Since the publication of The Winter Queen, a New York Times Notable
Book and the first mystery featuring Erast Fandorin, Boris Akunin's
historical mystery series has become a worldwide sensation, selling
millions of copies and propelling Akunin into the ranks of Russia's most
widely read contemporary novelists. The first new Fandorin novel
available to an American audience in a decade, The State Counsellor
tests the handsome diplomat-detective's guile and integrity like no
mystery before.
Russia, 1891. The new governor-general of Siberia has been secreted away
on a train from St. Petersburg to Moscow. A blizzard rages outside as a
mustachioed official climbs aboard near the city; with his trademark
stutter, he introduces himself as State Counsellor Erast Fandorin. He
then thrusts a dagger inscribed with the initials CG into the
governor-general's heart and, tearing off his mustache, escapes out the
carriage window. The head of the Department of Security soon shows up at
the real Fandorin's door and arrests him for murder. The only way to
save his reputation is to find CG--and the government mole who is
feeding the group information. Can Fandorin survive corruption among his
fellow officials, the fearlessness of an unknown enemy, and the advances
of a sultry young nihilist with his morals intact? The State
Counsellor is a colorful entertainer from a master of the sly
historical romp.
