Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin

In Special Assignments, Erast Fandorin, nineteenth-century Russia's suavest sleuth, faces two formidable new foes: One steals outrageous sums of money, the other takes lives. "The Jack of Spades" is a civilized swindler who has conned thousands of rubles from Moscow's residents-including Fandorin's own boss, Prince Dolgorukoi. To catch him, Fandorin and his new assistant, timid young policeman Anisii Tulipov, must don almost as many disguises as the grifter does himself. "The Decorator" is a different case altogether: A savage serial killer who believes he "cleans" the women he mutilates and takes his orders from on high, he must be given Fandorin's most serious attentions.
Peopled by a rich cast of eccentric characters, and with plots that are as surprising as they are inventive, Special Assignments will delight Akunin's many fans, while challenging the gentleman sleuth's brilliant powers of detection.

Praise from England:

"Boris Akunin's wit and invention are a source of constant wonder."
-Evening Standard

" Fandorin is] a debonair combo of Sherlock Holmes, D'Artagnan and most of the soulful heroes of Russian literature. . . . This pair of perfectly balanced stories permit the character of Fandorin to grow."
-The Sunday Telegraph

"Agatha Christie meets James Bond: Akunin's] plots are intricate and tantalizing. . . . These stories] are unputdownable and great fun."
-Sunday Express

"The beguiling, super-brainy, sexy, unpredictable Fandorin is a creation like no other in crime fiction."
-The Times

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Random House Trade
Published: 02/12/2008
ISBN: 9780812978605
Pages: 352
Weight: 0.58lbs
Size: 7.98h x 5.28w x 0.77d

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 12/03/2007 pg. 52
Kirkus Reviews 12/15/2007 pg. 1266
Library Journal 01/15/2008 pg. 68
Entertainment Weekly 02/15/2008 pg. 69
Entertainment Weekly 03/07/2008 pg. 86