Words words words words words - word
Right. Reading Boris Akunin's Murder on the Leviathan and having a really good time. Not well-known because the dude's Russian and I am - of course lah - reading the translated version.
Still. He's really good!
Quirky way of writing, though the plot doesn't seem like it. First - ten people are murdered in a rich gentleman's house, eight servants and two children. All appeared to have been injected with lethal doses of morphine - each victim has a clear injection mark in the same place - and no sign of a struggle can be seen.
Second: The gentleman, Lord Littleby, is found dead in his room of collected Indian curios, valuable or less-than-valuable items. He appears to have been struck on the head with a blunt object with surprising force, as "the carpet is spattered with blood and brain tissue to a distance of several metres from the body". Only two things are stolen from the room: a valuable Shiva statuette, and a rare and unusual Indian shawl. The statuette turns up in the River Seine a few days later.
The story takes place in the ship Leviathan on its maiden voyage. Lord Littleby was supposed to have boarded the ship as a first-class passenger on the day of his death, but an attack of gout forced him to stay home instead. An investigator from the French police then decides to join the ship's cruise and find the murderer there, as he suspects that the murderer would most likely be on the ship itself. A golden badge had been found in Lord Littleby's hand, and this was the badge that had been issued to all first-class passengers on the ship.
M. Gauche - the investigator - then narrows down his suspects to ten people:
1. Renate Kleber - a banker's wife, pregnant, and often uses people to fetch and carry for her. Quite bitchy actually.
2. Clarissa Stamp - an English old maid who seems to have come into quite recent fortune. Seems to have a shady past.
3. Dr Truffo - Italian first doctor of the ship
4. Mrs Truffo - the doctor's wife. Colourless lady with an irritating habit of always insisting on "manners and decorum" and yadda yadda. Then again, the colourless characters are always the ones with the biggest secrets eh? Plus she was a nurse before her marriage, and the injections administered to the victims was the work of a professional.
5. Gintaro Aono - Japanese guy, I think from the Imperial Army. Awkward and somewhat confused with Western ways.
6. Professor Sweetchild - Indologist, with knowledge in Indian culture and history. Murdered halfway through the book unfortunately.
7. Sir Reginald Millford-Stokes - seems to be OCD-ish. Writes very interesting letters to his wife Emily. I mean, how many guys do you know begin their letters by telling all about the history of the Suez Canal? =/ Poor woman, his wife. Renate Kleber calls him the "Ginger Lunatic" because of his red hair. One of my favourite characters actually.
8. Lieutenant Charles Renier - first mate of the ship. Shady character.
9. Erast Fandorin - the investigator undercover. This is HIS series, so he's going to be the hero! Not a bad guy, though a dandy somewhat. But man, he's smart AND observant too.
10. M. Gauche - the French investigator. Hemming and hawing his way through the case. Pretty sharp though.
Not sure if I missed out anything. Ah well.
Samples from the book -
[from the letter by Reginald Millford-Stokes]
I no longer remember the terrible dreams that haunt me in the night. But they have not gone away. In the morning when I wake up, the pillowcase is still soaked with tears and sometimes gnawed to shreds.
...I must confess to you, my tenderly adored Emily, that the sight of pregnant women makes me feel sick. They are repulsive! That inane bovine smile, that disgusting manner of constantly listening to their entrails....Swear to me, my darling, that we shall never have any children.
I wonder what his wife will think when she reads that last line.
Still half the book to go. I think I read something about a "travelling harakiri kit" somewhere along...ah well.
You never know who the killer is.
Beware.
Or be square.
Like this guy.
Wait wait wait waaaaaaaaait...not done yet.
PICS OF GASPARD ULLIEL!!!!
OH. AM. GEE.
I'm still trying to find my jaw.
And my knees have gone all weak.
*happy sigh*
I think I love Livejournal now :)
Still. He's really good!
Quirky way of writing, though the plot doesn't seem like it. First - ten people are murdered in a rich gentleman's house, eight servants and two children. All appeared to have been injected with lethal doses of morphine - each victim has a clear injection mark in the same place - and no sign of a struggle can be seen.
Second: The gentleman, Lord Littleby, is found dead in his room of collected Indian curios, valuable or less-than-valuable items. He appears to have been struck on the head with a blunt object with surprising force, as "the carpet is spattered with blood and brain tissue to a distance of several metres from the body". Only two things are stolen from the room: a valuable Shiva statuette, and a rare and unusual Indian shawl. The statuette turns up in the River Seine a few days later.
The story takes place in the ship Leviathan on its maiden voyage. Lord Littleby was supposed to have boarded the ship as a first-class passenger on the day of his death, but an attack of gout forced him to stay home instead. An investigator from the French police then decides to join the ship's cruise and find the murderer there, as he suspects that the murderer would most likely be on the ship itself. A golden badge had been found in Lord Littleby's hand, and this was the badge that had been issued to all first-class passengers on the ship.
M. Gauche - the investigator - then narrows down his suspects to ten people:
1. Renate Kleber - a banker's wife, pregnant, and often uses people to fetch and carry for her. Quite bitchy actually.
2. Clarissa Stamp - an English old maid who seems to have come into quite recent fortune. Seems to have a shady past.
3. Dr Truffo - Italian first doctor of the ship
4. Mrs Truffo - the doctor's wife. Colourless lady with an irritating habit of always insisting on "manners and decorum" and yadda yadda. Then again, the colourless characters are always the ones with the biggest secrets eh? Plus she was a nurse before her marriage, and the injections administered to the victims was the work of a professional.
5. Gintaro Aono - Japanese guy, I think from the Imperial Army. Awkward and somewhat confused with Western ways.
6. Professor Sweetchild - Indologist, with knowledge in Indian culture and history. Murdered halfway through the book unfortunately.
7. Sir Reginald Millford-Stokes - seems to be OCD-ish. Writes very interesting letters to his wife Emily. I mean, how many guys do you know begin their letters by telling all about the history of the Suez Canal? =/ Poor woman, his wife. Renate Kleber calls him the "Ginger Lunatic" because of his red hair. One of my favourite characters actually.
8. Lieutenant Charles Renier - first mate of the ship. Shady character.
9. Erast Fandorin - the investigator undercover. This is HIS series, so he's going to be the hero! Not a bad guy, though a dandy somewhat. But man, he's smart AND observant too.
10. M. Gauche - the French investigator. Hemming and hawing his way through the case. Pretty sharp though.
Not sure if I missed out anything. Ah well.
Samples from the book -
[from the letter by Reginald Millford-Stokes]
I no longer remember the terrible dreams that haunt me in the night. But they have not gone away. In the morning when I wake up, the pillowcase is still soaked with tears and sometimes gnawed to shreds.
...I must confess to you, my tenderly adored Emily, that the sight of pregnant women makes me feel sick. They are repulsive! That inane bovine smile, that disgusting manner of constantly listening to their entrails....Swear to me, my darling, that we shall never have any children.
I wonder what his wife will think when she reads that last line.
Still half the book to go. I think I read something about a "travelling harakiri kit" somewhere along...ah well.
You never know who the killer is.
Beware.
Or be square.
Like this guy.
Wait wait wait waaaaaaaaait...not done yet.
PICS OF GASPARD ULLIEL!!!!
OH. AM. GEE.
I'm still trying to find my jaw.
And my knees have gone all weak.
*happy sigh*
I think I love Livejournal now :)
posted by Lynn at
3:43 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home