Published 21 July 2026 · Available now on Amazon in Kindle and paperback
Olga Miksa rules Nevada’s most feared crime family on two buried secrets: a fortune in Romanov treasure smuggled out of Russia by her father, and an act of Cold War betrayal that bought the family’s immunity from East and West alike. When an old friend hands producer Marcus Riley a cryptic riddle and turns up dead outside LA’s most notorious pawn shop hours later, Marcus and Mako are pulled into the Miksas’ world.
Follow the story as Marcus and Mako dig into a labyrinth of mobsters, traitors and lethal loyalties built to protect a legacy that reaches back to the lost Tobolsk urns and the Eremin Letters, and forward to Stalin’s darkest secret. The deeper they dig, the higher the body count climbs, and the more they become the only people standing between the Miksas and a truth that could rewrite history.
Justice isn’t for sale here, but survival is the ultimate prize.
Sunset Circus by Mark Grenside is published by Sharpe Books.
www.sharpebooks.com
Where Truth Meets Fiction
Bibliography and References
Prologue
The Devastating True Story of the Romanov Family Execution by Simon Sebag Montefiore
Corps Commander
In 1918 the Red Army abandoned epaulettes and ranks as we would recognize them and gave very generic terms.
Part One: Riddle Me This
CHAPTER 1
Shutters On The Beach Hotel, Santa Monica
CHAPTER 9
Police auction for seized items
Affiliated Property Craftsperson (IATSE Local 44)
wrapbook.com/blog/iatse-local-44
Propabilia
Movie Bits
The Movie Prop Vault
California Earthquake Authority
July 5th, 2019, 7.1 earthquake.
earthquakeauthority.com
CHAPTER 10
Three Hidden Jars and Their Guardians
Lost Tsarist Gold and Diamonds
Fascinating new clues about lost Tsarist gold and diamonds worth an untold fortune.
Jewels of the Tsars: The Romanovs and Imperial Russia by Prince Michael of Greece
ISBN 1-902686-55-1
Last Major Defeat of White Army
Father Alexei Vasily
St. Procopius
Alexander Afanasyev
Pohod
A lethal hunting knife found in Russia and Northern Europe. It is often kept inside the boot and usually has a birch bark handle/hilt.
CHAPTER 11
The Life and Times of Pio Pico, the Last Governor of Mexican California, by William D. Estrada
CHAPTER 13
Woodside Priory School
Founded in 1957 by Hungarian Benedictine monks.
Johnson Wax Headquarters, Racine, Wisconsin
Frank Lloyd Wright and the Johnson Wax Buildings by Jonathan Lipman
Published in 1986 by Rizzoli.
Bratva – Nevada City’s Deep Connection to Russian Oligarchs by Loretta Splitair
Marysville and Yuba City floods, December 24, 1955
The White Russian Cocktail
Created by Mokelumne Hill bartender, William Franks. He allegedly created it to curry favor with the Bratva mob. Sadly, he also owed them a gambling debt and was found by a prospector at the bottom of a well near Sutter Creek.
CHAPTER 14
How to spot a fake Rolex
brilliancejewels.com — How to Spot a Fake Rolex
Property Tax in California
Paid in two installments each fiscal year. The first installment is due on November 1st and becomes delinquent on December 10th. The second installment is due on February 1st and becomes delinquent at the close of business on April 10th.
Black Palm Cockatoo
Valued approximately between $15,000 and $25,000.
rarest.org
CHAPTER 15
The Siberian Village of Okunevo as a Place of Power and Its Sacred Landscape, Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics, Estonian Literary Museum, 2021
Tachanka
The Oxford History of Modern War, by Charles Townsend
Oxford University Press, 2005, page 186.
CHAPTER 16
‘O’ by Cirque du Soleil
Performed at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada.
en.wikipedia.org — O (Cirque du Soleil)
CHAPTER 18
Okunev Culture
Wikipedia, A.G. Kozintsev The Origin of the Okunev Population, Southern Siberia: The Evidence of Physical Anthropology and Genetics, Okunevo A Mysterious Place of Power
CHAPTER 20
Items in the Safe
Listed in Jewels of the Tsars, the Romanovs, and Imperial Russia by Prince Michael of Greece.
CHAPTER 22
1917 Constituent Assembly Election
With a turnout of approximately 64% (45,879,381 voters), the Bolsheviks (later the Communist Party of Russia) received 23.3%, while the Socialist Revolutionaries Party secured 37.6%.
Romanov Assassination
The Bolsheviks kept the details of the Romanov family’s assassination secret until publicly acknowledging the murders in 1926.
Lapta
One of the oldest and most distinctly Russian outdoor games. It is a bat and ball game similar to cricket and baseball.
CHAPTER 25
Fiat Omsky vehicles
Used by the White Army on the Eastern front.
en.wikipedia.org — Fiat-Omsky armoured car
Legend of Hanuman Temple near Okunevo
CHAPTER 31
Silver in Photography
Early Photography DPLA
dp.la — Understanding the Camera
Part Two: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
CHAPTER 33
Norton Commando 961
Weight 230 kg
Beretta Bobcat
A semi-automatic pocket pistol produced by Beretta in Accokeek Maryland. A defining feature is the tip-up barrel which pivots on a pin under the muzzle so that the chamber may be loaded with the slide in the closed position.
Stinger .22 Shell
What is the most powerful .22LR ammunition?
Okhrana
Autocracy Under Siege and The Watchful State by Jonathan Daly.
CHAPTER 37
Пахан (Pakhan)
Godfather, head of the Bratva. Russia Mafia: Organized Crime, The History Channel. Red Mafiya: How the Russian Mob Has Invaded America, by Robert Friedman. Hierarchy of Bratva.
en.wikipedia.org — Russian mafia
CHAPTER 38
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
The Intelligence Agency of the United States during World War II. It was dissolved a month after the end of hostilities and was succeeded by the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
CHAPTER 47
UNDARK
Radioactive paint
Radium Girls
Radium Girls movie, Netflix.
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore (ISBN 1471153878)
en.wikipedia.org — Radium Girls
GQ GMC-500 Geiger Counter
Nuclear Radiation Detector Monitor
instrukart.com — GQ GMC-500 Plus Geiger Counter
CHAPTER 48
PO BOX 1663
Associated with the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. During World War II, this post office box in Santa Fe, New Mexico, served as the only mailing address for the entire secret community of Los Alamos, which was involved in the development of the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project.
Flora and Fauna in Los Alamos
inaturalist.org — Los Alamos County
Part Three: Both Sides of a Cloud
CHAPTER 49
Nevada Theater
Mötley Crüe Performance
Nevada Theatre June 18, 1981
concertarchives.org — Mötley Crüe
Rancheria Nisenan Tribe
Joseph Calleja
Maltese tenor and a world-class opera performer.
CHAPTER 51
The Golden Door Health Spa
Escondido, California
CHAPTER 54
New Mexico Health and Safety Department
Responsible for waste disposal. This was replaced in 1990 by the NMED, New Mexico Environment Department.
Inflation Adjustment
US$ 10 million and US$ 20 million in 1944 are equivalent to approximately US$ 175 million and US$ 350 million today, respectively.
CHAPTER 55
Operation Telemark
Hunting Hitler’s Nukes: The Secret Race to Stop the Nazi Bomb by Damien Lewis
Heroes of Telemark: Sabotaging Hitler’s Atomic Bomb, Norway 1942-44 by David Greentree
The 1965 feature film The Heroes of Telemark, starring Kirk Douglas.
CHAPTER 57
Progression 22
New York boat builder Progression.
progressionboats.com
Progression 22 is known for its speed, reaching 70 mph with a 200 BHP engine and nearly 100 mph with a 300 BHP outboard Mercury engine.
Riva Aquarama S and House in the South of France
Both are referenced in Fall Out, the first book about Marcus and Mako.
The Riva Aquarama S is an iconic Italian speedboat celebrated for its design and history.
assouline.com — Riva Aquarama
CHAPTER 60
Use of Microfilm in US Libraries during World War II
ala.org
CHAPTER 61
The Last Payphone in New York City
Located at 7th and 50th Streets.
NYC Office of Technology and Innovation
nyc.gov — End of an Era: Last NYC Payphones Removed
CHAPTER 68
Ruger LCR
Luminol
A water-based solution used to detect blood, even if diluted 10,000 times. When sprayed, it causes blood to fluoresce a pale blue color for a few moments. Best observed in a darkened room with specialist goggles.
What3words
A proprietary geocode system that identifies locations on earth with a resolution of about 3 meters. It is owned by What3words Limited, based in London, UK.
CHAPTER 69
The Pioneer Graveyard
The oldest cemetery in Nevada City, established in 1851 during the Gold Rush. Located on West Broad Street.
The Catalina Jail
Referenced in Fall Out, the first book about Marcus and Mako. A fictional high-end and discreet retreat for health treatments, facelifts, body sculpting, and medical treatments.
CHAPTER 71
Turkey Vultures
CHAPTER 72
Catalina Airport
en.wikipedia.org — Catalina Airport
Bell Global Ranger Helicopter
Range: 450 miles, cruising speed 170 mph.
CHAPTER 74
The Cheka
Real-life torture and horror, state sanctioned.
The Sig Sauer P232
A highly compact .22 automatic that fires stinger shells without any issues.
sigsauer.com
CHAPTER 76
Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club Café
CHAPTER 78
Venona Project
A highly secret counterintelligence program initiated during World War II by the SIS and later the NSA. Approximately 3,000 messages were decrypted and translated over a 37-year period. Headquarters at Arlington Hall in Virginia.
Gene Grabeel, a female American mathematician and cryptanalyst, played a key role in the operation.
en.wikipedia.org — Venona project
Venona: Soviet Espionage and the American Response 1939-1957
CIA Archives
CHAPTER 84
Zip Tie Removal
Recommended by security companies for extricating oneself from being forced into restraints. Demonstrations are available in books and on YouTube.
CHAPTER 85
Whale (Casino Term)
Refers to a very big gambler.
Chapter 89
The Eremin Letter
Captain A. Eremin.
Documentary Proof, by Eric Lee.
en.wikipedia.org — Eremin letter
CHAPTER 91
Nevada City Airport (KGOO)
Runway length: 4,350 feet, or 1,326 meters, suitable for small and some medium private jets.
Embraer Phenom 300
Landing requirement: 3,700 feet or 1,127 meters.
CHAPTER 94
Atwater Penitentiary
Located in Merced, California, is a high-security federal prison.
CHAPTER 96
Russian History Museum
Located in Jordanville, New York.
CHAPTER 97
Santa Catalina Island Fox
Santa Catalina Island Deer Problem
catalinaconservancy.org — Deer Removal Methodologies
Vektor Pistol — The SR-1M
Commonly known as the Vektor, is a modern semi-automatic pistol chambering 9 x 21 mm rounds and common amongst Russian law enforcement and security forces.
Живи век — учись век
Live forever, learn forever – a greeting first used on George W. Bush and repeated to President Joe Biden.