A covering letter from Nicholas to his son
“My dear son,

How did it all start? Well, you may remember that in the 1980’s, while you were at medical school, I was Professor of 20th Century European History at Yale and I had published a book on The Russian Revolution in 1985. The book attracted some publicity and it was that which prompted an elderly Russian émigré, Dmitri Korshunov to write to me in 1986, through my publishers, and offer his story to me.”

Korshunov claimed to have worked in The House of Special Purpose in Ekaterinburg where the Bolsheviks had imprisoned the Romanov’s.

Initially Nicholas dismissed him as one of many people trying to cash in or become famous by claiming to be part of a historical event but when a year later he was contacted by him again and told he was dying Nicholas felt guilty and decided to go and find out what he had to say.

Korshunov began by talking about his childhood in the well-off mining town of Ekaterinburg. He spoke about the return of Russian men from the war and how disillusioned they were with those in charge.

His own father returned from the war as an unpleasant stranger who lodged at our house. They had never been particularly close but the distance between them deepened on his return.

His mother on the other hand was a religious woman who was highly devoted to both her husband and her son despite her husband’s ill treatment of her.

Despite only being 15 Korshunov was told by his father that he had to leave school and get a job. Dmitri agreed but said he would choose what job he would take. He chose to apply to work as a servant in one of the big houses in the town and ended up working in the Impatiav house where the Romanov family would eventually end up.

Korshunov’s tale centred around a very different ending for the two youngest Romanov children, an ending he played a key part in.

The details within The Morinovsky Papers are well-thought out and researched. I liked the details of every day life as well as the details about The Romanov’s themselves. I loved the details of Korshunov’s life in general.

This was a brilliant read, I loved it.

Well that took my breath away, as has been said before if your interested in Russia and it's history mainly the Romanov's then this is a book for you.
It had come close to not being written for so many reasons but i will let you read without bias. This is a account of what happened in the fatal time upto and after the e execution of the Tsar and his family, another one you say but wait till you have read it, the research and your gut reaction. This is a book i guess where it's your take that will count, you can read and if your like me Google will be used a lot or some better avenues of research as there are many.
I enjoyed this book and believe it but that is just my opinion.
I received a free copy if this book from NetGalley in return for a honest review

I finished this book today after not being able to put it down for much of it. I received a free copy from NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review. There was no indication as to whether it was fiction or biography. I had assumed that it was non-fiction when I requested a copy to read. About two thirds in I started Googling the characters and realised that it actually fiction and felt somewhat duped.

The first two thirds is a series of interviews that Professor Nicholas Malinovsky, an American professor of Russian descent, makes over a period of 2 weeks in the late 1980s with Dmitri Korshunov. Korshunov is in his 80s and dying and wants to share his incredible story about his childhood and youth in Ekaterinburg, Russia. As a 16 year old he was working at the Ipatiev House as a gardener during World War I. Shortly after he started this job the owners of the house were sent away and days later the former Emperor Nicholas II, his wife and some of their children and servants were brought there. The other children followed later. Within a year the Romanov family and their close servants were executed by the Bolshevics who were imprisoning them. All the Romanovs were killed. Or were they? This has been a subject of speculation world-wide ever since with no definitive answers.

The interviews are woven with Malinovsky's summing up notes each day. It is an incredible tale of what really happen to Grand Duchess Anastasia, youngest daughter of the ex Tsar, and the rest of her family. Malinovsky was a highly regarded academic and felt unable to publish the story in his lifetime so the book is mainly set in 2003 when Andrei, Malinovsky's son, is corresponding with Hannah Jones, a student of Malinovsky, who he is entrusted to know what to do with the contents of these interviews.

It is written in the style of complete reality, alongside many photos from 1917/18 of the main characters and locations in Russia. Until about two thirds in I was still assuming that this was factual material, partly due to the inclusion of so many photographs. Alarm bells had rung at one point as Hannah Jones appeared to have taken two weeks to have read the first manuscript when it took me about 15 minutes and was so gripping that, had it been real, I would have read to the end of those manuscript in a matter of hours and not spent two weeks reading one manuscript out of fifteen.

The last third dragged. Maybe because I realised that this was a work of fiction but also as it covered a later period in history after which the graves of the slaughtered Romanovs had been found and DNA tests were being done. There was a long section when Hannah, in an email to Andrei, unpicks 3 slightly different accounts of the disposing of the bodies as recollected on two occasions in 1922 and another in 1934. Dozens of points are brought up and how the three tellings all differ slightly. This was very tedious and suddenly detracted hugely from the story for me. I'm not even sure of the point of this section.

It's a clever telling but I am still left feeling duped as I wouldn't have requested this book to read if I had known it was fiction but I have to say it was a very clever piece of writing and a gripping tale for the first two thirds.

Although it's not my usual genre, I enjoyed reading this book. An original version of the well-known Romanov's mystery, written in such a clever way that it can almost fool you that this a true account. Some fascinating photographs also add authenticity to the story. Bravo Hannah Jones!
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance copy.

The narrative of The Malinovsky Papers centres around the conversations between Prof Malinovsky and a dying Russian emigre, Dmitry Korshunov, later reported to researcher Hannah Jones, Korshunov claims to have been at the centre of events in Russia at the time of the killing of the Imperial family, and reveals the "truth" about the fate of two of the Tsar's children, Anastasia and Alexei. I really enjoyed this intriguing tale, unsure as to whether it was real or whether the story between researcher and professor was itself a fiction - this just added to the intrigue! Tailed off a bit at the end as analysis of conflicting historical sources got a bit long winded, but aside from that what a read!

A fascinating 'what if' historical novel,based around the Russian Revolution.It reads like a true account and is very thought-provoking,although having visited the tomb of the Romanovs in St Petersburg,I don't believe the premise of the book.
It gives a very detailed account of the days leading up to the events in the Ipatiev House in July 1918 and a possible version of what might have happened afterwards.
Recommended for anyone interested in Russian history..

Because I am very interested in everything involving the mystery around the Romanov family and especially Anastasia, I was very curious when I started this book. And it was a pleasant surprise reading the story and I enjoyed it a lot. It took me awhile figuring out, that it was not a non-fictional book, but a cleverly written novel. The photographs are a nice touch, also adding more authenticity to to story. Recommended! I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Write Publications Ltd.!

A good read but I felt conned when it became apparent it was fiction that I was reading. The concept and the way it was constructed made it all so plausible as a conversation between the Russian and the person challenged to publish the final work. OK though.

This is a well written story of what might have happened to the last of the Romanovs. It is presented as historical research initially gained by talking to a first-hand witness. At times one wonders if it is actually true! Having extremely limited knowledge of Russia in the early 20th century the story seemed realistic and is well crafted. It is probable that the truth will never be known about these events so it is perfectly acceptable to theorise. An interesting read.

I could not put this down.. My quiet moments were filled with it. An amazing story, filled with history and detail. I hope very much it’s true. Will we ever know,?somehow it feels that it really is.

A time in history that has captivated people for so long then along comes this new challenge. Read it for yourself, make up your own mind. Whatever you decide it will enthrall you.

Superb! Well written, engaging and compelling weaving fact and fiction. If you like 20th century historical fiction take a look at this.

This book captivated me from the first page. I couldn't put it down.

Being intrigued by all things Romanov, I was curious if this book would add to my collection. And what a treat it turned out to be! Still not sure if it is fiction or a true interview, It doesn't matter. It's an incredible account of what happened at Ipatiev House. The added photos make the story even more believable.
After two-thirds the tale is told. What follows is a dragging account of DNA research through the years. I skipped most of it, since it took me away from the amazing story I'd just read.

Wow!! What an amazing book with a different version of a story that I have been fascinated with all my life. Beautifully written, it keeps you gripped from the first page. Anyone with a love of Russian history, especially the Romanov family and their fate cannot fail to adore this. What a privilege it was to read this book. So well researched and full of fact this is an absolute masterpiece of literature.

Over the years I've read more than a few books based on the Romanovs. The Kitchen Boy may have been the most recent, so it's been a while, which made me easy prey for The Malinovsky Papers.

There is an irresistible fascination with the family, their captivity and brutal assassination by the Bolsheviks. So many mysteries and theories regarding what happened with few facts to back it up makes it even more compelling. This book covers much of the ground of previous novels with an interesting delivery method. Here, we have a dying Russian emigre (Dmitri Korshunov) who tells his story to a history professor (Nicholas Malinovsky) who then decides not to publish. Malinovsky, after his own death, leaves it to his son to decide the fate of said story. The story consists of the transcribed audio tapes of Korshunov explaining what he witnessed as gardener of Ipatiev House and Malinovsky's own thoughts as the story unfolds. It has the feel of non-fiction which is hindered only by the awkward banter between these two characters and the constant repetition of, "I'm sorry for interrupting, now please carry on."

The story of what Korshunov observed, and did, was pretty predictable with a couple plot twists easily decipherable from early on. What stood out most strongly was the detail of the time. The reader felt submerged in a time and place of great political turmoil and unrest that is hard to fathom by western standards. Also of note are the facts on what transpired with various research teams over the years and the Russian art of disseminating false or misleading information. There is clearly a lot known by the Kremlin that will never be shared, unless it serves their purposes. It will be interesting to see what they roll out as 'fact' this year, being the 100th anniversary of the Romanov murders. The timeline of events at the end of the book is also great stuff as it illustrates the chain of events that led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.

This is a cracking read for anyone interested in the Romanov family and/or keen conspiracy theorists. There's a lot of fact and fiction to fuel the mind on the mystery of what happened and where the family was really interred. A highly recommended read.

I've always been fascinated by the Anastasia story and the potential that one or two of the children survived, and so this was a great read for me, it's interesting well written and keep a sense of intrigue. Who really knows what happened, but I enjoyed reading this book whatever the reality x

This book was an absolute page turner, could not put it down,! Completely believable story and well worth a read

There has been much speculation over the past 100 hundred years about what happened to Anastasia, a daughter of the Tsar following his,(and his family's) murder by the Bolsheviks in 1917. The Malinovsky Papers present another picture, as told in 1986 by an old Russian emigre to an Academic Historian, Professor Malinovsky.
Dmitri Korshunov said he worked at the House of Special Purposes in Ekaterinburg at the time the Imperial family was murdered. He presents a very detailed picture to which Malinovsky applied academic detachment and thoroughness as he forensically questioned what he was told. His extensive notes did not become available until after his death, when his son shared them with a UK author (sic Hannah Jones) who had got to know Malinovsky and his family over the years. She in turn endeavoured to test the veracity of the papers etc.
The book is an excellent read which quickly absorbs the reader into the description of life at the time and subsequently until Anastasia's death. The text had an analytical quality which adds authenticity to the presentation. But is it to be believed? It certainly is credible but you, the reader, will have to decide where you stand ..... and why.
I suspect we have not heard the last of this. In the meantime I look forward to more of Hannah' Jones work. The Malonovsky sets the bar very high and she will do well to better it.

Thank you to NetGalley and H. Jones for allowing me to read and review The Malinovsky Papers. Very cool book! Very enjoyable!

This book is written in such a way that the reader is left questioning whether it is real or not. Is it a figment of the author’s imagination or is it a true memoir and are those genuine authenticity checks at the end? I rarely give 5 stars for a book but I loved the way this book makes you think. There are definitely a few tells within, some more obvious than others, but it was a very interesting story that had me hooked from the start.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Have always been interested in the history of the Russian Revolution, and whilst a work of fiction, to hear from someone who could have been there, as to what happened was intriguing. Woven with the present of a Romanov guard revealing his story,. about his relationship with the Tsar and his family, it is hard to believe it is not the truth

Whether this is conspiracy theory or truth it is still an intriguing book that leaves the reader to decide. It's either the remarkable memory of a dying octogenarian or a clever and well researched piece of fiction. To me, it's a blend of both fact and fiction skillfully interlinked into a well written novel.