The Russian Doll

Inside every mystery, another twist...

'This is a wildly entertaining novel.'
- The Literary Review

The Russian Doll

How much did she just say the salary was? When Ruth Miller returns a dropped scarf to Elena Shilkov, she is whisked from a dreary shared house to a world of unimagined luxury. The super-rich Russian wants a new personal assistant and won 't take no for an answer. Ruth gets accommodation, a credit card, and a complete wardrobe makeover. And she ' s good at the job; distributing gifts, attending galas, dealing with the high-society movers and shakers fighting for Elena ' s attention. Then the sinister truth begins to reveal itself, that nothing is quite what it seems in Elena ' s dangerous, deceptive world. Ruth should get away. But it' s already too late. Packed with twists, intrigue, betrayal, romance and suspense, The Russian Doll constantly wrongfoots the reader and delivers a perfect narrative, right to the last page.

 'The writing is breath-taking, the sense of blood-red danger is a knife’s breadth away from the first page, and the twists are endless and ever-spiralling to a completely unpredictable ending.  But this isn’t just a sharply crafted thriller, it’s a view into the world we live in, the corruption, the deceit and the endless, venal, self-serving idiocy of those in power.   For that alone, it should be on everyone’s list of essential reading.  Palmer’s will be a name to watch as we crash ever faster into the end-stops of our era.’ 
- Manda Scott, author of Treachery of Spies

'Best book I've read this year'
Simon Conway, author of The Stranger

'Disguising her schemes through
philanthropy, Elena is a delicious villainess, and the compelling
dynamic between plutocrat and protégée makes this an
addictive read.'
- The Sunday Times