Zugzwang

In 1914, the murder of a respected newspaper editor shakes St. Petersburg. Dr. Otto Spethmann, a psychoanalyst, finds that he, his young daughter and his patients have been drawn into a dangerous game of political intrigue in which they are little more than pawns.

The title is a chess term for a position in which any move a player makes only makes things worse. The novel is by Ronan Bennett, an Irish writer.