Pelagia and the White Bulldog: The First Sister Pelagia Mystery
By (Author) Boris Akunin
Orion Publishing Co
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
1st June 2007
18th April 2007
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
891.735
Paperback
352
Width 201mm, Height 155mm, Spine 24mm
248g
In the dying days of the nineteenth century, the small Russian town of Zavolzhsk is shaken out of its sleepy rural existence by the arrival from St Petersburg of a Synodical Inspector with a hidden agenda and a dangerously persuasive manner.
Meanwhile, in the nearby country estate of Drozdovka, one of the prized white Bulldogs - prized because of its one brown ear, and its propensity to drool - belonging to the cantankerous lady of the house has been poisoned. The old widow has taken to her bed, sick with fear that her two remaining dogs may face a similar fate, and the many potential beneficiaries of her will wait fretfully to see whether or not she will recover.Sister Pelagia: bespectacled, freckled, woefully clumsy and astonishingly resourceful is summoned by the Bishop to investigate. But her investigation soon takes a far more sinister turn when two headless bodies are pulled out of the river on the edge of the estate."Boris Akunin gets better, and better. Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog is immensely compelling, rich, and amusing -- more than a little seductive, slightly mad, and wildly entertaining." -- Alan Furst
Boris Akunin is the pseudonym of Grigory Chkhartishvili. He translated Japanese texts before the worldwide success of his Fandorin series. He lives in Moscow.