Description

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.

Publisher Review

A masterful tongue-in-cheek mixture of crime and historical fiction -- Ash Tarhuni, Bookseller * WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY * The mixture of the grisly and the lighthearted is characteristic of Boris Akunin, who in Russia is roughly the counterpart of John Grisham ... The Winter Queen is as delicate and elegant as a Faberge egg -- Lev Grossman * Time Magazine * Boris Akunin has written a series of novels set in Tsarist Russia in the 1970s and featuring Erast Fandorin, a naive young police investigator ... the story propels the idealistic Fandorin into the company of enigmatic and beautiful women, devious conspirators and a most unlikely Svengali intent on world domination ... This may not be what we expect from Russian fiction, but it's all very fast-moving and enjoyable -- Nick Rennison * Crime Time * He's [Fandorin] ... an engaging personality - conscientious, honourable, and pleasingly naive. Hence one feels the instant appeal of this gentle mystery, and appreciates the extraordinary Russian success of Boris Akunin ... It's a parable about the death of hope and innocence, as well as an effectively concocted story -- Lesley Chamberlain * Independent * ... a sparkling romp of a story... [with a] witty and beautifully constructed plot ... The Winter Queen has echoes of the plots of the nineteenth-century classics all Russians know: duels, reckless gambling, superfluous men and mysterious beauties whose salons are full of despairing admirers -- Jasper Rees * TLS *