Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel by Boris Akunin. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.
Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel by Boris Akunin
A Sister Pelagia Mystery
Random House (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-8129-7515-4 (0812975154)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8129-7515-4 (9780812975154)
Publication Date: August 2009
List Price: $15.00
Review: The final book in Boris Akunin's trilogy of mysteries featuring Russian Orthodox nun Sister Pelagia, Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel is less of an investigation into the murder of a controversial "Messiah", and more of a journey, and a spiritual one at that, for the good sister herself.
The murder takes place on board a river steamship, many of its passengers headed for the Holy Land. The dead man is Manuila, the leader of a religious sect known as the "Foundlings". The ship drops anchor at the nearest town where a government official, Sergei Dolinin, assumes command of the investigation. He ascertains that Sister Pelagia, who discovered the body, has an eye for detail and a deductive mind for reasoning, and asks her to participate in the investigation. It's quickly determined that the dead man, a Messiah to his followers, was a follower himself, and that another man is the real target. Sister Pelagia continues on to the Holy Land, where she becomes a target herself of an unknown assassin. Still, she's determined not to give up, even when it becomes clear that the answers she seeks may change her life forever.
Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel is a rather unusual novel. It's not a standard whodunit-style mystery, though it starts that way, and it's hard to appreciate Sister Pelagia's complete motivation for continuing on her quest for ... something. Although intially she seems to be looking for a killer, by the middle of the book, it's not quite clear what she's seeking. Though it's fairly easy to follow the action, and the narrative is briskly paced, the politics of the time (late 19th century Russia) and the sheer number of characters make reading the book a somewhat daunting task. Possibly to fully appreciate all the subtle nuances here, one must have read the first two books in the series.
And about the titular red cockerel? Suffice it to say, in a most remarkable letter written by Sister Pelagia at the end of the book, that will have to remain a mystery.
Special thanks to Random House for providing a copy of Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
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Synopsis (from the publisher): The ship carrying the devout to Jerusalem has run into rough waters. Onboard is Manuila, controversial leader of the “Foundlings,” a sect that worships him as the Messiah. But soon the polarizing leader is no longer a passenger or a prophet but a corpse, beaten to death by someone almost supernaturally strong. But not everything is as it seems, and someone else sailing has become enmeshed in the mystery: the seemingly slow but actually astute sleuth Sister Pelagia. Her investigation of the crime will take her deep into the most dangerous areas of the Middle East and Russia, running from one-eyed criminals and after such unlikely animals as a red cockerel that may be more than a red herring. To her shock, she will emerge with not just the culprit in a murder case but a clue to the earth’s greatest secret.
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