The Winter Queen - Boris Akunin

Having just read this for my on-line book group,I have to say I was a little disappointed.Although initially quite fun to read,towards the end I must admit to starting to get bored untill,at the climax,I was almost glad to see it end. The Winter Queen is a crime thriller written very much in the style of Conan Doyle set in 19th century Moscow.Translated from the russian language,it is a novel that doesn't take itself too seriously and is a little at times like a boys own adventure-more of a pastiche of the times than an actual historical account . The book is the first in a series featuring detective Erast Fandorian who,at the start of the novel,is ...

Introduction Having read a glowing review of Boris Akunin's work in a Sunday paper, I have been looking out for his books for a while and was delighted to find one in my local library. Akunin's three books to be released in English in the UK: 'The Winter Queen', 'Murder on the Leviathan' and 'Turkish Gambit', have sold more than 50,000 copies in the UK and 10 million in Russia, where the books have been transformed into films and TV series. Akunin's books are set in 19th century Russia and star a new recruit to the Criminal Investigation Department, one Erast Fandorin. The author Boris Akunin, real name Grigory Chkartashvili, lives in Moscow. His ...