Erast Petrovich Fandorin is a renaissance man, adept in diplomacy, literature, and the martial arts. After six years in the Orient, Fandorin is returning to czarist St. Petersburg to take up the governmental post of collegiate assessor. He hasn't been in town long, however, when an old acquaintance, General Sobolev, is found dead. Sobolev is a popular war hero, and Fandorin smells foul play from the beginning.

Fandorin stumbles across a plethora of clues, some leaving him with more questions than answers. In Akunin’s hand, the investigation is interesting and well paced. Court intrigues of the late czarist period combine with St. Peterburg’s organized crime figures to give Fandorin plenty of headaches, sometimes literally.

As Fandorin proceeds, he starts to take note of a shadowy figure at the center of everything. As he’s about to confront him, the author leaves his narration, backs up, and gives the reader a considerable back story of his villian’s life and times. It makes for an interesting contrast—the investigation of the master detective and the story of the master villian. As one might expect, the villian’s tale starts with a sympathic parting with society and ends with a man comfortable living as an outlaw. It’s a good tale, however, and allows the reader a certain amount of sympathy toward Fandorin’s foe.

Once the back stories are told, the two begin their clash. It’s a good yarn, and Akunin plays hero and villian off each other in a good read.