Overview

From the writer who invented the popular Russian crime novel, Boris Akunin, a gripping tale of political subterfuge and murder in turn-of-the-century Moscow featuring the inimitable hero Erast Fandorin Since the publication of The Winter Queen, a New York Times Notable Book and the first mystery featuring Erast Fandorin, Boris Akunin's historical mystery series has become a worldwide sensation, selling millions of copies and propelling Akunin into the ranks of Russia's most widely read contemporary novelists. The first new Fandorin novel available to an American audience in a decade, The State Counsellor tests the handsome diplomat-detective's guile and integrity like no mystery before. Russia, 1891. The new governor-general of Siberia has been secreted away on a train from St. Petersburg to Moscow. A blizzard rages outside as a mustachioed official climbs aboard near the city; with his trademark stutter, he introduces himself as State Counsellor Erast Fandorin. He then thrusts a dagger inscribed with the initials CG into the governor-general's heart and, tearing off his mustache, escapes out the carriage window. The head of the Department of Security soon shows up at the real Fandorin's door and arrests him for murder. The only way to save his reputation is to find CG--and the government mole who is feeding the group information. Can Fandorin survive corruption among his fellow officials, the fearlessness of an unknown enemy, and the advances of a sultry young nihilist with his morals intact? The State Counsellor is a colorful entertainer from a master of the sly historical romp.

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Reviews

Praise for The State Counsellor Brimming with adventure and extraordinary vitality, a sweeping journey through a unique time and place, yet with a humanity that touches us all. _Anne Perry, bestselling author of Revenge in a Cold River In The State Counsellor, Boris Akunin has drawn a richly detailed picture of tsarist Russia, populated it with complex, intriguing characters, and set into motion an intricate, engaging plot. He is a masterful storyteller; this compelling tale is nothing short of superb. --Tasha Alexander, bestselling author of A Terrible Beauty: A Lady Emily Mystery A relentless page-turner. The 19th century that Mr. Akunin depicts is pulsing with irresistible energy. From dastardly terrorists to sultry femme fatales, Akunin's Moscow is a porto-noir paradise cut through with a decidedly Russian sense of futility . . . [A] fun and entertaining detective novel. --New York Journal of Books In Russia, no author has proved detective fiction's literary worthiness as definitively as Boris Akunin . . . An intelligent and entertaining detective novel that is simultaneously excursion into Russian history and culture. --Yelena Furman, Los Angeles Review of Books A welcome revival of Russia's premier detective, Erast Fandorin . . . Evocative of our own age of political turmoil, this exploration of how terror worked back in the 1890s stars men and women pushed by conviction and ambition to wage war on the tsarist system or to support it to the death. Readers of Sam Eastland's Inspector Pekkala series set just a few decades later in Russian history will embrace Fandorin as a similarly honorable hero. Let's hope for more US editions of works by an author who is popular worldwide. --Library Journal This rousing historical mystery, fluidly translated from the Russian by Bromfield, continues to draw its appeal from the Holmes-like Fandorin and from the author's antic stylistic flourishes. --Booklist Akunin's descriptions of characters' appearances and temperaments, as well as the time period, call to mind Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes adventures. Narrative sleights of hand and copious red herrings will keep readers guessing until the end. --Publishers Weekly Through every twist and turn, both Akunin and his hero maintain an imperturbable decorum that makes this the most ceremonious tale of terrorism and counterterrorism you're ever likely to read. --Kirkus Reviews Fandorin delights with his silken ironies and smart manoeuvres . . . This latest case shows a crime star of all the Russias still blazing bright. _Independent (UK) Praise for Boris Akunin and the Fandorin mystery series: It is difficult to convey the breadth of influence that Boris Akunin has on Russian society. Vladimir Putin likely fears him . . . In scope, think of Akunin as the J.K. Rowling of Russia--in style, perhaps somewhere between Dorothy Dunnett and Robert Ludlum . . . An unlikely intellectual shepherd of the Russian opposition. --Will Cathcart, Daily Beast ;Elaborate, intricate, profoundly czarist, and Russian to its bones, as though Tolstoy had sat down to write a murder mystery. Not quite like anything you've ever read before. _Alan Furst, on The Winter Queen Delightful romps through a stylized late nineteenth century. _New Yorker ;The Russian Ian Fleming . . . Akunin's accomplished writing is a treat. _Ruth Rendell, on The Winter Queen If Pushkin had tried his hand at detective fiction, it might have turned out something like this . . A saucy and insouciant tale of derringers and derring-do. _New York Times Book Review, on The Winter Queen ;[Akunin's] novels feature a Slavic Sherlock Holmes who speaks Japanese and English, is skilled at martial arts and has ladykiller good looks. . . . Millions of readers have been seduced. _Wall Street Journal, on The Death of Achilles

Praise for The State Counsellor Brimming with adventure and extraordinary vitality, a sweeping journey through a unique time and place, yet with a humanity that touches us all. _Anne Perry, bestselling author of Revenge in a Cold River In The State Counsellor, Boris Akunin has drawn a richly detailed picture of tsarist Russia, populated it with complex, intriguing characters, and set into motion an intricate, engaging plot. He is a masterful storyteller; this compelling tale is nothing short of superb. --Tasha Alexander, bestselling author of A Terrible Beauty: A Lady Emily Mystery A relentless page-turner. The 19th century that Mr. Akunin depicts is pulsing with irresistible energy. From dastardly terrorists to sultry femme fatales, Akunin's Moscow is a porto-noir paradise cut through with a decidedly Russian sense of futility . . . [A] fun and entertaining detective novel. --New York Journal of Books In Russia, no author has proved detective fiction's literary worthiness as definitively as Boris Akunin . . . An intelligent and entertaining detective novel that is simultaneously excursion into Russian history and culture. --Yelena Furman, Los Angeles Review of Books A welcome revival of Russia's premier detective, Erast Fandorin . . . Evocative of our own age of political turmoil, this exploration of how terror worked back in the 1890s stars men and women pushed by conviction and ambition to wage war on the tsarist system or to support it to the death. Readers of Sam Eastland's Inspector Pekkala series set just a few decades later in Russian history will embrace Fandorin as a similarly honorable hero. Let's hope for more US editions of works by an author who is popular worldwide. --Library Journal This rousing historical mystery, fluidly translated from the Russian by Bromfield, continues to draw its appeal from the Holmes-like Fandorin and from the author's antic stylistic flourishes. --Booklist Akunin's descriptions of characters' appearances and temperaments, as well as the time period, call to mind Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes adventures. Narrative sleights of hand and copious red herrings will keep readers guessing until the end. --Publishers Weekly Through every twist and turn, both Akunin and his hero maintain an imperturbable decorum that makes this the most ceremonious tale of terrorism and counterterrorism you're ever likely to read. --Kirkus Reviews Fandorin delights with his silken ironies and smart manoeuvres . . . This latest case shows a crime star of all the Russias still blazing bright. _Independent (UK) Praise for Boris Akunin and the Fandorin mystery series: It is difficult to convey the breadth of influence that Boris Akunin has on Russian society. Vladimir Putin likely fears him . . . In scope, think of Akunin as the J.K. Rowling of Russia--in style, perhaps somewhere between Dorothy Dunnett and Robert Ludlum . . . An unlikely intellectual shepherd of the Russian opposition. --Will Cathcart, Daily Beast ;Elaborate, intricate, profoundly czarist, and Russian to its bones, as though Tolstoy had sat down to write a murder mystery. Not quite like anything you've ever read before. _Alan Furst, on The Winter Queen Delightful romps through a stylized late nineteenth century. _New Yorker ;The Russian Ian Fleming . . . Akunin's accomplished writing is a treat. _Ruth Rendell, on The Winter Queen If Pushkin had tried his hand at detective fiction, it might have turned out something like this . . A saucy and insouciant tale of derringers and derring-do. _New York Times Book Review, on The Winter Queen ;[Akunin's] novels feature a Slavic Sherlock Holmes who speaks Japanese and English, is skilled at martial arts and has ladykiller good looks. . . . Millions of readers have been seduced. _Wall Street Journal, on The Death of Achilles

Author Information

Boris Akunin is the pen name of Grigory Chkhartishvili, who was born in the Republic of George in 1956. A philologist, critic, essayist, and translator of Japanese, Akunin published his first detective novel in 1998 and has gone on to become one of the most widely read authors in Russia. He is the author of the Fandorin mysteries, including The Winter Queen, which was a finalist for the CWA Silver Dagger Award, and the Sister Pelagia series. He lives in London, Paris, and Andalusia.

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