Stevie‘s review of The Sniper’s Kiss by Justine Saracen
Lesbian Historical Fiction published by Bold Strokes Books 14 Mar 17
Although my preference for wartime stories tends to lean toward the 1914-1918 conflicts, there’s a lot of excellent lesbian fiction out there set during the Second World War. I’m also a great fan of Justine Saracen, no matter what era or location she writes in, so this book was pretty much an auto-read for me. Throw in the complications of a relationship between a Russian and an American – from countries technically on the same side, but with very different political outlooks in so many ways – and you can see why I was very excited indeed about the prospect of this story.
Mia Kramer is the American-born daughter of Russian immigrants, who has been brought up by her father and brother since the death of her mother. When her father dies as a result of a drunken fall from a rooftop, Mia falls under suspicion due to both her turbulent upbringing and the gossip spreading that she and her father were having affairs with the same married woman. Cleared of all charges, Mia takes full advantage of the possibilities opened up by the war in Europe to apply for a government job in Washington. She is soon noticed by one of the President’s advisors and moves again, this time to live and work in the White House where her knowledge of the Russian language and her ability to think quickly and logically are much in demand.
Also facing upheaval and the chance of previously unimagined opportunities due to the war is Alexia Mazarova, a schoolteacher and loyal member of the Communist Party. Having seen too many of her neighbours killed and their homes and businesses destroyed, she decides to join the army sas a combatant, rather than in a non-lethal role, much to the disappointment of the old priest she regards as a friend. Alexia’s striking looks lead to her selection for the Kremiln’s Honour Guard, and that posting leads to her path first crossing that of Mia, who is acting as translator on a diplomatic mission.
Mia and her bosses suspect that supplies the Americans are sending to Russia are being diverted to the black market, with the proceeds lining the pockets of unscrupulous members of the supply chain. Mia sets out to investigate, though not without a degree of flirtation between her and Alexia, which ends when Mia’s party returns to the States and Alexia requests a transfer to the front.
On a return visit to Moscow, Mia’s expressed suspicions raise those of the culprits, and she is snatched from the street and taken away to be disposed of in a staged ‘accident.’ Fate intervenes, however, and Mia finds herself flung into the same warzone Alexia is fighting in. Mia joins Alexia’s group under an assumed name and with false papers, but the pair will face many adventures and separations before the war is over and they can begin to consider whether either woman’s home country will offer a permanent welcome to the other.
This book was a truly thrilling read from beginning to end with just enough real history interspersed amongst the fictional exploits of the two women and their compatriots to ground it in the period. One that I may have to track down in print, I think.
Grade: A
Summary:
It is 1944, and vast armies drive each other back and forth over blood-drenched Europe.
In the midst of it, two radically different women meet, one a Russian speaking American on a failed diplomatic mission and the other a Soviet sniper. The American, fleeing a sordid past worthy of Dostoyevsky, has murder in her heart but has injured no man. The other, a once-saintly believer, has killed a hundred of them for Stalin. Their politics are worlds apart, but a reckless drunken kiss has tied them together, through church and trench, incense and the smoke of battle. If they survive the war, can they survive the peace?
Read an excerpt.
