BORIS AKUNIN

It is November 1890 and London is gripped by a merciless winter. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are enjoying tea by the fire when an agitated gentleman arrives unannounced at 221b Baker Street. He begs Holmes for help, telling the unnerving story of a scar-faced man with piercing eyes who has stalked him in recent weeks. Intrigued by the man''s tale, Holmes and Watson find themselves swiftly drawn into a series of puzzling and sinister events, stretching from the gas-lit streets of London to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston. As the pair delve deeper into the case, they stumble across a whispered phrase "the House of Silk": a mysterious entity and foe more deadly than any Holmes has encountered, and a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society itself...

Grand Duke Georgii Alexandrovich arrives in Moscow for the coronation, accompanied by three of his children and their alluring governess, Mademoiselle Declique. During an afternoon stroll, daughter Xenia is dragged away by bandits, only to be rescued by an elegant gentleman and his oriental sidekick. The passing heroes introduce themselves as Fandorin and Masa, but panic ensues when they realise that four-year old Mikhail has been snatched in the confusion.A ransom letter arrives from Dr Lind, an international criminal and the Moriarty to Fandorin''s Sherlock Holmes. The letter demands the handover of the Count Orlov, an enormous diamond on the royal sceptre which is due to play a part in the coronation. Fandorin suggests that the value of the stone is paid in ''installments'', buying the party a week to ensure the young boy''s safe return. But can the gentleman detective find Mikhail in time, or will the Grand Duke''s son meet with the same gruesome fate as Lind''s last abductee - whom Fandorin could do nothing to save? Will Fandorin succumb to the affections of Xenia? And why is he falling to his death on the very first page? Our inimitable hero returns in a tantalisingly closely-matched battle of wills and of wiles.

About this book The first of the interlinked plotlines is set in Russia during the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. Fandorin is charged with protecting the Trans-Siberian Railway from Japanese sabotage in a pacy adventure filled with double agents and ticking bombs. Then we travel back to the Japan of the late 1870s. This is the story of Fandorin's arrival and life in Yokohama, his first meeting with Masa and the martial arts education that came in so handy later. He investigates the death of a Russian ship-captain, fights for a woman, exposes double-agents in the Japanese police, fights against, and then with the ninjas, and becomes embroiled in a shocking finale that interweaves the two stories and ties up the series as a whole.

Grand Duke Georgii Alexandrovich arrives in Moscow for the coronation, with three of his children. During an afternoon stroll, daughter Xenia is dragged away by bandits, only to be rescued by an elegant gentleman and his oriental sidekick. The passing heroes introduce themselves as Fandorin and Masa, but panic ensues when they realise that four-year old Mikhail has been snatched in the confusion.A ransom letter arrives from an international criminal demanding the handover of the Count Orlov, an enormous diamond on the royal sceptre which is due to play a part in the coronation. Can the gentleman detective find Mikhail in time?

"Pelagia's family likeness to Father Brown and Miss Marple is marked, and reading about her supplies a similarly decorous pleasure."-"The Literary Review" In a remote Russian province in the late nineteenth century, Bishop Mitrofanii must deal with a family crisis. After learning that one of his great aunt's beloved and rare white bulldogs has been poisoned, the Orthodox bishop knows there is only one detective clever enough to investigate the murder: Sister Pelagia. The bespectacled, freckled Pelagia is lively, curious, extraordinarily clumsy, and persistent. At the estate in question, she finds a whole host of suspects, any one of whom might have benefited if the old lady (who changes her will at whim) had expired of grief at the pooch's demise. There's Pyotr, the matron's grandson, a nihilist with a grudge who has fallen for the maid; Stepan, the penniless caretaker, who has sacrificed his youth to the care of the estate; Miss Wrigley, a mysterious Englishwoman who has recently been named sole heiress to the fortune; Poggio, an opportunistic and freeloading "artistic" photographer; and, most intriguingly, Naina, the old lady's granddaughter, a girl so beautiful she could drive any man to do almost anything. As Pelagia bumbles and intuits her way to the heart of a mystery among people with faith only in greed and desire, she must bear in mind the words of Saint Paul: "Beware of dogs-and beware of evil-doers." "Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have praised [Akunin's] clever plots, vivid characters and wit."-"Baltimore Sun""Akunin's wonderful novels are always intricately webbed and plotted."-"The Providence Journal"

Two new adventures for Boris Akunin's well-loved, inimitable hero in which Erast Fandorin faces two very different adversaries: one, a deft, comedic swindler and master of disguise, whose machinations send ripples spreading through the carefully maintained calm of Moscow in 1886, and the other a brutal serial killer, driven by an insane, maniacal obsession, who strikes terror into the heart of the Moscow slums in 1889 - and who may have more in common with London's own Jack the Ripper than simply a taste for women of easy virtue. Peopled by a cast of eccentric characters, and with plots that are as surprising as they are inventive, Fandorin's 'Special Assignments' will delight Akunin's many thousands of fans, while testing their gentleman sleuth's powers of detection to the limit.

Новый роман о приключениях Эраста Петровича Фандорина. Действие нового романа Бориса Акунина "Весь мир театр" происходит в 1911 году. Эраст Фандорин расследует преступления, совершенные в одном из московских театров.

These days I have plenty of free time, so read books like some machine - one by one. In several days finished reading detective novel by Russian writer Boris Akunin which title is the same as William Shakespeare''s aphorism "All the world`s a stage". Akunin is fantastically popular in Russia today as brilliant novelist. But few people knows that first he started as Japanese literature researcher and translator and published his works by his actual name Boris Chkhartishvili (he is actually Georgian) and it is Chkhartishvili who finally translated maybe all most famous novels by Yukio Mishima and introduced them to Russian readers.Boris Akunin (in Japanese his pen name means "villain") became famous for his historical crime novels. He has some novel series but the most famous is novels with Erast Fandorin as main hero. Fandorin is 19th century Russian detective and he is hero of this novel also.

Pelagia - bespectacled, freckled, red-haired, extraordinarily clumsy and constantly knitting - teaches gymnastics and literature, and in her spare time solves crimes. In this novel, Pelagia finds herself investigating a self-proclaimed Russian prophet, Manuila and his followers, who deny Jesus Christ and the Church. Her investigation is guided in part by ancient manuscripts, and it involves murder, deception, miracles, romance and a crisis of faith for our inimitable heroine.

Dashing hero Erast Fandorin returns for another intriguing Russian crime caper, from the bestselling author of THE WINTER QUEEN.General Khrapov, newly appointed Governor-General of Siberia and soon-to-be Minister of the Interior, is murdered in his official saloon carriage on his way from St Petersburg to Moscow.The killer, disguised as Fandorin, leaves a knife thrust up to the hilt in his victim''s chest and escapes through the window of the carriage. Can Fandorin escape suspicion?A battle of wills and ideals, revolutionaries and traditionalists and good versus evil.

Boris Akunin, Andrew BromfieldThe ship carrying the devout to Jerusalem has run into rough waters. Onboard is Manuila, controversial leader of the Foundlings, a sect that worships him as the Messiah. But soon the polarizing leader is no longer a passenger or a prophet but a corpse, beaten to death by someone almost supernaturally strong. But not everything is as it seems, and someone else sailing has become enmeshed in the mystery: the seemingly slow but actually astute sleuth Sister Pelagia. Her investigation of the crime will take her deep into the most dangerous areas of the Middle East and Russia, running from one-eyed criminals and after such unlikely animals as a red cockerel that may be more than a red herring. To her shock, she will emerge with not just the culprit in a murder case but a clue to the earths greatest secret.

Still a persona non grata in Moscow, ostracised by the authorities and shamed by the very qualified success of his last mission, Fandorin is back in his most underground enquiry to date. Theres been rising consternation in fin-de-siecle Moscow over a wave of suicides among the citys young bohemians. An intrepid newspaper reporter, Zhemailo, begins to uncover the truth behind the phenomenon - that the victims are linked by a secret society, the Lovers of Death. But Zhemailo is not the only investigator hot on the heels of these disciples of the occult. Little do they realise that the latest convert to their secret society, assuming the alias of a Japanese prince, is none other than Erast Fandorin. But when a young and naive provincial woman, Masha Mironova, becomes embroiled in the society, and Zhemalio dies a mysterious death, Fandorin must do more than merely infiltrate and observe. Especially when the spin of the Russian roulette wheel decrees that our dashing hero be the next to die by his own hand. Can Fandorin fake his own demise, all while outwitting the cults dastardly leader? Find out in this fascinating journey through the dark underbelly of the fin-de-siecle.

Boris Akunin has been hailed as Russias answer to both Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for his beloved Fandorin mystery series. After five years spent abroad building up a business as something of a private investigator, the handsome, stuttering Fandorin is back in Moscowand in for a case that entangles him with the highest echelons of Romanov royalty.Grand Duke Georgii Alexandrovich arrives in Moscow with three of his children for the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II, who is fated to become the last Emperor of Russia. During an afternoon stroll in the park, Georgiis daughter Xenia is dragged away by bandits, only to be rescued by an elegant gentleman and his Japanese sidekick. The passing heroes introduce themselves as Erast Petrovich Fandorin and Masa, but panic ensues when the party realizes that four-year-old Mikhail has been snatched in the confusion.A ransom letter arrives from an international criminal demanding the handover of the Count Orlov, an enormous diamond on the royal scepter which is due to play a part in the coronation. Can the gentleman detective find Mikhail in time? The Coronation is a fantastically entertaining and deftly plotted take on the hostage novel, not to be missed.

Since the publication of The Winter Queen, a New York Times Notable Book and the first mystery featuring Erast Fandorin, Boris Akunin's historical mystery series has become a worldwide sensation, selling millions of copies and propelling Akunin into the ranks of Russia's most widely read contemporary novelists. The first new Fandorin novel available to an American audience in a decade, The State Counsellor tests the handsome diplomat-detective's guile and integrity like no mystery before. Russia, 1891. The new governor-general of Siberia has been secreted away on a train from St. Petersburg to Moscow. A blizzard rages outside as a mustachioed official climbs aboard near the city; with his trademark stutter, he introduces himself as State Counsellor Erast Fandorin. He then thrusts a dagger inscribed with the initials CG into the governor-general's heart and, tearing off his mustache, escapes out the carriage window. The head of the Department of Security soon shows up at the real Fandorin's door and arrests him for murder. The only way to save his reputation is to find CGand the government mole who is feeding the group information. Can Fandorin survive corruption among his fellow officials, the fearlessness of an unknown enemy, and the advances of a sultry young nihilist with his morals intact? The State Counsellor is a colorful entertainer from a master of the sly historical romp.

Canine conspiracies, spurned lovers, murderous greed, jealousy, politics, power and knitting: Pelagia and the White Bulldog marks the beginning of an addictively entertaining new crime series from the internationally bestselling author, Boris Akunin.

Erast Fandorin returns to Moscow, and he just cant seem to keep out of trouble... The fourth novel in the bestselling crime series from the author of THE WINTER QUEEN.