The review mentions that in this new biography the most frightening presence is St. Petersburg itself, noting it to be home to "meddling" foreign agents. Reports of Western agents being present and affecting things at the time are incredibly widespread. There is even the case of the MI6 officer who frequently described being involved in Rasputin's murder [1]. Fascinating angle that defies the generally-told story…

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Rayner