THE DEATH OF ACHILLES

Paul Michael handles the myriad characters and changes of scene in this Russian mystery with aplomb. Set in 1882, the story follows the investigation by diplomat and detective Erast Fandorin of the death of a Russian war hero. The man was found dead in the apartment of a beautiful singer/courtesan, but Fandorin suspects murder rather than death during sex. Akunin can be complex and rather, well, ponderously Russian, but with some nice variations in tempo Michael keeps things moving along. The main characters are individually delineated, the females are believable, and he has enough Russian accents that it's always easy to know who is speaking during a conversation. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 06]