Murder on the Leviathan is an amusing mystery dealing with the gruesome 1878 murder of Lord Littleby and his staff of 10 at Rue de Grenelle, Paris. Commissioner Gauche of the French police is assigned to the case and his only clue is a golden badge with the imprint of a whale that serves as a ticket onboard the ship Leviathan.On the Leviathan, Gauche narrows down his suspects to a group of ten eccentric characters, gathered in the Windsor Salon. Among them are an Indian scholar, a doctor and his wife, the ship’s first mate, a emented baronet, a dubious Japanese army officer, a pregnant and loquacious Swiss banker’s wife, an old maid, and a suave Russian diplomat. The Russian is Erast Fandorin, who soon takes over the investigation from the bumbling Gauche.
Fandorin is similar to Sherlock Holmes, in his method and his logic, but it’s interesting how he is never on the centerstage throughout the novel, because in its entirety it is told from the point of view of the rest of the characters. The end was quite a romp, with a lot of unexpected twists and all in all, it was quite a good read. Looking forward to reading more Erast Fandorin mysteries :)
(Postscript: tried Sister Pelagia and the Bulldogs and Turkish Gambit but didn’t like them, mostly because of the politics and all the Russian names)…
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My copy: trade paperback
My rating: 4/5 stars
Photo courtesy of Amazon (http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1400060516.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg)