This reads like an historical cozy. Akunin is in top form and serves a solid whodunnit in an enclosed space : a cruise ship.

The clues are there all along, there are some out of the hat things but not many and the characters are colourful and interesting enough to keep you reading until the end to find out who did it.

Fadorin is not the only lead in this tale of deceit and foolish pursuit of untold treasure. This a multiple voices type of point of view and it does bring something of the unexpected to the tale.

A very solid 3 stars.

Very entertaining and funny. I love mysteries and the main character - the book is told from several different points of view and I enjoyed that too.

Thrilling and gripping, twists and turns aplenty, no idea whodunnit until the end, perfect detective book!

A huge improvement on the previous book, interesting premise with a good cast of characters but even I worked out who was responsible too far in advance!

Russian author Akunin's 10+ books featuring 19th-century sleuth Erast Fandorin are hugely popular in his native Russia, and have been gradually appearing in English translation. A few years ago I read the first in the series (The Winter Queen), and didn't see what the fuss was about -- it was a pretty basic penny dreadful. I missed the second book (The Turkish Gambit), but here picked up the trail of Fandorin on board luxury liner making its maiden voyage from France to Japan in the spring of 1878.

The book starts by introducing a French police detective who's in charge of investigating the murder of ten people in connection with the theft of a fabulous Indian gold statue. In a rather clumsy plot device, one of the victims grasps a distinctive gold lapel-pin in his cold clenched fist. This is a pin given to designate first-class passengers on the maiden voyage of the all mod cons vessel "The Leviathan." So, the detective joins the ship and has the passengers who don't have their gold pin assigned to his dining room/salon. The story then unfolds over the following month at sea, as he attempts to uncover the culprit. Actually, this is one of the problems of the book -- the detective doesn't actually do any detecting. His main approach is to sit back and wait for the killer to reveal himself.

If this sounds a lot like one of those classic Agatha Christie stories, set over a stormy weekend at an isolated country house, or perhaps Murder on the Orient Express, well, that's pretty much exactly what this is a poor imitation of. Only instead of a condescending Belgian detective, it's a condescending French detective, and we've moved from the rails to the sea. The cast of suspects is the usual outsize bunch (and of course each has something to hide!), about as well sketched out as the characters from the Clue boardgame. The story shifts perspective a fair amount, as we get portions of it from the mouths, minds, letters, and journals of each. This method of storytelling doesn't serve Akunin well, however. His hero Fandorin is present, and certainly plays a crucial role, but never emerges as the protagonist -- he's lost in a sea of poorly conceived caricatures. Indeed, the author's treatment of the various nationalities (French, German, British, Japanese) is chock full of chauvinism which is clearly intended to highlight the Fandorin's own fine Russian qualities. It's not really insulting so much as just vaguely childish.

There are a few nice pieces of humor, and one or two of the plot's twists and turns are clever, but for the most part, this is a very tiresome voyage. Ultimately, it's not a very interesting mystery and the best that can be said of it is that it's a workmanlike pastiche.

I liked the Achilles and Turkish Gambit Akunin books, but found this one tiresomely talkative and the people in the Windsor Salon on the Leviathan aggravating. Glad that other people liked it, but I lost interest and wouldn't recommend it.

Diverting entry in an ongoing series. Erast Fandorin is a charming, nineteenth-century Russian James Bond-if-he-was-fathered-by-Nero-Wolfe sleuth trapped on board a huge new luxury liner with a greedy, murderous genius who is after the world's greatest hoard of gemstones.

People die right and left as the sleuth, ineptly assisted by seemingly every passenger assigned to eat in his dining room, closes in on the inevitable identification of the killer/fortune hunter. Much entertaining diversion available, though the novice to the series can pick this volume up and start right here with no fear of missing a step. Akunin is a master of the enriching aside, the grace note that adds a little something to the series' fans' pleasure, but isn't required for the newcomer to understand to get the full impact of the story or the characters.

Genially recommended.

i have read 3 akunin mysteries and this is my favorite so far. The use of narratives from different characters (reminiscent of wilkie collins, one of my all time favorites) worked well and added to the variety, making up for the closed setting of the ship.

This is a classic cozy-mystery, in the style of Agatha Christie. Fandorin is on board a ship to Japan, the set of suspects and location is fixed, and we're treated to whodunnit style plot twists. A great mix of Christie and Russian culture.

Note that this is one of those books where the ebook really misses out on typographical wizardry. The sections written from the POV of the Japanese character are printed sideways, to mimic Japanese print.

What to Expect

Each novel is written as a different type of mystery. Akunin set out to rectify the low-brow reputation of the mystery genre in post-USSR Russia by writing worthy literature and exploring the wide gamut of sub-genres. Each novel is therefore excellently written as a different type of detective case. While there is continuity in the protagonist's life between the novels, each is very different in themes and tones.

I've written a condensed review of the whole series on my website.

What I liked

I like the writing style. The prose is intelligent and flowing, the mysteries are complex, and the cast is varied (though those that make repeat appearances tend to die). Fandorin himself is a great character, even though as a main character he still remains an enigma - a tantalising mystery in itself that keeps readers engaged and clamouring to know more.

I love the historical background. Akunin has done his research into Russian culture, mannerisms, environment, personalities, etc. of the late 19th century / early 20th century. Most of the stories take place around Moscow, and Fandorin gets to meet and associate with the people of the times (from the low-life criminals of Khitrovka, to the grand-dukes of the imperial family). In a few cases, Akunin also has Fandorin active around notable events of the era, at times filling in details where history has left us stumped.

Akunin is also a Japanophile, and has Fandorin spend a few years in Japan. While details are sketchy (and we want more! More!), it is clear that he has a great love and deep knowledge of that culture and times.

What to be aware of

Be aware that each of the novel is told in a different style. Besides the obvious (something new and different in each volume), one keyword  is 'told'. They are almost all in 3rd person perspective, and quite often not from the point of view of Erast Fandorin (which is both tantalising and frustrating at times). It's this distance that keeps Fandorin an enigma, and keeps us coming back to learn more.

Fandorin has a Sherlockian intellect and impressive physical prowess. He is not without his faults (most notably hubris), but as a hero he is certainly a cut above the rest. He also tends to get involved with a different femme fatale in each book. This suits the detective genre perfectly, regardless of modern sensibilities.

While the books are not really related and have few continuing characters, I'd still strongly recommend to read them in order.

Lastly, and this has nothing to do with Fandorin, since these are professional translations (amazingly done by Andrew Bromfield) via a traditional publisher, the price of ebooks and hardcovers is almost the same. The ebooks are also missing some of the illustrations and other typographical effects that are present in the print. I'd definitely recommend reading the print edition, where possible.

Summary

Should you read these novels? Yes! By all means, if you love historical mysteries these novels are a must read. It is an intelligent, engaging, and just different enough series to be in a class of its own. It's not surprising that in his home country of Russia, Akunin out-sells JK Rowling. In fact, since it's been a few years since I've read them, I think I'll go back and re-read my favourites (Winter Queen, State Counsellor, and The Coronation).

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[a:Assaph Mehr|14422472|Assaph Mehr|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1445823325p2/14422472.jpg], author of [b:Murder In Absentia|29500700|Murder In Absentia (Felix the Fox, #1)|Assaph Mehr|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1457914061s/29500700.jpg|46845657]: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic - for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.

DNF. This is the second time I’ve tried this author’s series and it’s really not for me. The plots are complex but hang together even more on coincidence than usual for a mystery. But what really kills it for me is the casual misogyny and racism just sprinkled through the books. Every woman is shrill, foolish, clutching, greedy, obnoxious, sexually fascinated by the main character. Every non-European character is described in the broadest possible strokes, falling fully into racist descriptions and character traits.

Having read many, many mysteries from the Golden Age of fiction I can say with authority that even when those books fall prey to generalized racism and misogyny there are OFTEN individual characters who are more than just their cookie-cutter stereotypes. It’s not that characters can’t or don’t exhibit cultural attitudes that would be frowned upon today, because I understand that. It’s the sloppy, unexamined characterization and as a result the poor writing that this kind of generalization represents which ruins the books for me.

I’ll go back to other historical fiction writers who use a more subtle, thoughtful and layered approach to the varieties of humanity.

In its favor: interesting time period and many possible suspects. Fast-moving, complex plot.