Each of the Fandorin novels takes a slightly different tone, on purpose, as Akunin pays homage to the Doyle, Christie, and Fleming (Murder on the Leviathan is a take on Death on the Nile). The State Counsellor chapters alternate between spies of the dualling networks. The reader sees the push and pull and tangle from both sides.
The unlikely team of Adolphus “Nine Nails” McGray and Ian Frey are on the case again. It’s not perfect, but it’s a strong second outing for the new novelist.
I’m not really one for your typical “beach read” but I do think summertime give us time devote to reading in a way that we don’t get to most of the year – vacations and camping, longer days, a slower pace of life in general. It’s a good time to dive into a brick of a classic, tackle a series or try a nonfiction in a new topic.
Biographer, editor and man of letters Michael Sims agreed to let me pick his brain about Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes, a fascination we share. Sims was a distinguished speaker at the Baker Street Irregulars annual gathering in 2011. Sims’ newest book, Arthur and Sherlock, comes out January 24. Q: Did you read Sherlock Holmes…
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice. Readers are invited to: Grab a book, any book. Turn to page 56 (or 56% in your eReader), find any sentence and post it. I just picked up The Gentle Axe by R.N. Morris from the library. It’s a creepy Russian mystery. Porfiry lifted his head, looked the pawnbroker in…