The Jack of Spades and Jack (Ivan) the Ripper

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	• Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin (Erast Fandorin Mysteries) Boris Akunin Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Jack of Spades and Jack (Ivan) the Ripper

Knowing that I love a good mystery and enjoy all things Russian, a friend gave me Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin by Boris Akunin for my birthday. This book is one of the most original and creative mysteries that I have read.

Special Assignments takes place in Moscow during the late 1800s. Erast Petrovich Fandorin is the deputy for special assignments to the governor-general of Moscow. In creating Fandorin, Akunin gives us a cross between Sherlock Holmes and James Bond (without the high-tech gadgets). Fandorin is handsome, intelligent, and debonair, speaks several languages, engages in martial arts and is a master of disguise. Special Assignments also has a host of quirky and interesting secondary characters including Fandorin's assistant, Anisii Tulipov, and his Japanese servant, Masa.

This book is actually two separate stories--The Jack of Spades and The Decorator. In the Jack of Spades, a shrewd con-man is swindling many Moscow residents out of enormous sums of money. The thief received this name because he leaves a Jack of Spades playing card at the scene of every crime. Even Fandorin becomes one of his victims. How the deputy catches the Jack of Spades is simply ingenious and delightful. The second story, The Decorator, is just as good but less amusing and much darker. A Jack the Ripper-type character is working the streets of Moscow, brutally murdering and butchering unfortunate victims (mostly prostitutes). There is some question that this might actually be the work of the English Jack the Ripper. Fandorin has some suspects, but needs to go underground in his efforts to catch the serial killer. As Fandorin gets closer to discovering the killer's identity, the "decorator" changes his usual pattern and starts killing those involved with the investigation. The ending came as a complete shock.

There are many things about this book (and series) that appeal to me. First, creating a mystery series that takes place in 19th Century tsarist-Russia is definitely a first. Deputy Erast Fandorin is one of the most delightful and unusual protagonists of any modern series. And finally, I am amazed that this series is written by Moscow writer Boris Akunin (the pen name of Grigory Chkhartishvili) and superbly translated by Andrew Broomfield.

When I "discover" a writer who really impresses me, I tend to read everything they have written. I will definitely be reading more of Akunin and Fandorin.

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A Mixed Bag

Rather than being a single novel this book is actually a collection of 2 stories, just the appropriate length to take a break between two sittings. The style and the nature of the stories are fairly different though and at times except for the composure of the detective Erast Fandorin, you could have been forgiven for believing that the two stories were written by different authors.

The first story is about the ace con man notorious as the Jack of Spades. Some of the acts of swindling are extremely audacious and one of them also includes a daring con job in Fandorin's household. The cat and moue game resembles a sparring match between two adversaries who admire each other in their own right. Though beaten early at the game Fandorin finds himself lucky the second time and the story has a reasonably satisfying ending, though overall there's not much to challenge Fandorin and there are a fair degree of cliches including the conclusion of the story.
The second story on the other hand belongs to an altogether different genre. Bordering more on the macabre, Fandorin is up against Jack the Ripper who seems to have shifted base from London and there are a series of brutal murders which seem to have a pattern in the choice of the victims as well as the way the murders are committed; especially the method of the murders leads to the serial killer being nicknamed the Decorator. As the dragnet closes in the murders start coming closer home and the final showdown is thrilling to the core, both in terms of the build up and the denouement of the identity of the murderer. In typical fashion the chapters flit between Fandorin's pursuit and the mental machinations of the serial killer. Extremely entertaining .
In short a fairly mixed bag , but well worth the buy

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wow!

i'm a big fan of the fandorin stories, and these two were incredible! the first one was playful and clever- it was nice to see that our unflappable hero can be outdone now and again. but the second one blew me away- i was not expecting the ending. it was hard to read emotionally, but from a writer's point of view, it was so in line with what had to happen to make it believeable. just incredible! the way the story shifted back and forth between fandorin and his adversary was well-written and scary. it made you uncomfortable! after reading these, i'm willing to pay for the hardback of the new one instead of waiting for the softcover. i must know what befalls of our hero next! :)

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Jacks of All Trades

Boris Akunin shows his range of depth in these two astonishingly different tells of mayhem and murder. Mayhem is represented by the Jack of Spades, a twisty, delightful comic romp that causes Fandorin no small amount of discomfort and considerable delight for the reader. Jack the Ripper is the complete opposite. Dark, chilling and at times truly heartwrenching, Akunin shows not just depth of ability but an authentic storyteller's gift for following the tale to its logical conclusion and not indulging in sentiment or bathos.

Two first class novellas from one of the best crime series I have had the pleasure to read.

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A double dose of Erast

This latest work about Erast Fandorin gives the reader two shorter tales of his investigations. The first one, in which his new assistant is introduced, is more of an amusing story, even though it involves crimes, of a sort. The second tale, however, is grim and grisly, with murders, vivisections, and just plain awful things happening. Oddly enough, both stories involve miscreants named "Jack", which is about all that I will say on that score. Where the first tale ends in farce, the second ends in tragedy and sorrow. Erast has really changed from the callow youth we first met in "The Winter Queen", and now he appears more like Sherlock Holmes, aloof and cerebral, rather than the more human side we learned to admire. I actully prefer the younger Erast, but time goes on and people age and mature, so we now have this "new" Erast, and will go down his future paths of investigation with him, as I know there are at least another six Erast novels written.

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reviews: page 1, 2

In Special Assignments, Erast Fandorin, nineteenth-century Russia?s suavest sleuth, faces two formidable new foes: One steals outrageous sums of money, the other takes lives. ?The Jack of Spades? is a civilized swindler who has conned thousands of rubles from Moscow?s residents?including Fandorin?s own boss, Prince Dolgorukoi. To catch him, Fandorin and his new assistant, timid young policeman Anisii Tulipov, must don almost as many disguises as the grifter does himself. ?The Decorator? is a different case altogether: A savage serial killer who believes he ?cleans? the women he mutilates and takes his orders from on high, he must be given Fandorin?s most serious attentions.
Peopled by a rich cast of eccentric characters, and with plots that are as surprising as they are inventive, Special Assignments will delight Akunin?s many fans, while challenging the gentleman sleuth?s brilliant powers of detection.

Praise from England:

?Boris Akunin?s wit and invention are a source of constant wonder.?
?Evening Standard

?[Fandorin is] a debonair combo of Sherlock Holmes, D?Artagnan and most of the soulful heroes of Russian literature. . . . This pair of perfectly balanced stories permit the character of Fandorin to grow.?
?The Sunday Telegraph

?Agatha Christie meets James Bond: [Akunin?s] plots are intricate and tantalizing. . . . [These stories] are unputdownable and great fun.?
?Sunday Express

?The beguiling, super-brainy, sexy, unpredictable Fandorin is a creation like no other in crime fiction.?
?The Times

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