The Coronation by Boris Akunin

The Coronation by Boris Akunin ISBN-13: 978-0802127815 Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Mysterious Press Released: Feb. 5, 2019

Source: ARC review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
After five years spent abroad building up a business as something of a private investigator, the handsome, stuttering Fandorin is back in Moscow--and in for a case that entangles him with the highest echelons of Romanov royalty. Grand Duke Georgii Alexandrovich arrives in Moscow with three of his children for the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II, who is fated to become the last Emperor of Russia.

During an afternoon stroll in the park, Georgii's daughter Xenia is dragged away by bandits, only to be rescued by an elegant gentleman and his Japanese sidekick. The passing heroes introduce themselves as Erast Petrovich Fandorin and Masa, but panic ensues when the party realizes that four-year-old Mikhail has been snatched in the confusion. A ransom letter arrives from an international criminal demanding the handover of the Count Orlov, an enormous diamond on the royal scepter which is due to play a part in the coronation. Can the gentleman detective find Mikhail in time?


My Review:
The Coronation is a mystery set in May 1896 in Moscow. It's the seventh book in a series. You don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one, and this novel didn't spoil the previous novels.

The viewpoint character was a butler for the Grand Duke Georgii Alexandrovich. He spent a lot of time thinking about his butler duties in the first part of the book. While interesting, that did slow the pacing for the suspense and mystery. The series heroes are not viewpoint characters, so we only learn what the butler sees or is told. And he's a fool who keeps messing things up because he has no faith in the hero's abilities.

After the kidnapping, the story was a race to find and save the child mixed with events related to the coronation and various romances of all types. I guessed who the mastermind, Dr. Lind, was shortly after the kidnapping. Someone made a comment that made me think "oh, I bet that character is the mastermind." It's extremely rare that I'll jump to the back of the book, but I did so in this case and it turned out I was correct. However, it was realistic that the characters in the story didn't catch on until the very end. Don't expect a happy ending – even the butler wasn't happy, and things turned out well for him.

There were no graphic sex scenes. There was some bad language. I'd recommend this mystery to those interested in the Russian setting.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.