A secret Russian file. A dangerous legacy. The chase begins…

Anna Shevchenko’s debut thriller is set in Ukraine, Russia, Argentina, London and Cambridge, and is based on real facts and research. BEQUEST is the story of attempts over three centuries to lay claim to an infamous legacy – a priceless hoard of Cossack gold stolen from Czar Peter the Great, and hidden deep in the bank vaults of London.

When Taras Petrenko, an ambitious lieutenant of the Russian Security Service, is sent to review the archives of Stalin’s NKVD, he has little idea of the political timebomb he will unearth. File N 1247 was started by the Russian secret police in the 18th century, but is, mysteriously, still an open case. The file hints at a secret which has the power to change the destinies of millions and redraft the map of Eastern Europe, but three crucial pieces of the jigsaw are missing. If the lost documents are found, Tara realizes, what would be revealed could upset the delicate balance of power in the former soviet states, and radically alter the face of Europe as he knows it. Taras resolves to find the documents and destroy them.

But he is not alone. Kate, a young lawyer of Ukrainian heritage who is living and working in London, is approached by a mysterious young man named Andrey who draws her into the dangerous race to lay claim to the gold.

Will their search lead to the completion of the jigsaw, or will it open a Pandora’s box of history?

 

Before starting her company, Anna Shevchenko was a business development consultant for a number of years, specializing in cross-cultural issues, negotiations practices and conflict management. She speaks seven languages, and has an MPhil degree from Cambridge University. Anna has worked with key government and decision makers in Britain and across the CIS. She has also interpreted for numerous high-level government visits to the UK as well as for the senior ministerial meetings at the EU in Brussels. Anna is an author of numerous articles and two books on cross-cultural communication.