The Communist's Secret

From former Pentagon official and award-winning historical novelist Suzanne Parry comes The Communist’s Secret—a haunting WWII novel of betrayal, bravery, and second chances.

Driven by a blind devotion to the Communist Party, self-centered Katya Karavayeva has broken the most important rule in Soviet society: Never say anything that can be used against you. On the heels of that betrayal, Nazi Germany invades and the Soviet Union mobilizes. Katya hopes to halt her downward spiral by joining the volunteer militia, but within a few short weeks finds herself under attack.

After escaping with another volunteer, Katya spends weeks on the run before landing in a town under Nazi occupation. There, she finds a place and a purpose and learns to fight a different kind of war, repaying German brutality with a harsh justice of her own. By turns desperate, courageous, and conflicted, she battles the Nazis and her own inner demons while dreaming of reunion with her daughter and forgiveness from her husband—the one she betrayed.

For fans of Kate Quinn and Mark Sullivan, The Communist’s Secret is the second book of The Leningrad Trilogy, a saga set in Soviet Russia during World War II and the post-war era.

Suzanne Parry is a former arms control negotiator turned historical novelist. She studied Russian in Moscow and worked for the US Department of Defense. While at the Pentagon, she helped negotiate the first international security agreement of the Gorbachev era. She has taught university, coached high school cross-country, and raised a large family. A dedicated runner, Suzanne lives on both coasts but calls Portland, Oregon, home.