Overview

Naive young Masha Mironova arrives in Moscow at the turn of the century with a modest inheritance and a determination to shed her provincial Siberian upbringing. As soon as she alights in Moscow, she becomes Columbine, a reckless and daring young woman with eccentric outfits and a pet snake worn as a necklace. In her quest for danger and passion, Columbine soon discovers the Lovers of Death--a small group of poets enraptured by death who gather nightly at the home of their leader, the Doge, and conduct séances to determine death's next chosen lover. Once named at a séance, the chosen member must await three signs from death before taking his own life. The string of suicides resulting from the group have drawn attention, becoming fodder for extensive media coverage and widespread hysteria in Moscow. As the group's numbers dwindle, a mysterious newcomer appears. Revealed to the listener as Erast Fandorin thanks to the presence of his trusty Japanese sidekick, Fandorin begins to investigate the suicides while also trying to convince the members that death is neither beautiful nor poetic and should not be sought out. But will the gentleman detective be able to stop Columbine from taking action when she receives her three unmistakable signs?

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9781665180566

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Reviews

"""Akunin is a hugely entertaining writer."" -- ""The Spectator (London), praise for the author"" ""Erast Fandorin is a delightful character like no other in crime fiction."" -- ""The Times (London), praise for the series"" ""The Russian Ian Fleming...Akunin's accomplished writing is a treat."" -- ""Ruth Rendell, award-winning author of the Inspector Wexford mysteries, praise for the author"""

Akunin is a hugely entertaining writer. -- The Spectator (London), praise for the author Erast Fandorin is a delightful character like no other in crime fiction. -- The Times (London), praise for the series The Russian Ian Fleming...Akunin's accomplished writing is a treat. -- Ruth Rendell, award-winning author of the Inspector Wexford mysteries, praise for the author

Author Information

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 novel in 1998 and has gone on to become one of the most widely read authors in Russia. He is the author of the Erast Fandorin novels, including The Winter Queen, and the Sister Pelagia series. He lives in Moscow. British audiobook narrator and AudioFile Earphones Award winner Nigel Patterson has many credits as a stage, screen, and voice-over actor that influence his powerful characterization across a broad range of genres. AudioFile commented his keen ear and impeccable diction give insights into the prevailing attitudes of the period . . . his wholly credible characters stay with you long after you unplug. A graduate linguist of the University of Oxford, he is fluent in French and Spanish, has lived and worked in the U.S. for fifteen years, and knows many different accents and dialects from around the world.

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