Management of Irrigation and Drainage Systems

If, as a reader of detective novels, a conventional hero in a conventional title appeals then Erast Fandorin in Turkish Gambit is not for you. The more open-minded discerning booklovers will however adore this ingenious mystery set during 1877/1878 and the Russo-Turkish war. This is the third English translation in the Erast Fandorin series of Boris Akunin's best-sellers, follow-up to The Winter Queen and Leviathan. The setting for the books is unmistakedly Russian in background and all the more interesting for it. It is obvious that Akunin has considerable awareness of 19th century Russian and World history, culture and literature and weaves this appreciation skilfully into his novels. Akunin's masterful depiction of his characters is very well executed. Varya Suvorova's own female war of independence against Russian 'dodoism and patriarchical discipline' is all the more amusing as she finds herself dressed as a young man stranded in a tavern with no money or belongings. It is clear from the very first introduction to Fandorin (Varya's rescuer from this terrible situation) that his powers of detection will be impressive. He swiftly discerns without even meeting her that Varya is female, is Russian, has a fiance and that her guide has disappeared with all her things. As the story unfolds and Fandorin's character is pieced together, it becomes clear just how gifted and sharp yet vulnerable he is and he becomes all the more admirable as the leading man. Akunin has been compared with amongst others Tolstoy, Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. However his extremely witty and perceptive style (through an excellent translation by Bromfield) will ensure that Akunin and Fandorin become as well established in their own right as Conan Doyle and Holmes or Christie and Poirot. (Kirkus UK)