BORIS AKUNIN

Senka Skorikov, orphan and urchin, has been abandoned to the murky world of Moscow's gangster district. While picking a pocket or two, he glimpses the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, and joins the gang of her overlord lover, The Prince, so desperate he is to meet her. Senka climbs the criminal ranks, uncovering a stash of precious metal, and gradually capturing the heart of his beloved Death - so named for the life expectancy of her lovers. But as the bandit community balks at his success on both fronts, threats on his life begin to pour in . A dandy and his 'Chinese' sidekick seem to be taking an inordinate interest in Senka's welfare, and it becomes clear that those threatening Senka are linked to a spate of murders, grizzly even by underworld standards. Fandorin must unweave a tangled web of narcotics, false identities and organised crime - but can he survive an encounter with the ever-alluring Death unscathed'... Find out in the darkest Fandorin to date!

About this book The first of the interlinked plotlines is set in Russia during the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. Fandorin is charged with protecting the Trans-Siberian Railway from Japanese sabotage in a pacy adventure filled with double agents and ticking bombs. Then we travel back to the Japan of the late 1870s. This is the story of Fandorin's arrival and life in Yokohama, his first meeting with Masa and the martial arts education that came in so handy later. He investigates the death of a Russian ship-captain, fights for a woman, exposes double-agents in the Japanese police, fights against, and then with the ninjas, and becomes embroiled in a shocking finale that interweaves the two stories and ties up the series as a whole.

"Pelagia's family likeness to Father Brown and Miss Marple is marked, and reading about her supplies a similarly decorous pleasure."-"The Literary Review" In a remote Russian province in the late nineteenth century, Bishop Mitrofanii must deal with a family crisis. After learning that one of his great aunt's beloved and rare white bulldogs has been poisoned, the Orthodox bishop knows there is only one detective clever enough to investigate the murder: Sister Pelagia. The bespectacled, freckled Pelagia is lively, curious, extraordinarily clumsy, and persistent. At the estate in question, she finds a whole host of suspects, any one of whom might have benefited if the old lady (who changes her will at whim) had expired of grief at the pooch's demise. There's Pyotr, the matron's grandson, a nihilist with a grudge who has fallen for the maid; Stepan, the penniless caretaker, who has sacrificed his youth to the care of the estate; Miss Wrigley, a mysterious Englishwoman who has recently been named sole heiress to the fortune; Poggio, an opportunistic and freeloading "artistic" photographer; and, most intriguingly, Naina, the old lady's granddaughter, a girl so beautiful she could drive any man to do almost anything. As Pelagia bumbles and intuits her way to the heart of a mystery among people with faith only in greed and desire, she must bear in mind the words of Saint Paul: "Beware of dogs-and beware of evil-doers." "Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have praised [Akunin's] clever plots, vivid characters and wit."-"Baltimore Sun""Akunin's wonderful novels are always intricately webbed and plotted."-"The Providence Journal"

Dashing hero Erast Fandorin returns for another intriguing Russian crime caper, from the bestselling author of THE WINTER QUEEN.General Khrapov, newly appointed Governor-General of Siberia and soon-to-be Minister of the Interior, is murdered in his official saloon carriage on his way from St Petersburg to Moscow.The killer, disguised as Fandorin, leaves a knife thrust up to the hilt in his victim''s chest and escapes through the window of the carriage. Can Fandorin escape suspicion?A battle of wills and ideals, revolutionaries and traditionalists and good versus evil.

Grand Duke Georgii Alexandrovich arrives in Moscow for the coronation, accompanied by three of his children and their alluring governess, Mademoiselle Declique. During an afternoon stroll, daughter Xenia is dragged away by bandits, only to be rescued by an elegant gentleman and his oriental sidekick. The passing heroes introduce themselves as Fandorin and Masa, but panic ensues when they realise that four-year old Mikhail has been snatched in the confusion.A ransom letter arrives from Dr Lind, an international criminal and the Moriarty to Fandorin''s Sherlock Holmes. The letter demands the handover of the Count Orlov, an enormous diamond on the royal sceptre which is due to play a part in the coronation. Fandorin suggests that the value of the stone is paid in ''installments'', buying the party a week to ensure the young boy''s safe return. But can the gentleman detective find Mikhail in time, or will the Grand Duke''s son meet with the same gruesome fate as Lind''s last abductee - whom Fandorin could do nothing to save? Will Fandorin succumb to the affections of Xenia? And why is he falling to his death on the very first page? Our inimitable hero returns in a tantalisingly closely-matched battle of wills and of wiles.

Boris Akunin, Andrew BromfieldThe ship carrying the devout to Jerusalem has run into rough waters. Onboard is Manuila, controversial leader of the Foundlings, a sect that worships him as the Messiah. But soon the polarizing leader is no longer a passenger or a prophet but a corpse, beaten to death by someone almost supernaturally strong. But not everything is as it seems, and someone else sailing has become enmeshed in the mystery: the seemingly slow but actually astute sleuth Sister Pelagia. Her investigation of the crime will take her deep into the most dangerous areas of the Middle East and Russia, running from one-eyed criminals and after such unlikely animals as a red cockerel that may be more than a red herring. To her shock, she will emerge with not just the culprit in a murder case but a clue to the earths greatest secret.

Pelagia - bespectacled, freckled, red-haired, extraordinarily clumsy and constantly knitting - teaches gymnastics and literature, and in her spare time solves crimes. In this novel, Pelagia finds herself investigating a self-proclaimed Russian prophet, Manuila and his followers, who deny Jesus Christ and the Church. Her investigation is guided in part by ancient manuscripts, and it involves murder, deception, miracles, romance and a crisis of faith for our inimitable heroine.

Grand Duke Georgii Alexandrovich arrives in Moscow for the coronation, with three of his children. During an afternoon stroll, daughter Xenia is dragged away by bandits, only to be rescued by an elegant gentleman and his oriental sidekick. The passing heroes introduce themselves as Fandorin and Masa, but panic ensues when they realise that four-year old Mikhail has been snatched in the confusion.A ransom letter arrives from an international criminal demanding the handover of the Count Orlov, an enormous diamond on the royal sceptre which is due to play a part in the coronation. Can the gentleman detective find Mikhail in time?

Moscow 1876 A young law student commits suicide in broad daylight inMoscow's Alexander Gardens But this is no ordinary death, for the young manwas the son of an influential industrialist and has left a considerable fortuneErast Fandorin, a hotheaded new recruit to the Criminal InvestigationDepartment, is assigned to the case...

These days I have plenty of free time, so read books like some machine - one by one. In several days finished reading detective novel by Russian writer Boris Akunin which title is the same as William Shakespeare''s aphorism "All the world`s a stage". Akunin is fantastically popular in Russia today as brilliant novelist. But few people knows that first he started as Japanese literature researcher and translator and published his works by his actual name Boris Chkhartishvili (he is actually Georgian) and it is Chkhartishvili who finally translated maybe all most famous novels by Yukio Mishima and introduced them to Russian readers.Boris Akunin (in Japanese his pen name means "villain") became famous for his historical crime novels. He has some novel series but the most famous is novels with Erast Fandorin as main hero. Fandorin is 19th century Russian detective and he is hero of this novel also.

Новый роман о приключениях Эраста Петровича Фандорина. Действие нового романа Бориса Акунина "Весь мир театр" происходит в 1911 году. Эраст Фандорин расследует преступления, совершенные в одном из московских театров.

El gambit és una jugada d'escacs en la qual se sacrifica un peó o una altra peça a l'adversari per aconseguir una superioritat estratègica. Aquesta és la metàfora que definiex aquesta magnífica histò

«Llámase gambito a una jugada de ajedrez en la que se sacrifica una pieza al adversario para conseguir una superioridad estratégica.» He aquí la metáfora que encierra esta vertiginosa historia de esp

En un parc de Moscou, un dia assolellat de primavera un estudiant es tira un tret davant la mirada estupefacta d'una noia que li acaba de negar un petó. És tan sols la primera d'un seguit de morts inquietants i inexplicables; i Erast Fandorin, un jove det

Un espléndido día de primavera de 1876, en un soleado parque de Moscú, un estudiante aristócrata se dispara un tiro ante la estupefacta mirada de una joven que poco antes le había negado un beso. Es tan solo la primera de una inquietante cadena de muertes tan extrañas como inexplicables, que pronto suscitaran un sinfin de interrogantes en la inquieta sociedad moscovita: ¿por que juegan estas personas a la ruleta americana?, ¿habra alguien detras de estos hechos perversos, tal vez una oscura trama internacional urdida fuera de la madre Rusia? Para intentar responder a estas preguntas acude a escena Erast Fandorin, un bisoño aspirante a detective que compensa su falta de experiencia con un alto grado de astucia y entusiasmo. A veces tan lucido como Sherlock Holmes, otras sentimental como Poirot o Montalbano, y en ocasiones tan candido como Oblomov, a Fandorin le atraen los desafios que le exigen emplear a fondo su natural inteligencia. Capaz de navegar en el laberinto del crimen con la desenvoltura de un hombre de mundo y la sagacidad de quien conoce las miserias y las locuras del alma humana, Fandorin se desplazara de Moscu a Berlin y de ahi a Londres, para luego regresar a San Petersburgo en pos de esa verdad tan perturbadora como imprevisible que le servira para esclarecer este primer caso de la serie.Boris Akunin ha sido protagonista del fenomeno literario mas importante en Rusia desde la caida del telon de acero. Curiosa mezcla de generos y estilos, rebosantes de erudicion y repletas de guiños a los grandes clasicos de la literatura rusa, las novelas de Akunin recurren a un ritmo casi folletinesco que seducira a todo tipo de lectores, desde los amantes de la literatura mas refinada hasta los entusiastas de la novela policiaca, historica o de espionaje. Tendiendo un puente entre el siglo XIX y la actualidad, Akunin ha logrado acuñar un sello propio que rapidamente va ganando adeptos a lo largo y ancho de toda Europa. El angel caido es la primera de las siete novelas que componen la serie de Erast Fandorin.

París, marzo de 1878. Tras la aparición de una serie de cadáveres en la villa de lord Littleby, un coleccionista de arte indio, se hace cargo del caso el comisario Gauche, viejo sabueso de la policía francesa. Las pistas lo conducen hasta el Leviatan, un lujoso transatlantico que realiza la ruta entre Southampton y Calcuta. A medio camino, en Port Said, se une al pasaje un apuesto, culto y sagaz diplomatico ruso llamado Erast Fandorin, que viaja a Japon en mision profesional. Ante su presencia en uno de los salones del buque, donde Gauche reune todos los dias a un grupo de confiados pasajeros entre los que se encuentra el asesino, las mujeres caen rendidas a sus pies y los hombres recelan. Poco despues, cuando todos empiezan a sospechar de todos y el ambiente se enrarece, un nuevo crimen pone a prueba la sapiencia y astucia del experto comisario, que debera discernir si la impresionante intuicion del joven ruso es digna de su confianza o si, por el contrario, es preferible atenerse a sus propias lucubraciones. Despues de la conspiracion internacional de El angel caido y el espionaje belico de Gambito turco, Boris Akunin cambia nuevamente de registro con una novela de intriga en el mejor estilo de Agatha Christie. La riqueza de situaciones y personajes, inmersos en una trama apasionante, el tono de tragicomedia erudita y, sobre todo, la enigmatica y compleja personalidad de Fandorin, que se va desvelando libro a libro, seduciran al lector desde las primeras paginas. Con esta tercera obra de la serie, Boris Akunin vuelve a demostrar su inteligencia y versatilidad a la hora de transformar un refinado juego literario en una atractiva lectura al alcance de todos.