Turkish Gambit (Erast Fandorin, No. 2) (Erast Fandorin Mysteries)

SUMMARY: It is 1877, and war has broken out between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. The Bulgarian front resounds with the thunder of cavalry charges, the roar of artillery, and the clash of steel on steel during the world’s last great horse–and–cannon conflict. Amid the treacherous atmosphere of a nineteenth–century Russian field army, former diplomat and detective extraordinaire Erast Fandorin finds his most confounding case.It’s difficulties are only compounded by the presence of Varya Suvorova, a deadly serious (and seriously beautiful) woman with revolutionary ideals who has disguised herself as a boy in order to find her respected comrade– and fiancé–Pyotr Yablokov, an army cryptographer. Even after Fandorin saves her life, Varya can hardly bear to thank such a “lackey of the throne” for his efforts.But when Yablokov is accused of espionage and faces imprisonment and execution, Varya must turn to Fandorin to find the real culprit... a mission that forces her to reconsider his courage, deductive mind, and piercing gaze.Filled with the same delicious detail, ingenious plotting, and subtle satire as The Winter Queen and Murder on the Leviathan, The Turkish Gambit confirms Boris Akunin’s status as a master of the historical thriller–and Erast Fandorin as a detective for the ages. Erast Fandorin returns in another thrilling Russian crime caper, from the bestselling author of THE WINTER QUEEN . The Russo-Turkish war is at a critical juncture, and Erast Fandorin, broken-hearted and disillusioned, has gone to the front in an attempt to forget his sorrows. But Fandorin's efforts to steer clear of trouble are thwarted when he comes to the aid of Varvara Suvorova - a 'progressive' Russian woman trying to make her way to the Russian headquarters to join her fiancé. Within days, Varvara's fiancé has been accused of treason, a Turkish victory looms on the horizon, and there are rumours of a Turkish spy hiding within their own camp. Our reluctant gentleman sleuth will need to resurrect all of his dormant powers of detection if he is to unmask the traitor, help the Russians to victory and smooth the path of young love. The Russo-Turkish war is at a critical juncture, and Erast Fandorin, broken-hearted and disillusioned has gone to the front in an attempt to forget his sorrows. Our reluctant gentleman sleuth will need to resurrect all of his dormant powers of detection if he is to unmask a traitor and help the Russians to victory ACCORDING TO ST. AUGUSTINE, woman is a frail and fickle creature, and the great obscurantist and misogynist was right a thousand times over-at least with regard to a certain individual by the name of Varvara Suvorova.