From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

The Death of Achilles (Erast Fandorin Mysteries, #4)

Boris Akunin,

Andrew Bromfield (Translator)

Start date: May 15, 2025

Finish date: June 6, 2025

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Book 4 in this acclaimed series
[close] Book 4 in this acclaimed series

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What Members Thought

Feb 12, 2008 Nancy Oakes rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-crime-fiction, translated-crime-fiction, crime-fiction, crime-fiction-russia-ussr

I will note that while you could feasibly read this as a stand alone, you really want to go back and read the entire series in this order (not necessarily in the published order):

the Winter Queen
The Turkish Gambit
Murder on the Leviathan

If you haven't met Erast Fandorin, then you definitely need to go back to the Winter Queen where he gets his start.

This book:
Our young hero has literally just returned to Russia from Japan after his duties there are completed. He comes to Moscow, where he is ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

May 25, 2025 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This fourth book in the Erast Fandorin series sees our hero arriving in Moscow after six years, accompanied by his Japanese manservant, Masa, who is devoted to him. No sooner has Fandorin arrived than he learns that General Sobolev, whom he previously knew, is staying at the same hotel as him. He longs to see him, but Sobolev is dead before he has the chance and Fandorin charged with investigating the case.

Although I enjoyed the story, I found the sections of the book, with parts split into how ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Feb 08, 2014 Leslie rated it liked it

Shelves: mysteries, historical-fiction, russian

I like the hero of this series, Fandorin, and his Japanese servant Masa. I didn't care for the structure of this book though -- it is divided into 3 sections or "Books". By far the longest is the first part, which was a straightfoward narrative of Fandorin's investigation into the death of "Achilles", the popular Russian general Sobolev. Then, the second section breaks the train of the narrative and tells the history and background of the killer, leading up to the point at which the first sectio ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 17, 2025 Sandy rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-detective-grp, read-2025

Interesting concept and execution, where we learn the villain backstory and actions leading up to the finale. The Japanese sidekick is a great addition.

Like · see review