The Coronation
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
"Fandorin . . . dominates this, the seventh of his adventures to be published in the States, as he always does—with Sherlockian elan" (The Washington Post).
Boris Akunin has been hailed as Russia's answer to both Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for his beloved Fandorin mystery series. In The Coronation, he delivers a fantastically entertaining and deftly plotted take on the hostage novel, not to be missed.
After five years spent abroad building up a business as something of a private investigator, the handsome, stuttering Fandorin is back in Moscow—and in for a case that entangles him with the highest echelons of Romanov royalty.
Grand Duke Georgii Alexandrovich arrives in Moscow with three of his children for the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II. During an afternoon stroll in the park, Georgii's daughter Xenia is dragged away by bandits, only to be rescued by an elegant gentleman and his Japanese sidekick. The passing heroes introduce themselves as Erast Petrovich Fandorin and Masa, but panic ensues when the party realizes 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 scepter which is due to play a part in the coronation. Can the gentleman-detective find Mikhail in time?
"Akunin keeps the action fast-paced, and the logical twists head-spinning, without sacrificing humor or depth of characterization." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Just when you think you know what's coming next, Akunin, the most audacious author of historical mysteries in the business, shows that he's way ahead of you . . . a treat." —Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1896, Akunin's excellent seventh Fandorin mystery (after The State Counsellor) finds the brilliant investigator back in Moscow just in time to prevent some thugs from abducting Xenia Georgievna, the daughter of Georgii Alexandrovich, the uncle of Nicholas II, who's soon to be crowned as tsar. Fandorin is later stunned to learn that Xenia's brother, Prince Mikhail Georgievich, was snatched while she was being rescued. He suspects a Moriarty-like criminal mastermind known only as Dr. Lind. His theory is confirmed when the Russian royal family receives a letter from Lind, who demands the Orlov diamond, which adorns the imperial scepter and is an essential part of the coronation ceremony, in exchange for Mikhail's safe return. Fandorin, aided by a loyal family retainer, Afanasii Ziukin, races to retrieve Mikhail, in an effort to avoid giving up the valuable gemstone. Akunin keeps the action fast-paced, and the logical twists head-spinning, without sacrificing humor or depth of characterization.
