The fourth in the Erast Fandorin sequence sees our Holmesian Russian hero returning from the far east with a Japanese colleague in tow. In Moscow he’s given the job Collegiate Assessor, but no sooner than that has happened than his old friend General Sobolev is found dead in vaguely suspicious circumstances. At first, we are to believe that it was a natural heart attack as Sobolev had been visiting a woman of easy (or indeed, expensive) virtue at the time of his death.
But soon we’re embroiled in a political conspiracy involving the Russian state. Fandorin is of course the man for the job. What I hadn’t realised, until I consulted Wikipedia to find out what the next in the series was, and then went on a search to find when it would be out, was that Sobolev is a real man (with his name spelt differently).
So overall, I’m loving this series with devious multi-national agents, and glamorous women. Roll on the next episode.