THE FACE STEALER

Felonious thespians undertake their most daring and audacious caper yet.

Apparently, in 1909, the theatrical Fitzglen family has become as infamous for its thievery as famous for its performances, because a man named Mikhail Volkov comes to London’s Amaranth Theatre and sits through their mediocre performance of The Importance of Being Earnest as the prelude to a desperate appeal: He needs their help in locating a set of priceless Stone Heads (“You’ve given them capital letters,” says Jack Fitzglen) that were once locked away in a monastery in the Ural Mountains. Volkov, accused of stealing them, may face imprisonment if he can’t produce them. It’s quite an ask for author Rayne’s crazy clan, but they have an additional connection. In the latest of Rayne’s double-decker plots, Fitzglen ancestor “Highwayman Harry” is linked to the Heads in the 1770s. This backstory of the Heads is presented via Harry’s odyssey and the journal of none other than Catherine the Great, while the brash, hedonistic Fitzglens undertake the more recent adventure of snagging the Heads. In the first of many outrageous twists, Catherine and Harry become lovers. The audacity of counterpointing the exalted Russian empress with a band of earthy thespians is fundamental to the novel’s appeal. The colloquial Fitzglen banter, studded with theatrical references, plays nicely against Catherine’s elegant literary style and the more formal third-person narrative of Harry’s quest. An illuminating author’s note adds historical perspective and insight into Rayne’s process.

A raucous mystery romp studded with historic flourishes.