Book Review: Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog

Reviewed By: Wes Struebing

Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog     Amazon US TPB Amazon Canada TPB
Boris Akunin
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Amateur Sleuth   Historical   Humorous
Series: Sister Pelagia
Random House Trade Paperbacks
translated by Andrew Bromfield

It is said in Russia that the farther a town is from the capital, the closer it is to God. And therefore, Zavolzhsk must be very close indeed. Thus are we introduced to Akunin's latest literary creation, Bishop Mitrofanii, and the erstwhile nun, Sister Pelagia.

Someone has been killing bulldogs bred by the Bishop's elderly aunt. Mitrofanii sends Sister Pelagia to investigate, since she has helped him in the past. Now, Sister Pelagia is nearsighted, and clumsy, but very observant and has a sharp mind. And, as we find out later, she has an alter-ego. She brings to mind Miss Marple, in particular, though Pelagia doesn't appear as often up-front in the story as Agatha Christie's "sleuth." Nonetheless, the meat of the story does revolve around the nun's efforts to determine the dog- killer - and later the *real* mystery.

Akunin digresses a lot, but he is so much fun to read! He captures small-town life very well, and his characters are interesting, even the ones that aren't particularly fleshed-out. His subtle humor and his writing style (very similar to that which he uses in the Fandorin novels) is just plain enjoyable to read. And, as much as I liked "The Death of Achilles", Fandorin is far too improbable; Sister Pelagia and Bishop Mitrofanii are delightful characters - and thoroughly believable.

Of course, Sister Pelagia discovers and unmasks the person who is killing Marya Afanasievna's beloved dogs, but this happens in the first half of the book, so it leaves her free to solve the real mystery - why the dogs were killed and who is responsible for the dead, headless bodies turning up in this small town so close to God? And are the two questions related somehow? And are they also related to the murder of the photographer, Arkadii Sergeevich? We also get to see Sister Pelagia's alter ego, though Mitrofanii says he will certainly require penance for what he ask her to do. Akunin mentions that the Bishop has asked her to "perform" this role at other times; I smell the potential for several other Pelagia stories, and if Akunin writes them as well as he did this one I'll read them and enjoy them.

Wes Struebing

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Wes Struebing