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Product Description
'Think Tolstoy writing James Bond with the logical rigour of Sherlock Holmes. A hoot' GuardianThe first book in the internationally bestselling Erast Fandorin Mysteries series.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.'A sparkling romp of a story' TLS'An effectively concocted story' Independent'Very fast-moving and enjoyable' Crime Time'In Russia Boris Akunin is roughly the counterpart of John Grisham... The Winter Queen is as delicate and elegant as a Faberge egg' TimeWhat 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. If so, it will only be a matter of time before the entire Fandorin Cycle is translated -- the sooner, the better' 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 delig
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Richard (USA: NY) (2011/01/31):
The Book Report: Young, orphaned Erast Fandorin has landed a comparatively cushy job for one whose comfortable future in czarist Russia was snatched away by the machinations of capitalists, beggaring and causing the suicide of his father: Erast is a fourteenth-class state functionary, serving a police official as amanuensis and errand-boy. It leads him into some odd alleyways, serving his about-to-retire master; his wit, his proficiency with language, his unquenchable curiosity lead his boss to allow, amused and indulgent of his junior's silly fascination with nothing criminal, Erast to investigate some odd goings-on among Moscow's Bright Young Things, including the suicide of a youth whose estate, over a million rubles, is left to elderly English philanthropist Baroness Adair.That one fact, that odd itchy ill-fitting wool sock of a fact, unravels an international conspiracy touching every government in the world, though it is unclear that this conspiracy has any evil intent, at least to me. Erast, extremely young and naive at the outset of the book, ends it extremely young, concussed, and in no possible sense naive and inexperienced any more. How that comes about is a page-turning pleasure to read. My Review: For once, I am glad I read the second book in the series before the first. I felt much more like I was investing my time wisely after reading Turkish Gambit than I might have had I read this book first. It's good, don't mistake me, but it's not as good as "Gambit" and it's not as clear and succinct, either. But good golly Miss Molly, it's a ripping good read full of explosions, betrayals, and general all-around wickedness and sneakiness. It's got young love, it's got hopeless infatuation, it's got comradeship and affection, and even a *very* memorable wedding scene. I am completely entranced with its picture of czarist Russia; I am excited to discover the roots of some of Erast's oddities; and I hanker to see these books turned into movies or TV shows, like Montalbano has been. I really feel I can SEE the action as I'm reading, and that's usually so much less of an issue for me; but this series is supremely visual. Read, and enjoy, and don't fear the commitment of time a new series requires, because like Rutledge, like Montalbano, there are a lot of 'em and they get better as time goes by.
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