A bizarre and unexpected round of Russian Roulette on an early
summer day opens the English translation of this novel, first
published as Azazel in Russia in 1998. After a brief bout of
fooling around in the park in front of a couple of women, a young
man - Pyotr Kokorin - shoots himself in the head in full view of
promenading Muscovites. Before long the case comes to the attention
of central character and all-round wizard of deduction Erast
Fandorin, who specializes in the solving of murders and mysteries
in late 19th-century Russia. Unfortunately Fandorin is the only
remotely interesting character in this unconvincing yarn which has
somehow managed to sell six million copies in Russia as well as
becoming a bestseller all around Europe. Even before the end of
page one, it comes over like a cross between a police report and
the results of an official post mortem, and just because it's set
in Tsarist Russia doesn't mean it has to be written in the language
of the time. Unbelievably clumsy and lengthy sentences compete with
inexplicable shifts of tense to leave readers as uninvolved as they
are uninspired. A lumpen collection of impudent fellows, 'motley
buffoons', tomfoolery and 'quite wonderfully pretty girls' leaves
you wondering if it's all supposed to be a Russian parody of
Sherlock Holmes or a particularly poor tribute to an already flimsy
tale of Victorian England. It's difficult to know whether it
originally read like this in its native language or if it's just
the victim of a particularly unsympathetic translation. Whatever
the reason, this is an unconvincing and often irritating tale, made
all the worse by the smug headings that herald the introduction of
each chapter. As cold and uninviting as its title. (Kirkus UK)
THE FIRST BOOK IN THE MULTI-MILLION COPY, INTERNATIONALLY
BESTSELLING ERAST FANDORIN MYSTERIES SERIES 'A sparkling romp of a
story' TLS 'In Russia Boris Akunin is roughly the counterpart of
John Grisham' TIME 'Think Tolstoy writing James Bond with the
logical rigour of Sherlock Holmes' GUARDIAN Moscow 1876. A young
law student commits suicide in broad daylight in Moscow's Alexander
Gardens. But this is no ordinary death, for the young man was the
son of an influential industrialist and has left a considerable
fortune. Erast Fandorin, a hotheaded new recruit to the Criminal
Investigation Department, is assigned to the case. Brilliant,
young, and sophisticated, Fandorin embarks on an investigation that
will take him from the palatial mansions of Moscow to the seedy
backstreets of London in his hunt for the conspirators behind this
mysterious death. What readers are saying about the Erast Fandorin
Mysteries: 'I loved it... I just couldn't put it down!' My book
Obsession 'A delightful mystery/adventure! There's a dark twist at
the end that has me anxious to continue in this series' Neil on
Goodreads (five stars) 'Ultimately, the overall success of The
Winter Queen is due to the vibrancy of its setting, the cleanness
of its prose and the magnetism of its protagonist... Odds seem good
that Akunin will be the next detective to capture readers' fancy en
masse' Sarah Weinman, January Magazine 'These books are a fun,
riotous read that you don't want to put down until you've completed
each and every one of them' Jill on Goodreads (five stars) 'The
conclusion is shocking and this reader can't wait to delve into the
next in the series' A Writer's Jumble 'Nail-biter all the way
through!' Corin on Goodreads (five stars) A page-turning delight
perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and the Russian
literary greats.
General
Imprint: |
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Series: |
Erast Fandorin Mysteries |
Release date: |
March 2010 |
Authors: |
Boris Akunin
|
Dimensions: |
198 x 129 x 19mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - B-format
|
Pages: |
249 |
Edition: |
New ed |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-7538-1759-9 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
Genre fiction >
Crime & mystery >
General
|
LSN: |
0-7538-1759-4 |
Barcode: |
9780753817599 |
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