Murder on the Leviathan: A Novel (Erast Fandorin)

by Boris Akunin

Book Overview

Paris, 1878: Eccentric antiquarian Lord Littleby and his ten servants are found murdered in Littleby's mansion on the rue de Grenelle, and a priceless Indian shawl is missing. Police commissioner... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812968794
• ISBN13: 9780812968798
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.1" x 0.5" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

A change of pace

In this episode we have Fandorin on board an ocean liner. A mystery more on the lines of Agatha Christie.

A great "Who-done-it"!

This was probably one of my favorite Fandorin novels of the series. Here, we meet our hero as a more mature Russian diplomat as he finds himself in the middle of a murder mystery that started in Paris and led itself onboard a luxury passenger ship en route to the East. Fandorin, after his adventures during the Turkish war (which were covered in the "Turkish Gambit" that was the second book in the series in Russian, but skipped for the English readers at least for now), is older and wiser, elegant and stylish, yet somewhat more cynical. He displays great observation qualities of Sherlock Holmes, and, at first, stays out of the way of investigation conducted by the "old walrus" Gustave Gauche, "Investigator for Especially Important Crimes" - but is forced to interject as he sees that the search for the villain is turning more and more in the wrong direction.

Clever and enjoyable

Having read _The Winter Queen_, I had to read the next Erast Fandorin mystery. I was not disappointed, and in fact, I believe _Murder on the Leviathan_ is the better of the two. Written from the perspectives of the various suspects, Erast more or less takes a "back seat" as the reader is led through the murder mystery on a ship bound for Calcutta out of France. Each character provides their own perspective on the mystery, the suspects, and the clues - a very intriguing and clever device. The cast of characters, as an earlier reviewer pointed out, are straight out of an Agatha Christie novel, but with the unique and humorous twist I have come to expect from Akunin. As the story plays out, we learn that each suspect has their own story to tell - more than a few of which are red herrings, but all are entertaining. A very clever book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to more titles from the same author being translated.

funny, eccentric, ingenious!

I'm afraid I might have done Boris Akunin a great disservice. I thought The Winter Queen was a decidedly average read; I didn't find the plot too gripping, and I disliked the style. Now, there's nothing I can do about the plot: I've simply never been fond of "adventure" stories, so I'm not particularly going to like a pastiche of one, either - as The Winter Queen was. However, I must have been in some bizarre mood, because I found the style of Leviathan to be an absolute delight!This is the third Erast Fandorin novel - the second to be translated into English (Turkish Gambit, the real 2nd, is scheduled for publication in December). Here, we see less of Fandorin than we did in TWQ, or it certainly seems like it. This is partly because Leviathan is told from five different perspectives. One is that of French "Investigator of Especially Important Cases", Gustav Gauche (who definitely lives up to his name); the remaining four perspectives are those of four main suspects in a murder inquiry (two of these are told in the 3rd person, two in the 1st). Thus we see Fandorin through only their eyes, making him a decidedly enigmatic and intriguing detective.The crime being investigated is the murder, in Paris, of Lord Littleby, collector of fine things, and nine members of his staff. (Yes, nine.) Due to a clue left at the crime scene (in the form of a badge shaped as a golden whale), Gauche deduces that the murderer will be one of the passengers on the steamship Leviathan - newly built and embarking upon its maiden voyage to Calcutta. He boards the ship and begins his enquiries, trying to sift out the murder from the 142 first-class passengers (yes, 142.)As evidenced partly by the ridiculous number of suspects and murder victims (in the end it totals 11), Akunin is clearly having a good time pointing fun at the traditions of the detective genre. And he does it very well indeed. Leviathan is an excellent detective story in its own right, while all the while it gently makes fun of itself and the genre - as TWQ did with espionage fiction. It is a hilarious novel at times; a brilliant, incredibly clever pastiche. Akunin's main source here is, of course, Agatha Christie. The set-up is immediately recognisable as almost classic Christie, a la Murder on the Orient Express or Death on the Nile. He even manages to work in Cards on the Table and The Clocks (particularly hilariously!) among others, and that is on top off the usual Russian literary influences. For example, one of the periphery characters mentioned is named "Marcel Prout".Leviathan is an absolutely excellent novel. I would recommend it to anyone. It is not necessary to have read The Winter Queen, and I'd probably advise that you just jump straight in here. Akunin's 2nd novel in translation is an incredibly sharp, teasing, funny, and ingenious mystery, with a great set of characters. A Japanese passenger, one of the four main suspects, is particularly wonderful. Certainly, it was his sections of the book

A tribute to Agatha Christie

First of all, while "Murder on Leviathan" is billed as a second novel in the Fandorin series, it is really the third. For some reason "The Turkish Gambit" was passed over in the American edition, may be, it will be published at a later date. Fear not, though. The novel is totally accessible on its own, you don't even need to know the events of "Winter Queen". Each novel in the series is a take on another sub-genre of mystery story - there are spy stories, political stories, etc. Here Akunin enters the kingdom of Agatha Christie - if you have read a Poirot mystery, you know what to expect from "Leviathan". This novel could be a Poirot mystery - it is worthy of the Queen of the mystery herself. If it were, would it be her best? No. But it won't be worst, too. The main thing I like about Akunin is that he is writing novels not only set in the past, but imitating the style of that era. Most of the authors today try to cram everything into a novel - mystery, thriller, family saga, etc. The Fandorin books have a kind of simpler, purer feel to them. And thus they are somehow more pleasant to read then the majority of page-turners. Modern thrillers are often compared to a wild ride. Well, instead of that, try a comfortable journey on a luxury cruiser. The "Leviathan" will be leaving port shortly! Refreshments and murder are served on board.