Twenty-eight-year-old Natalia Blackstone is an unusual woman for her time.

She is a banker in her father’s bank, responsible for financing the building of the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia. Her main contact is Count Dimitri Sokolov, but he hasn’t responded to her last telegram.

When Dimitri reports witnessing an illegal massacre, he is stripped of his title and estates and sentenced to seven years in a Siberian prison. He realises he has to escape and find his way to the USA, where Natalia can help him make the truth about the massacre known. That’s obviously a tragedy, but I didn’t understand enough of the politics to see why this was so important to the Americans.

As a result, I didn’t find Written on the Wind as compelling as some of Elizabeth Camden’s other novels, despite the backdrop of the Trans-Siberians Railroad and the Russian setting. That’s a shame, because I’d been looking forward to Natalia’s story and to meeting Count Dimitri.

I think part of the problem was the friends-to-more plot.

Natalia and Dimitri had been corresponding for three years before they met, and their relationship had progressed from business to personal. It therefore seemed natural that they’d like each other when they finally met in person, but the whole thing seemed too easy.

That’s not typical for novels by Elizabeth Camden, who usually manages to write stories with unique with original settings and issues. That uniqueness is one of the strengths of her stories. The building of the railroad and the Boxer Rebellion was unique, but that was the backdrop, the device to get Dimitri to the USA, not the central story.

However, I did enjoy the banter between Natalia and Dimitri, especially their different views on matters of culture and literature. The dialogue between them was a definite strength.

The other strength was one common to all Elizabeth Camden novels: the nuggets of truth hidden in the narrative and dialogue, particularly regarding the differences between Russia and the USA. These differences were often amusingly shown through Natalia and Dimitri’s views on literature:

(I think this basically explains why I didn’t enjoy Tolstoy.)

Written on the Wind is the second book in The Blackstone Legacy series but can easily be read as a standalone novel.

Thanks to Baker Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook review.

About Elizabeth Camden

Elizabeth Camden is a research librarian at a small college in central Florida. Her novels have won the coveted RITA and Christy Awards. She has published several articles for academic publications and is the author of four nonfiction history books. Her ongoing fascination with history and love of literature have led her to write inspirational fiction. Elizabeth lives with her husband near Orlando, Florida.

Find Elizabeth Camden online at:

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About Written on the Wind

He carries a dangerous secret, but can he survive long enough to expose it?

Count Dimitri Sokolov has been charged with overseeing construction of the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway, but during this work, he witnesses an appalling crime, the truth of which threatens the Russian monarchy. In an effort to silence him, the czar has stripped Dimitri of his title, his lands, and his freedom . . . but Dimitri has one asset the czar knows nothing about: his deep and abiding friendship with Natalia Blackstone.

Natalia is the lead analyst for her father’s New York banking empire and manages their investment in the Trans-Siberian Railway. Her bond with Dimitri has flourished despite the miles between them, but when Dimitri goes unexpectedly missing, she sets the wheels in motion to find him. Once they join forces, they embark on a dangerous quest in which one wrong move could destroy them both.

From the steppes of Russia to the corridors of power in Washington, Dimitri and Natalia will fight against all odds to save the railroad while exposing the truth. Can their newfound love survive the ordeal?

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