From Boris Akunin, the writer who invented the popular Russian crime
novel, a gripping tale of a secret suicide society in
turn-of-the-century Moscow featuring a naïve young protagonist and the
inimitable hero Erast Fandorin.
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 reader 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? She Lover of
Death is a fantastically entertaining murder mystery, where the
murderer's weapons are trickery and psychological manipulation.
