The House of Spark (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780578254616)

It's the 1950s in Romania, after the fall of the Romanian monarch, a time of terror for its citizens. Stalin's communist regime influenced the creation of the Securitate, a police agency used as an instrument of manipulation and control over the country and its economics, education, and even its very culture.

Young Virginia is a university student whose life of tragedy--including her father's death and her brother succumbing to polio pre-vaccine days--has given her a strength beyond her years. For the first time since their deaths, she had started feeling a sense of fulfillment and inner peace much due to her chance meeting of Jenica, a young "bright and full of energy and passion" who has captivated her heart. But now, Jenica has vanished, and Virginia has enlisted their friends to gather information taking serious risks in doing so, causing them to jeopardize their safety with the Securitate and others through exposure and asking questions. When there is a report of a homicide, Virginia fears the worst, but attempts at surreptitiously getting identification or a police report are met with suspicious dead ends. It's too dangerous to get officials involved, and it's difficult to know who to trust--identifying who are members of the communist party or who would be sympathetic to her efforts. She is desperate to find out where Jenica is or what happened to him. And they will do whatever it takes to find out. An unexpected phone call reveals information that once again turns Virginia's world upside down. But will it help her find Jenica?