News, Press & Reviews

Oksana (Heirs of Anton: 1)
by Susan K. Downs and Susan May Warren.
LCCD 2004558107. Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour Publishing, 2005
PAP, 1593103492, list price: $12.95.

Imperial Tsar Nikolai entrusts the life a chambermaid of the Royal House of Romanov, Oksana, along with the jewel-encrusted Crest of Saint Basil the Blessed, to Anton Klassen, a Russian Mennonite. As the Russian Revolution of 1917 threatens to destroy the Romanov dynasty, Anton struggles to protect both Oksana, and the Crest with his life. All the while, Oksana harbors a secret so dangerous that only faith in God’s promises can save the Heirs of Anton.


Marina (Heirs of Anton: 2)
By Susan K. Downs and Susan May Warren.
Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour Publishing, 2005
PAP, 1593103506, list price: $12.95

Hitler’s Third Reich has invaded Russia. Sharpshooter Marina “Magda” Vasileva, a partisan, has just buried her husband Dmitri and discovers that she is expecting his child. American OSS agent Edward Neumann is helping the partisans destroy German supply lines into Moscow. As Edward and Magda gain each other’s trust, their love grows and finally compels them to make choices that can only be born out of the true love, faith, and unquestionable obedience to God.

Nadia (Heirs of Anton: 3)
By Susan K. Downs and Susan May Warren.
Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour Publishing, 2004
PAP, 1593101635, list price: $12.95

CIA agent Hope “Nadia” Moore returns behind the Iron Curtain to Cold War-era Communist Russia to rescue her husband, Michael, from a KGB prison where he is awaiting execution. They must prove to the CIA that Michael is not a traitor to his country, but a ruthless double agent is not about to let the spy duo get away. As they attempt their escape, they must learn to trust their hearts and the Lord in order to identify the one who is betraying them. At the same time, they must learn to release their wills to the perfect will of God.

Ekaterina (Heirs of Anton: 4)
By Susan K. Downs and Susan May Warren
Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour Publishing, 2004
PAP, 1593101619. list price: $12.95

Armed with a brass key, a Bible, and an old photograph, Ekaterina “Kat” Hope Moore travels to moderns-day Russia in search of information about her identity. When her key sets off security in Moscow’s international airport, Captain Vadeem Spasonov, of the International Crime Task Force of the Russian Secret Service, rescues her out of the hands of a dangerous antiquities smuggler searching for ancestral treasures. As Kat flees the Russian underground pursuing the secrets that will shed light on her Russian heritage, Captain Vadeem runs from the nightmare of this own past. Together, the treasures they find unleash an avalanche of God’s design.


Fic. Americans—Russia—Fiction; Russia—Fiction; Romantic suspense fiction; Christian fiction. - Adult Rating: 4


Susan K. Downs and Susan May Warren are not strangers to Russia and its culture. Mr. Warren served wit her family for eight years as a missionary in Khabarovsk, Russia, and Ms. Downs traveled extensively in Russia as an adoption coordinator.

The quality of writing is consistent through most of the series. Nadia is the exception. Her character as a mater spy is unrealistic. Her relationship with her husband creates more frustration than suspense, but it doesn’t diminish the enjoyable reading experience. Readers fascinated by Russia will appreciate the tastes, smells, sight, and sounds that emerge from the pages of the series. Overall, the author handle the foreign words well, but a glossary of foreign terms at the end of each book would benefit the reader, as would a genealogy of characters.

Above all, these are easy-reading romances with a dose of history, mystery, and spiritually woven into the storyline. They contain characters whose lives are mindful of the will of the God. Psalm 100:5 is a recurring theme: “The Lord is good, and His love endures forever, His faithfulness continues through all generations.” Author Downs and Warren bear out this truth through their Heirs of Anton.

Related Authors

• Susan K. Downs

• Susan May Warren

Related Books

• Heirs Of Anton: Ekaterina (Trade Paper)

• Heirs Of Anton: Marina (Trade Paper)

• Heirs Of Anton: Nadia (Trade Paper)

• Heirs Of Anton: Oksana (Trade Paper)