by Boris Akunin
translated by Andrew Bromfield
In Moscow, 1876, a rash of student
suicides prompts young collegiate registrar Erast Fandorin to
investigate, more or less on his own initiative. He quickly finds that
they are linked to a mysterious femme fatale, who in turn leads him to
an even more mysterious conspiratorial organization (nihilists?
Revolutionaries?) known as Azazel. Through persistence and a good bit of
luck, he manages to find, to his horror, just how far-reaching this
organization is.
I loved reading this book. A sort of turn of the
century James Bond as written by a Russian John Grisham, it’s decidedly
light in tone, with moments of great humor. Yes, it’s all rather easy
to predict, but Akunin makes it all unfold with a deft touch. The end is
a jarringly grim bit, but only ensured that I wanted to know what
Fandorin would do next.
four stars
