The Morozov Inheritance & The Woman Who Isn't There

The Morozov Chronicles:
The Morozov Inheritance & The Woman Who Isn't There

The Morozov Chronicles is the engaging new financial thriller series from Sydney writer Geoffrey Lambert. The Morozov Inheritance was released to acclaim in 2011, with the second book in the series, The Woman Who Isn't There, is now available.

The Morozoc Inheritance
The first book in The Morozov Chronicles and winner of Best Fiction at the Local Writer's Word Festival, Sydney. A banker is killed in the driveway of his Sydney home. Without knowing it, the killer sets in motion a chain of events that began a hundred years ago in Moscow. This epic international story of the rise of the Morozov family begins in Moscow at the turn of the twentieth century. At the same time the Senior Investigator is tracking a clever and psychotic serial killer who is murdering young women. From each victim the killer extracts gruesome trophies. When the killer targets one of the Morozov family their whole future is put at risk. What is the connection between these events and how can an undelivered letter lead to the stunning conclusion in modern London?

The Woman Who Isn't There
The second book in The Morozov Chronicles. A suburban housewife attends a party and vanishes, with no leads, except for one. When three hundred million dollars is stolen from an investment bank in Nassau, the chief Detective of the disappearance seeks the help of the banks reluctant CEO who follows the money trail, leading to the inner sanctums of the international corporate world, a high stakes world of secrets, revenge, prostitution, insider trading, and murder. A world in which six degrees of separation means nobody is safe...

About the Author
Geoffrey Lambert was born and raised in Perth, WA and has had several other careers before pursuing writing. He has worked as an economist, investment banker and co-founder of an international biotech company which holds key patents for gene silencing. He holds a Master of Economics degree and is a member of the Australian Society of Authors. Geoffrey now resides in Sydney and writes fulltime, often using his experience of financial markets as part of his stories.

The Morozoc Inheritance
Publisher: DoctorZed
Author: Geoffrey Lambert
ISBN: 978-0-9873452-7-1
RRP: $24.95

The Woman Who Isn't There Publisher: DoctorZed
Author: Geoffrey Lambert
ISBN: 978-0-9875445-3-7
RRP: $24.95

Pen Poised ...

by Geoffrey Lambert

'That would make a great story."How many times have you thought that? For years sitting in an aircraft or on the train to work, I would imagine a segment of a story and give this new -novel' a name. And that was as far as it went.

            At university one of the most fascinating subjects I studied was Political Science –political theories and systems, including Russia. However it took no time at all to realise once I joined the workforce, that, absorbing though it was, Political Science did not offermuch of a career path. Nevertheless, I continued reading about Russia; biographies of Stalin, novels by Solzhenitsyn, Tolstoy, Nabokov, Dostoevsky and others. Wherever I travelled, I always found time to scour second-hand bookshops for unusual books on Russia, always boarding the aircraft home overweight.

            One year I found myself in Annapolis, on Chesapeake Bay in the US. By chance it happened to be early fall. Like most people I had seen TV documentaries of the fall, photos in Life Magazine and others. Nothing prepared me for the real thing.The beauty of the trees at this time of year is truly stunning. If I close my eyes I can still see them, like the colours on an artist's pallet, rolling down to the water's edge at the naval base.

            On my last day a meeting was cancelled and I had a morning to fill in. My first choice, a stroll through the Naval Academy, never got going.The very tall and impeccably turned out guard at the gate politely, but firmly, turned me away. Only one alternative remained, so I set off expecting to walk back into the shopping area.I actually walked past the front door beforeit clicked. In an old, single-story orange-red brick building sat the Annapolis Book Store. It seemed to push back into the trees as far as the eye could see. A bell jangled as I pushed open the door.

            A bored, over-weight male in his late thirties sat behind the counter.

            'Do you have any books on Russia?" I asked.

            Annoyed that his boredom had been interrupted, he stood slowly and walked away down an aisle. I followed. After several turns he stopped, pointed at a shelf, then, without a word,meandered back to his post. Half a dozen shelves of books on Russia gathered dust in front of me. I saw only one, exactly where he had pointed. A sea-blue spine with faded red lettering; 'The Japan-Russia War" by Sydney Tyler.This detailed account,with illustrations, of the 1905 war was written soon after it ended. I had no idea these two countries had ever fought a war, let alone their own war. The book still stands in the middle of my Russian shelf. By the time I had finished it I had learned that weapons later used in WW I were tested here, that there were 500,000 casualties, and that this was the first war to reported by the world press as it happened – by telegraph.

            The war fought to a stalemate at Harbin in northern China, on the Sungari River. Harbin was a name I had heard before. I had several friends whose Russian parents emigrated from Harbin to escape the Japanese. I now listened to their stories with renewed interest.

            Although fifteen years passed before I finally began writing, the broad outline of the plot stayed withme. It took five years and fifteen re-writes before it was completed, so it was particularly satisfying when the book won a prize for best fiction. Perhaps I should have sent a copy to Annapolis.

Geoffrey Lambert is the author of the new financial thriller novel, titled The Woman Who Isn't There (DoctorZed $24.95), the second book in -The Morozov Chronicles'. He has worked as an economist, investment banker and co-founder of an international biotech company which holds key patents for gene silencing. Geoffrey now resides in Paddington and writes fulltime, often using his experience of financial markets as part of his stories. Visit www.geoffreylambert.com for more information.