Rating: 
Summary: Slow to start but wonderful finish
Review: Akunin builds his story by deconstucting the psyches of his characters. I found the narrative style reminscent at times to Crime and Punishment though neither as complex and sadly not always as compelling as Dostoevsky's classic. Once Fandorin goes to London the plot picks up, revealing layers of intrigue and world wide plots.
Rating:
Summary: Excellant debut of a series...
Review: Akunin's "Winter Queen" is a wonderful addition to the mystery genre. We meet Erast Fandorin in 1876 Moscow, as he attempts to solve a mysterious suicide. Soon, while he is investigating, a murder is committed, and Erast knows he is on to something. Frankly, Erast is quite lucky here, as fate prevents him from dying at least three times. That is why this book is only 4 stars instead of five. Good background on "Russian" roulette, and on the moody fatalism of Russians. I really liked how the conspiracy was found, and its purpose. The book should have kept its "Azazel" title for America, as it is much more relevant to the story. Count Hippolyte is an intriguing sidekick type, and I hope to see him again in an another Fandorin novel. Great shocker of an ending. Goes out literally in a bang.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Summer Reading
Review: Boris Akunin's The Winter Queen was a very nice `read'. The first in a series, Akunin introduces us to Erast Fandorin, a young investigator newly hired by the Moscow police force. Erast comes to the police after his father's family fortune took a dramatic turn for the worse that jolted Erast out of a life of upper-income leisure into a career as a detective. Young, tenacious, intuitive, and more than a bit naïve, Erast is assigned to investigate a clear cut case of suicide. On its surface, an easy investigation designed to ease Erasts's entry into life as an investigator. Of course, all is not what it seems and Erast determines quickly that there is more to the case than a simple suicide. Erast (and Akunin) slowly peel away the layers of mystery and reveals in the process a world-wide conspiracy centered on a series of well run and maintained orphanages endowed by a rich, influential English noblewoman. Along the way Erast encounters love, lust, gambling, and avoids a series of death defying experiences. Standing alone the series of events described above sounds rather pedestrian. A well worn theme. However, the pleasure to be derived from this book is the setting, late 19th century Russia. Akunin has a keen eye for detail and atmospherics. He conveys (as does the excellent translation) a sense of what life must have been life in 19th century Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The book ends triumphantly but Fandorin's triumph turns bittersweet n the last few paragraphs. Although this made for a disconcerting jolt at the end of the book it is quite understandable when one considers that Winter Queen is the first in a long series of Fandorin mysteries. A happily ever after ending would not leave much room for drama in the next installment.Some have compared Fandorin to Sherlock Holmes with a bit of Inspector Clouseau thrown in for good measure. I think Fandorin's character stands on its own and needs no comparison to other literary detectives. If I had to provide any sort of comparison it would be to the protagonist in Caleb Carr's The Alienist. The characters and story lines are quite different of course. The comparison lies in the impact of the historic locale (19th century New York City and 19th century Moscow) that forms the atmospheric heart of each book. All in all this is a very entertaining piece of mystery writing set in an exotic locale. It is a perfect book to read on the beach, on a long plane ride, or sitting on a lawn chair in the back yard. I look forward to the next installment in the series.
Rating:
Summary: great character! formulaic ending
Review: Erast Fandorin is part Inspcector Cluseau, part Hercule Poirot in a somewhat predictable, but thoroughly enjoyable mystery. The intrepid slueth is a young detective working in Moscow in the late 19th century solving his first murder. The murder, as it happens, grows into a much wider (and deeper) conspiracy that reaches to the pinnalce of political power on an international scale.
The earnest Fandorin is somewhat a bumbler, with average intelligence who manages to stumble his way across, into (and out of) a number of comic - and serious - situations. This was enjoyable to read. Yet I can only give it four stars because of the cliched ending. (No, the butler did not do it.) Those who are avid mystery readers should be able to piece the plot together mid-way through the book - but will keep on reading out of the sheer joy of witnessing Fandorin work.
Rating: 
Summary: Rarely, a Modern Russian Book Worth Western Readers.
Review: Having read all of the original Fandorin novels, I was a bit skeptical about the first installment translated into English. Having great use of Russian language as one of his strongest assets, Akunin did an excellent job presenting a good view into the late 19th century Russian literature and the life of the late 19th century Moscow "Beaumont" - money, love, lust, dirty secrets - and a hero who has never lost a gamble! All that rendered in English could be, I was afraid, like a bad Rambo movie -- a bunch of pseudo "Russian"-dressed people who speak gibberish and look as fake as a seven-rouble bill. Andrew Bromfield, however, did an excellent job of bringing the tale of Fandorin to the English-speaking crowd. A great story in conjunction with a good writing style, it kept the feel of the "Leo Tolstoy"-style writing with frequent though not exuberant foreign quotations and footnotes. Although knowledge of Russian is not required for this reading, if you're not a fluent Russian reader - keep a dictionary (or a Russian-speaking buddy) handy - some terms, probably to accentuate the feeling of true Russian writing, were left transliterated rather than translated, so dacha was used instead of an easier to understand yet less eclectic "summer house".
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: I thought this was a good read and I look forward to more of this authors books being translated into english. I recommend it without reservation.
Rating:
Summary: "Perfect atomosphere, rewarding twists ... a delight"
Review: Set in Moscow in 1876, this crime mystery is the first in a series about the young Erast Fandorin, a sort of Russian Sherlock Homes with emotions. And it is fabulous, and Akunin's Erast Fandorin series have been a huge hit in Russian for years and this is the debut in English. The characters are so realized, the atmosphere so perfect and the twists of the plot so rewarding, you can hardly wait for more. What begins as the mystery of why a wealthy, talented student from a rich family would shoot himself in public turns evolves into a larger tale of worldwide anarchist conspiracy. This book is a delight.
Rating:
Summary: A literary pleasure.
Review: Such a small book and yet so richly packed. The translation is, well, delightful. You'd swear this book really was written in the 1870s. It's full of wonderful little details such as Russian Roulette being referred to as American Roulette, and Fandorin's boss having one of the first of a new invention called the telephone. The characters are intriguing, especially the neophyte detective Erast Fandorin. More than a few times I was thinking, "No! Don't do that! Pay attention to your job!" But, obviously he wasn't listening...
I was sad to see this book end and hope the rest in the series get translated NOW. If you like reading Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky (is that spelled right?), give this a shot. It's not as deep as those authors, but it captures their styles well.
Also, this had one of the most shocking and devastating endings I've read in a book in a LONG time. I am still trying to deal with it.
Rating:
Summary: excellent detective mystery
Review: The author had me guessing till the very end.
The book is filled with various strange characters and twists and turns - taking the reader on an enjoyable and interesting adventure through late 19th century Russia.
Rating:
Summary: Winter Queen by Mystery King
Review: The ending! What a shocker! I couldn`t get over it for days, and wanted more! I found this book by chance and read it because I am interested in Imperial Russia. Boy, was I surprised at how good it was, written just as though the author had been there. I was so impressed with the detail of the setting, and the translation was excellent and very readable. I of course do not know Russian and haven`t an idea of what the read is like in Russian, but if it is any better than this translation it must be superb indeed! Try not to look ahead, but it will be hard not to... just think of the surprise you will rob yourself of if you do! It is hard to find good surprise endings these days. As I read this book, I was reminded of the original tv series Wild, Wild, West and some of the evil characters that James came up against. This novel is set at the same time or thereabouts and Ruth Rendell is correct in describing this author as an Ian Fleming type! I want to read all of his books, and I have missed Erast since finishing the book! Bring on more! Bravo!
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