The executions of Tsar Nicholas and Alexandra, along with their
entire family --- four girls and a young boy --- make for both a
sad read and a sad page in the history of Russia. It is painfully
evident that Nicholas was a wonderful husband and father. Yet, this
must be balanced with the fact that he was a horrific Tsar (known
as Bloody Nicholas along those who opposed him), with millions
dying under his rule. Reading Robert Alexander's enthralling yet
flawed novel, THE KITCHEN BOY, I struggled with the deaths of the
innocent children, especially Alexei, their hemophiliac son who was
heir to the throne. Robert Alexander brings all their lives into
sharp focus through the voice of Leonka, the Romanov family's
kitchen boy, whose voice tells this heart-wrenching story.

When Russia entered World War I, Tsar Nicholas effectively
destroyed the lives of millions of Russians under his care. A
revolution gained momentum and the Bolsheviks made the Tsar
abdicate the throne, sending him and his family away to the Ipatiev
House ("The House of Special Purpose"). Alexander faithfully
recreates their final days here through extensive research and with
much feeling. The reader begins to understand the hatred many
Russians had towards the Romanov family but also feels the warmth,
love and nobility that no crown can give the Romanovs. The family
is aware that nearly all hope is lost and that death is coming
closer. That fateful day came on July 16, 1918. Leonka is spared
his life and is sent away before the Romanovs are shuttled down
into the basement. However, he does witness their deaths and,
hidden in shadows, follows the executioners as they depose of the
bodies.

Alexander has, of course, done his research --- so much in fact
that the narrator, Leonka, shares his information most willingly.
Leonka just happens to have a reference library all about the
Romanovs, so if he wasn't there to witness an event or know what a
secret note said, he simply finds out in a book and tells the
reader about it. I wonder if Alexander, with all the copious
amounts of research he threw into his fiction, would have been
better off had he just written a nonfiction book about the Tsar's
last days.

As we read, we learn that the bodies of two members of the Romanov
family were never found. What happened to them? Were they burned as
the executioners themselves said (although you can't burn bodies
completely away on an open fire)? Luckily for the reader, Leonka
knows. With a double twist at the end, we find out what happened in
that basement and how those two went missing.

THE KITCHEN BOY is a faithful attempt to recreate the final tragic
days of the Romanov family. In fact, the Romanov Family Association
praises the book on the back cover. It is affecting and haunting,
gruesome yet loving. It piques the reader's curiosity about the
Tsar and the missing children. Many readers will find themselves
going to the library, looking for the definitive non-fiction book
about those final days of the last Tsar of Russia. Perhaps
Alexander could have written it.