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Published Feb 2008
352 pages
Genre: Short Stories
Publication Information
Paperback original. In Special Assignments, Erast Fandorin, nineteenth-century Russia’s suavest sleuth, faces two formidable new foes: One steals outrageous sums of money, the other takes lives. "The Jack of Spades" is a civilized swindler who has conned thousands of rubles from Moscow's residents – including Fandorin's own boss, Prince Dolgorukoi. To catch him, Fandorin and his new assistant, timid young policeman Anisii Tulipov, must don almost as many disguises as the grifter does himself. "The Decorator" is a different case altogether: A savage serial killer who believes he "cleans" the women he mutilates and takes his orders from on high, he must be given Fandorin's most serious attentions.
"Boris Akunin's wit and invention are a source of constant wonder." - Evening Standard (UK).
"[Fandorin is] a debonair combo of Sherlock Holmes, D’Artagnan and most of the soulful heroes of Russian literature. . . . This pair of perfectly balanced stories permit the character of Fandorin to grow." - The Sunday Telegraph (UK).
"Agatha Christie meets James Bond: [Akunin’s] plots are intricate and tantalizing. . . . [These stories] are unputdownable and great fun." - Sunday Express (UK).
"The beguiling, super-brainy, sexy, unpredictable Fandorin is a creation like no other in crime fiction." – The Times (UK).
"Clever writing and tight plotting, coupled with a willingness to shock readers by sacrificing significant characters, continue to cement Akunin's reputation as one of the finest contemporary authors of classic crime fiction." - Publishers Weekly.
"A good addition to most mystery collections, especially where historicals are popular, this book can stand alone but will be richer when read in the context of the entire series." - Library Journal.
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in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Boris Akunin is the pen name of Grigory Chkhartishvili, who was born in the Republic of Georgia in 1956. A philologist, critic, essayist, and translator of Japanese, Akunin published his first detective stories in 1998 and has already become one of the most widely read authors in Russia.
He is the author of ten Erast Fandorin novels listed below, and three Sister Pelagia novels. He lives in Moscow.
Erast Fandorin
Series
1. The Winter Queen (2003)
2. The Turkish Gambit (2005)
3. Murder on the Leviathan (2004, aka Leviathan)
4. The Death of Achilles (2005)
5. Special Assignments (2007)
6. The State Counsellor (2008)
7. The Coronation (2009)
8. She Lover of Death (2009)
9. He Lover of Death (2011)
10. The Diamond Chariot (2011)
... Full Biography
Link to Boris Akunin's Website
Name Pronunciation
Boris Akunin: The pen name of Grigory Chkhartishvili, pronounced CHAHAR-kesh-veely
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