Ronan Bennett's new masterpiece of literary suspense unfolds in a city on the verge of revolution. On a blustery April day, a respected St. Petersburg newspaper editor is murdered in front of a shocked crowd. Five days later, Dr. Otto Spethmann, the celebrated psychoanalyst, receives a visit from the police. There has been another murder in the city, and somehow he is implicated. The doctor is mystified and deeply worried - as much for his young, spirited daughter as for himself. Meanwhile, he finds himself preoccupied by two new patients: Anna Petrovna, a society beauty plagued with nightmares, with whom he is inappropriately falling in love, and the troubled genius Rozental, a brilliant but fragile chess master on the verge of a complete breakdown. As Dr. Spethmann is drawn deeper into the murderous intrigue, he finds that he, his patients, and his daughter may all be pawns in a game larger in scope than anything he could have imagined. Zugzwang is a masterfully written novel packed with cliffhangers, romance, unforgettable characters, and a plot that keeps listeners guessing to the very end.
©2007 Ronan Bennett; (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.