The Winter Queen (Erast Fandorin Mysteries)

Interesting well researched crime story set in Moscow in 1876. Lovely witty sense of humour throughout too.

the cover art is better than the series

Gripping, interesting. Last page felt like a kick in the ribs.

Not a particular exciting crime writer - if you can already guess who stands behind the murders three thirds into a whodunnit the writer has failed. In addition, his mock-comic style seems forced at points (a problem of the translation?). The hero is likeable but his successes too arbitrary to fall into the same category as Inspector Morse, Hercule Poirot, etc.

nicely paced. intriguing mystery, although a little too obvious, cool character. a lot better than Leviathan (my other Erast Fandorin read)

Not the stunning intellectual tour-de-force suggested by many others, but amusing enough if you like seeing where the plot is going whilst the characters are still discussing their potential options. Makes me pine for Moscow and its weird mix of underworld and privilege, with the main character, Erast Fandorin positioned atmospherically in between. Quite a lot of gratuitous killing (not so...more

Not the stunning intellectual tour-de-force suggested by many others, but amusing enough if you like seeing where the plot is going whilst the characters are still discussing their potential options. Makes me pine for Moscow and its weird mix of underworld and privilege, with the main character, Erast Fandorin positioned atmospherically in between. Quite a lot of gratuitous killing (not so intellectual after all), but with enough quality to encourage tackling the next book in the series.   hide

Not bad at all although it doesn't quite live up to the expectations set up by the reviewers.

I really enjoyed this book. It started off a bit slow for me, however, by chapter 3 I was just zooming along.

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