Customer Reviews

Leviathan

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I have actually "read" this work twice now. The first read was the hardcover edition of the book being reviewed here; the other was "read" by listening to the entire work via this audio version read by Michael Kramer who does an excellent job. it was one of the books my wife and I listened to while traveling. It should be noted and stressed though that this is an abridged edition. While it is good, you do get a bit of a watered down version. I will not hold that against it though.

Boris Akunin is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers in the area of what can best be described as Classical Mysteries; old school who done its. This offering which is very obviously a tribute to the late Agatha Christie is simply the cherry atop the cake for me. Christe, in my opinion, is one of the Grand Masters of this genre (I have never read one of her works that I did not like), and Akunin makes a very keen shadow novel paralleling some of her most famous works; Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express are but two.

We see glimmers of the unique Hercule Poirot and even Miss Marple lurking here and there throughout this entire work.

The plot of this particular novel has been well covered in many of the fine reviews posted here. I dare not go into depth in this area for fear of unintentionally throwing in a spoiler which would be sheer pity and quite rude. But briefly stated, this is the story of a diverse group of people on a ship, the Leviathan, whose maiden voyage is to India. And here in lies one of the greatest strengths of this particular author. Each of the characters, as they are developed, hold true to their nature (or do they?), and interact perfectly with the others as they wind their way and are introduced throughout the story. The banter, the conversations, the clash and melding between these individuals is done as well as Christe herself could pull off.

The former Russian Police Inspector, now a diplomat (among many, many other things), is pitted against Police Commissioner "Papa" Gauche in solving a multiple murder case recently (1878) committed in Paris. Both these men know that he killer in amongst the passenger and a battle of wits, logic and deductive reasoning slowly but inevitably eliminates one after the other...right up the last, I might add.

One of the things I found most charming and entertaining about this work was the "small talk" between the entire cast of characters. The author has weaved their current circumstances quite well with each character's past, creating a wonderful and intriguing profile of each. Suspects are many and I will say that the twists and turns the author provides are equal, if not greater, in number. Each of the passengers involved in this case is an interesting study on their own and the author has made them come alive.

Overall, this is an excellent read. I found myself on a bit of a nostalgic trip while reading it and am thinking to myself that I need now go back a reread some of Agatha Criste's work once again.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

In this episode we have Fandorin on board an ocean liner. A mystery more on the lines of Agatha Christie.