The tension is palpable throughout, and the pacing of the story is well executed. Laura is afraid, but it seems she isn't even sure what she is/should be afraid of, other than the obvious of losing the trial. Laura's own family hides Yanussian secrets, her loyalties are tested, her own instincts alert to deception. Her findings will impact many, including her own kin. A visit to the grand Ceausescu Palace in Bucharest conjured ghosts of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu and what was known as a “conjugal dictatorship” before their unceremoniously swift trial and execution. Berry perfectly captures the role of the press and the tabloids in relation to figureheads and celebrities, and how the media can whip people up into a frenzy, regardless of whether what they print is true. A captivating story of women's power, love and secrets. As timely and profound as it is unforgettable. The ending left me breathless' LARA PRESCOTT, New York Times bestselling author of The Secrets We Kept

Demands to be devoured in one sitting. S umptuously written… One of the most compelling literary debuts of the year ‘GLAMOUR

A captivating story of women's power, love and secrets. As timely and profound as it is unforgettable. The ending left me breathless'-- LARA PRESCOTT, New York Times bestselling author of The Secrets We Kept When the Ceausescus set out for a state visit to the United States in 1978, Elena was offered an honorary membership at the Illinois Academy of Sciences (IAS). However, nothing less than recognition from a Washington-based institute would satisfy her. According to Ion Mihai Pacepa, a former chief of Romania's foreign intelligence service and author of the book Red Horizons: The True Story of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescus' Crimes, Lifestyle, and Corruption, Elena was livid: Elena began attending night-school courses in chemistry at the Bucharest Municipal Adult Education Institute. She was soon expelled because she cheated on an exam and never received a bachelor's degree. In fact, the teacher who oversaw the infamous exam "lived in fear of his life for decades afterward" (Behr 140). Along with following the main storyline in the present day, I loved how connected the narrator's own past and home life was with her work life. It added another dimension to the story and gave it even more mystery. Especially towards the end when plot twists and coming forward left right and centre, it really made for a well rounded and satisfying ending to the novel in my opinion. Her interest in chemistry arose when she was briefly employed in a laboratory. In her free time, she attended meetings of the Youth Communists' League, where she met her soon-to-be husband Nicolae. She failed nearly every subject that was taught in Romanian schools.

We then revisit this period, when Laura is part of the team of lawyers returning to her home country of Yanussia to defend Popa, accused of being party to widespread fraud and other dictator-friendly crimes. Laura's parents left Yanussia when she was young, she is prepared to meet a manipulative serpent... but instead finds herself falling for the older woman's intense intelligence and magnetism. Will the evidence show innocence? Acquiescence? Co-operation or collaboration? A gripping, intelligent, utterly-of-the-moment thriller’EMMA STONEX, bestselling author of The Lamplighters Elena Ceausescu: Doctor Horroris. Youtube, 21 Aug. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSoxcc6ZPoI.Personally, I’d have like to know more about how she approached creating her characters as well – endowing even relatively minor characters with complex/complicating private hinterlands. The book follows Laura, a young lawyer, who is part of a team who go to the country of her exiled parents, to defend the wife of the dead former leader, accused of being complicit in his crimes. As her parents escaped the country, and do not want their daughter to go to defend Marija Popa, this leads to a fracture in their already fragile relationship, damaged by a lifetime of secrets. The Dictator’s Wife is released on the 17 February and FYI: Waterstones & Goldsboro Books both have exclusive editions! Marija is clearly glamorous, powerful, and very charismatic, but throughout she refers to herself as 'only a woman'.