Naive young Masha Mironova arrives in Moscow at the turn of the century with a modest inheritance and a determination to shed her provincial Siberian upbringing. As soon as she alights in Moscow, she becomes Columbine, a reckless and daring young woman with eccentric outfits and a pet snake worn as a necklace. In her quest for danger and passion, Columbine soon discovers the Lovers of Death—a small group of poets enraptured by death who gather nightly at the home of their leader, the Doge, and conduct séances to determine death’s next chosen lover. Once named at a séance, the chosen member must await three signs from death before taking his own life. The string of suicides resulting from the group have drawn attention, becoming fodder for extensive media coverage and widespread hysteria in Moscow. As the group's numbers dwindle, a mysterious newcomer appears. Revealed to the listener as Erast Fandorin thanks to the presence of his trusty Japanese sidekick, Fandorin begins to investigate the suicides while also trying to convince the members that death is neither beautiful nor poetic and should not be sought out.
But will the gentleman detective be able to stop Columbine from taking action when she receives her three unmistakable signs?
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“Erast Fandorin is a delightful character like no other in crime fiction.”
— The Times (London), praise for the series
“The Russian Ian Fleming…Akunin’s accomplished writing is a treat.”
— Ruth Rendell, award-winning author of the Inspector Wexford mysteries, praise for the author“Akunin is a hugely entertaining writer.”
— The Spectator (London), praise for the authorBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Boris Akunin is the pen name of Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili, a Russian writer of Georgian origin. He is best known as writer of detective and historical fiction, but he is also an essayist and literary translator. The author of the Erast Fandorin mystery series and several others series, he has become one of the most widely read authors in Russia.
Nigel Patterson, British audiobook narrator and AudioFile Earphones Award winner, has many credits as a stage, screen, and voiceover actor that influence his powerful characterization across a broad range of genres. A graduate of the University of Oxford, he is fluent in French and Spanish.