Espionage novel with historical and literary fiction appeal as well as contemporary thematic interests. Themes include loyalty, betrayal, nationalism and realpolitik. Also includes an autobiographical angle: Sileika learned an uncle he’d never met strangled a lover and hid her body in a well, a family secret he used this novel to process. Set in the Lithuanian city, where the author’s mother grew up, and the Grand-Budapest-Hotel-esque tragicomic Hotel Metropolis. Potential blurbs from Francine Prose, Giles Blunt, Eva Stachniak, David Bergen.