The Winter Queen [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Boris Akunin (Author), Steve Hodson (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

This is the first book featuring Erast Fandorin, the famous gentleman sleuth. Moscow 1876. A young law student commits suicide in broad daylight in Moscow's Alexander Gardens. But this is no ordinary death, for the young man was the son of an influential industrialist and has left a considerable fortune. Erast Fandorin, a hotheaded new recruit to the Criminal Investigation Department, is assigned to the case. Brilliant, young, and sophisticated, Fandorin embarks on an investigation that will take him from the palatial mansions of Moscow to the seedy backstreets of London in his hunt for the conspirators behind this mysterious death.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Three million copies of Akunin's Erast Fandorin historical mystery series have been sold in Russia, where the author is a celebrity. This volume--the first of nine installments so far--should get the series off to a rousing start in the U.S. It's set in Czarist Russia and stars the naive but eager Fandorin as a young investigator with the Moscow police. Why would a university student shoot himself in the middle of the Alexander Gardens? Fandorin sets out to find the answer and soon lands in the middle of a far-reaching international conspiracy. Yakunin effectively juxtaposes the comical innocence of his hero against the decadence of nineteenth-century Moscow--aristocrats idling in gambling clubs while the winds of revolution freshen. In his debut, Fandorin comes across as an odd but appealing mix of Holmesian brilliance and Inspector Clousseauian bumbling. Occasionally, Akunin's style seems a bit affected, aping the manner of, say, Thackeray, commenting on the foibles of his characters, but at the same time, that nineteenth-century tone is part of the book's appeal. Anne Perry fans, in particular, will enjoy this series. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'A masterful tongue-in-cheek mixture of crime and historical fiction' -- Ash Tarhuni, Bookseller WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: ISIS Audio Books (September 1, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0753145294
• ISBN-13: 978-0753145296
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 7.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pleasing first novel, May 28, 2003

By 

Captain Seadog - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Winter Queen: A Novel (Erast Fandorin Mysteries) (Hardcover)

by an interesting author. I recommend you search the web for "Boris Akunin" interviews, as well as other reviews of this book (they are overwhelmingly positive). Since the Editorial Review above adequately describes the novel, I'm not going to re-hash it and perhaps inadvertantly spoil something for a future reader. Instead, I'll use this space as I believe it's intended (namely, to tell you what I liked and disliked about the book).

As one of the managers employed by the world's largest bookstore chain I am exposed to, and actually find the time to read, a great number of mystery books. As such, and despite the need to overlook some of the far-fetched aspects of the plot (but hey, what's a secret agent story without a bit of unreality), I hereby pronounce this book to be A CUT ABOVE THE NORM (that's an officially copyrighted term-of-art, of course).

Seriously, though, I found this book to be quite enjoyable for, mainly, three reasons: Beautiful language, such as the opening sentence, "On Monday the thirteenth of May in the year 1876, between the hours of two and three in the afternoon on a day that combined the freshness of spring with the warmth of summer, numerous individuals in Moscow's Alexander Gardens unexpectedly found themselves eyewitnesses to the perpetration of an outrage that flagrantly transgressed the bounds of common decency;" the exotic historical settings (1876 Russia AND England); and, most importantly, superior characterization. The author does a good job of evolving a likeable but naive and pampered low-level agent (Erast Fandorin) into a more experienced but still wet-behind-the-ears, high-level agent (keep in mind the Fandorin adventures will span 12 books and many years in Erast's life, so there are probably better showings to come from our hero). Where Mr. Akunin (whose pen-name translates from the Japanese, or so I've read, as "villain" or "evil") really excels is in his creation of likable/sympathetic/ruthless "bad guys." In my opinion, nothing completes a work of violent entertainment like a great villain (think Alan Rickman in Die Hard, if you'll pardon the switch from books to movies). While it is, admittedly, pretty easy to spot the bad guys from a jaded-reader point-of-view, I can understand why Fandorin doesn't suspect them earlier given his level of experience in things cloak and dagger. Regardless, Akunin is able to overcome minor weaknesses in the story through positive characterization and interesting plot twists.

On a final note, just so you don't think this book is just for mid-thirties, male, computer-chair Jim West's, the Winter Queen was also read and enjoyed by one of my co-workers, a book-devouring, semi-retired, 70+ year-old woman.

I hope you like the book.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good addition to your collection of Russian classics, August 29, 2003

By 

Laura Lond - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Winter Queen: A Novel (Erast Fandorin Mysteries) (Hardcover)

If I hadn't known that the author of this novel is a contemporary writer, I would have absolutely believed that he lived at the time this book is set in, which is 1876. Akunin's knowledge of the Tsarist Russian culture is remarkable. The language, the style, and the very tone of the book are exactly what you would expect to see in a classic Russian novel of that time period.

On to the story. Meet Erast Fandorin, a handsome young police investigator, poor, unknown, naive, and somewhat shy, but eager to be the best sleuth and catch all those villains out there. His chance comes when he is assigned to work on the investigation of a rather unusual, public suicide of a rich university student. Things speed up from there, introducing new leads and new characters. What first looks like a tragic love story turns out to be an international conspiracy, and you will never guess who is the master mind. Well, maybe you will, but right where the author wants you to.

Highly recommended!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Summer Reading, May 24, 2004

By 

Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Winter Queen: A Novel (An Erast Fandorin Mystery) (Paperback)

Boris Akunin's The Winter Queen was a very nice `read'. The first in a series, Akunin introduces us to Erast Fandorin, a young investigator newly hired by the Moscow police force. Erast comes to the police after his father's family fortune took a dramatic turn for the worse that jolted Erast out of a life of upper-income leisure into a career as a detective. Young, tenacious, intuitive, and more than a bit naïve, Erast is assigned to investigate a clear cut case of suicide. On its surface, an easy investigation designed to ease Erasts's entry into life as an investigator. Of course, all is not what it seems and Erast determines quickly that there is more to the case than a simple suicide. Erast (and Akunin) slowly peel away the layers of mystery and reveals in the process a world-wide conspiracy centered on a series of well run and maintained orphanages endowed by a rich, influential English noblewoman. Along the way Erast encounters love, lust, gambling, and avoids a series of death defying experiences. Standing alone the series of events described above sounds rather pedestrian. A well worn theme. However, the pleasure to be derived from this book is the setting, late 19th century Russia. Akunin has a keen eye for detail and atmospherics. He conveys (as does the excellent translation) a sense of what life must have been life in 19th century Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The book ends triumphantly but Fandorin's triumph turns bittersweet n the last few paragraphs. Although this made for a disconcerting jolt at the end of the book it is quite understandable when one considers that Winter Queen is the first in a long series of Fandorin mysteries. A happily ever after ending would not leave much room for drama in the next installment.

Some have compared Fandorin to Sherlock Holmes with a bit of Inspector Clouseau thrown in for good measure. I think Fandorin's character stands on its own and needs no comparison to other literary detectives. If I had to provide any sort of comparison it would be to the protagonist in Caleb Carr's The Alienist. The characters and story lines are quite different of course. The comparison lies in the impact of the historic locale (19th century New York City and 19th century Moscow) that forms the atmospheric heart of each book.

All in all this is a very entertaining piece of mystery writing set in an exotic locale. It is a perfect book to read on the beach, on a long plane ride, or sitting on a lawn chair in the back yard. I look forward to the next installment in the series.