MURDER ON THE LEVIATHAN

A golden key found at the scene of a bizarre Paris murder is a passage ticket for the LEVIATHAN, a steamship leaving on its maiden voyage to Calcutta in 1878. Police commissioner "Papa" Gauche boards the ship to find the killer, only to be on hand for more murders. When Gauche finds not just one, but several solutions to the puzzle, his thinking is shot down each time by another passenger, Russian diplomat Erast Fandorin, Boris Akunin's series detective. Campbell Scott spins a merry case, relishing the battle of wits between the blustering Gauche and the stuttering Fandorin. Putting the series lead in a secondary position to a Poirot-like character puts an entertaining twist on the story for a gentle send-up of Agatha Christie's style. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 04]