Maura (maura853) - , reviewed on 1/30/2019 + 542 more book reviews

Very disappointing. This rose to the top of by TBR pile on the strength of reviews that described it as a clever, charming homage to Agatha Christie novels like "Murder on the Orient Express."

It's not. Not clever, but clunky, in style, structure and narration. NOT charming, but toe-curlingly, casually racist and misogynist in a way that is NOT CUTE. (Yes, I know, "reflecting the attitudes of the period in which is set, yada, yada, yada ..." But there are ways of depicting those attitudes, while making it clear that the author neither shares them, nor believes that the reader shares them.)

And not even an homage to Christie (who is a Goddess, btw, and mere mortals should not even THINK of sullying those coattails ...) More like a mish-mash of Christie, Conan Doyle, Kipling and even Jules Verne. On a bad day.

Erast Fandorin is charming, and in the movie in my head, I pictured him played by Tom Hiddleston. It got an extra half-star for that.

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