The Secret Maneuver

Love, suspicion, death, and dark family secrets are at the core of this historical crime novella. A troupe of traveling actors and a family of aristocrats find themselves trapped in a moment of unexpected peace during the Napoleonic wars. In this unsettled time, they are forced to confront a past filled with unsolved mysteries, betrayals, and murders.

The Secret Maneuver begins in Austria in 1801, during a year of quiet battlefields and busy private lives. Desiree, a famous Viennese actress, is summoned to testify in the case of her cousin's death. Only she knows what happened that night, years ago. But if she agrees to talk, the life of her elusive lover will be forfeit.

Count Leopold stands at the helm of an ancient aristocratic family. A true man of the Enlightenment, he doesn't lack ego; he believes himself to be an exemplary nobleman, an arrogant belief no-one would dare question. When a letter arrives from the Ministry of War, explaining that his son died a heroic death in a man-to-man sword fight on the battlefield, Leopold is puzzled: The family's highly guarded secret maneuver had never failed before.

Caught between mourning and perplexing feelings for a member of his own family, Count Leopold is left at a complicated crossroads. An accident brings him shocking news and revelations. It is the secret maneuver that alters his ordeal once again. It irrevocably changes his understanding of love, trust, and the ways we all defend ourselves, from the secret maneuvers of others.

Auteur

Elizabeth von Witanovski, a member of CID UNESCO and mother of three, graduated with honors from The Prague Conservatory of Music in 1975. The third generation of a family of theatre professionals, she made her mark as a ballerina (a soloist of the National Theatre in Prague), an actress (in leading roles for the theatre, TV, cinema, and radio), an award-winning choreographer, theatre director, pedagogue, mime, and costume designer. She has heard and experienced colorful human stories and tales all over the world, which serve as a never-ending source of inspiration. She resides on the East Coast. She still enjoys reading fairytales.