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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
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
January 9, 2020 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780802146151
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780802146151
- File size: 2889 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 15, 2018
Finally, it can be told: the highly fictitious story of how an audacious criminal who did his level best to disrupt the coronation of Czar Nicholas II in 1896 was foiled by perennial agent Erast Petrovich Fandorin.When Nicholas' uncle Georgii Alexandrovich Romanov and his family arrive at the Small Hermitage in Moscow's Neskuchny Park in preparation for the coronation, the family's butler, Afanasii Stepanovich Ziukin, thinks his biggest problem will be deciding how to fit the whole household into a mere 18 rooms. More serious trouble promptly arrives during Afanasii's walk around the grounds with Georgii's daughter, 19-year-old Xenia Georgievna, and his youngest son, Mikhail Georgievich, 6, when they're attacked by a gang of brigands obviously intent on abducting Xenia Georgievna. The girl is rescued by the unexpected and muscular intervention of Fandorin and his valet, Masa, but the kidnappers get away with Mikhail. A suavely menacing letter from Doctor Lind, a pseudonymous supercriminal whose activities Fandorin has long been familiar with, demands an outrageous ransom: the Orlov, the largest diamond in the royal scepter. Since the absence of the stone would surely be noticed during the coronation, plunging the dynasty into unfathomable chaos, Fandorin proposes paying Doctor Lind a series of lesser ransoms every day for a week in hopes of gathering more information about his operation in the meantime. Lind accepts the plan, and the game of cat and mouse is on between two world-class antagonists who are both clever, resourceful, and well-stocked with backup plans. Fandorin recruits the butler and Emilie Declique, Mikhail's governess, to help him foil Lind's plot. But Lind has many more accomplices and no scruples about killing anyone who stands in his way. Nor is he distracted, as Afanasii is dismayed to see Fandorin is, by an utterly inappropriate attraction to Xenia Georgievna.Just when you think you know what's coming next, Akunin, the most audacious author of historical mysteries (The State Counsellor, 2017, etc.) in the business, shows that he's way ahead of you. Like-minded readers who can get past all those royal patronymics are in for a treat.COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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