Quirky detective Erast Fandorin is back again for two adventures in the streets of Moscow. The first mystery involves a 'Jack of Spades' con man who swindles the prince of Moscow out of his house by selling it to a German prince. Erast and his new assistant Ansii investigate any strange advertisements in the newspaper as a way of detecting where the 'Jack of Spades' next con will be. Ansii ends up falling in love with Jack's lovely assistant and just barely captures the 'Jack of Spades' in one final con.
The second mystery involves Jack the Ripper like murders within the Moscow streets. Ansii is killed shortly after figuring out who was killing the victims. Erast ends up killing the murder suspect but not without losing the love of his life.
Akunin, Boris. Special Assignments. Random House (2008). 352 pages. ISBN 0812978609.
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This book came from reading a review of it in Entertainment Weekly. Boris Akunin's dialogue is witty and unpredictable, but is overshadowed with detailed descriptions of the scene and historical tangents to build depth for the characters.
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