Reviews

Overall I enjoyed this despite not having read anything else in the series. Fandorin is a diplomat and detective who has returned home to Russia after having spent several years in Japan. He's known as a man who can get things done and it was intriguing to see his thought process as he worked through various issues of the case. My biggest problem was with how this book was set up. The first section is all about Fandorin and the case. Then boom, you are hit with section two which gives you the tedious back story of the villain before retelling key events through his eyes. The third section is the resolution. While it was quite interesting to see the two sides to the case, the sudden shift in perspectives really took me out of the story.

susannavs's review against another edition

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4.0

This, and Murder on the Leviathan have been my favourite Fandorin novels so far - I can't point out the particular type of dectective novel this one is based on, but I thoroughly enjoyed Erast's new adventure.

I don't know whether to read the fifth right away...and wait for the rest to be translated...or to hold off a while... Azazel is becoming slightly more clear...

adru's review against another edition

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Ei olnud see, mida hetkel vaja läks. Kahju.

blossomgarden's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 stars. I really don’t know if it’s the translation or what but this one was more choppy than the previous ones. Regardless, I plan to read more of the series.
I will say that I was surprised by how many died in this book!
The scenario was interesting: much loved general dies, and it is ruled natural causes. Of course there is one person that doesn’t believe so. There were plot twists and turns but not excessive or too many to lose the reader. I had figured out Fandorin’s mistake the first couple times he made them (he seems to always make mistakes. Don’t we all?) but I didn’t guess the ending until almost the end. There were some points and details that weren’t very well relayed so one has to suspend belief at times. (Technicalities? Eh.)

bexwat's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

maplegrey's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

hpstrangelove's review against another edition

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5.0

I have a pet peeve with POV changes in the middle of a paragraph, so I'm hesitant to give this one five stars. If I could give 4.5 I would, but since I can't I'll just have to round up.

That's the only flaw in this story and it comes in the third part when the hero and the bad guy meet. The story keeps flipping back and forth between their POVs.

I've listened to the audiobooks of the preceding stories and enjoyed them all. The format of this one changed a bit. The first part gives us Fandorin's POV, which is what I expected. But the second part gives us the bad guys POV and backstory. I was thrown at first because I wasn't sure what was going on. By the time part 2 ended, I found myself wanting the bad guy to get away, his story was so compelling.

I loved the action in this story and think it would make a great movie one day.

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