The Turkish Gambit: A Novel (Erast Fandorin Mysteries) (urspr publ 1998; utgåvan 2005)

Despite its slim plotline, I found the intrigue inviting. There wasn't a great deal of presence but it was an acceptable escape, for those so inclined. ( )

Interesting characters and plot, but the names were rather difficult. I wish I'd read the first book of the series first and that I had known more about this Russo-Turkish War and the Crimean War before reading.

The year is 1877. Russia and the Ottoman Empire are at war. Erast Fandorin, a former diplomat, heart-broken and disillusioned, has gone to the front to forget his sorrows. In this treacherous atmosphere of a Russian field army, he is captured by the Turks, but wins his freedom in a game of backgammon. Meanwhile, he inadvertently rescues Varya Suvorova, a deadly serious, deliciously beautiful woman with revolutionary ideals disguised as a boy to gain access to the Russian camp to reunite with her respected comrade and fiancé. Varya is incensed by Fandorian's aristocratic leanings and can hardly bear to thank a “lackey of the throne." Then a spy is suspected in the camp. When Varya’s fiancé is accused of espionage and faces execution, she turns to Fandorin to find the real culprit . . . a mission that forces her to reckon with his courage, deductive mind, and piercing gaze. Reader is fluent in Russian. ( )

Disappointing. I have read a couple of other Fandorin mysteries and liked them better. The story meandered through excessive expositions and digressions, and we got to see very little of Fandorin. The main point of view in the book belonged to a highly annoying young woman and well before the end of the book I was longing to be out of her company for good. ( )

Een goede spionage detective. ( )