In the contemporary/historical suspense thriller, The Romanov Stone, Kate Gavrill embarks on a quest for the world’s rarest precious gem — a huge alexandrite that once belonged to Russia’s last Tsar, Nicholas II.

Searching across continents with the help of initially skeptical gemologist Simon Blake, Kate faces Colombian jewel thieves, the Russian Mafiyia, and a sinister cleric trained in hypnosis and mind control. At stake is her physical survival, her emotional and intellectual independence — even her ability to give and receive love.

When the story opens, Kate is a reclusive but athletic state college professor in Marion, PA. She learns from her dying mother that she is the last direct descendant of Tsar Nicholas II, the legacy of a brief but intense affair between the Emperor and her great grandmother, a Moscow ballerina, in 1910. Her mother further reveals that Kate — christened Katya at birth — is heiress to a fortune, a Bank of England account established almost a century ago by the Tsar for his mistress and their child. The funds can only be claimed by presenting a Faberge egg and its contents, a huge alexandrite given by “Nicky” to his lover as she fled pre-Revolutionary Russia. Both priceless heirlooms vanished in 1917. The Romanov Stone plays out against the German festivals of rural Pennsylvania; the bustling back alleys of Manhattan’s jewelry trade; along Moscow’s famed Boulevard Ring; in the catacombs of Kiev, and on the streets of central London.

"THE ROMANOV STONE seamlessly weaves past and present together in this deftly executed mystery thriller."

-- IndieReader (from IndieReader Discovery Award for General Fiction)

"Robert C. Yeager had me by page four of his new novel The Romanov Stone." -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer.com

"The Romanov Stone takes readers on a heart-thumping ride ... like the Russian Matryoshka dolls, one nested inside the other, it is multi-layered and surprising. Highly recommended."

-- Bookendz.com

"A fast moving book filled with action, suspense, romance and huge doses of surprise."

-- GoodReads.com

"Let's give this one: FIVE GOLD FABERGE EGGS!" -- BookDepository.com

"History, suspense, romance—The Romanov Stone has it all!" -- New York Times best-selling author Antoinette May