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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 891.735
EAN num: 9780812975130
ISBN number: 0812975138
Label: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: January 30, 2007
Publishing house: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Release Date: January 30, 2007
Sale Popularity Level: 156737
Studio: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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“Pelagia’s family likeness to Father Brown and Miss Marple is marked, and reading about her supplies a similarly decorous pleasure.”
–The Literary Review
In a remote Russian province in the late nineteenth century, Bishop Mitrofanii must deal with a family crisis. After learning that one of his great aunt’s beloved and rare white bulldogs has been poisoned, the Orthodox bishop knows there is only one detective clever enough to investigate the murder: Sister Pelagia.
The bespectacled, freckled Pelagia is lively, curious, extraordinarily clumsy, and persistent. At the estate in question, she finds a whole host of suspects, any one of whom might have benefited if the old lady (who changes her will at whim) had expired of grief at the pooch’s demise. There’s Pyotr, the matron’s grandson, a nihilist with a grudge who has fallen for the maid; Stepan, the penniless caretaker, who has sacrificed his youth to the care of the estate; Miss Wrigley, a mysterious Englishwoman who has recently been named sole heiress to the fortune; Poggio, an opportunistic and freeloading “artistic” photographer; and, most intriguingly, Naina, the old lady’s granddaughter, a girl so beautiful she could drive any man to do almost anything.
As Pelagia bumbles and intuits her way to the heart of a mystery among people with faith only in greed and desire, she must bear in mind the words of Saint Paul: “Beware of dogs–and beware of evil-doers.”
“Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have praised [Akunin’s] clever plots, vivid characters and wit.”
–Baltimore Sun
“Akunin’s wonderful novels are always intricately webbed and plotted.”
–The Providence Journal
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Rated by buyers -
As a fan of Boris Akunin's Erast Fandorin mysteries, I picked up _Pelagia and the White Bulldog_ to see what his new character, Sister Pelagia was all about. I have mixed feelings.
The mystery itself is a bit odd ... you feel the initial mystery: who has been killing white bulldogs, a new breed that is being developed in rural Russia - is solved the very first third of the book; yet Akunin is merely toying with you, as the death of the dogs (while tragic) is merely an hors d'ouvre to larger and more sinister crimes. This was fantastic, and while it took a bit to get used to the fact that the crime Pelagia was working on was not necessarily that to which she was called for, it was worth the investment of sticking with the story in the end.
Sister Pelagia, a young nun and new protagonist, is likable and, as a previous reviewer noted, similar somewhat to Christie's Miss Marple, I have mixed feelings about her - I much prefer Erast Fandorin. However, the reason I give _The White Bulldog_ four stars is the tendency of Akunin to go off on tangents. For example, an entire chapter is devoted to a discusion of the village in which the crimes take place, without any real bearing on the mystery itself. Similarly, the final courtroom scene where the murder is unmasked is a bit dragged out (almost giving a blow-by-blow of the opening remarks of both prosecution and defense.) I could have done without these painful details, and found myself wanting to "get to the meat" of the story. Tighter editing (perhaps in the original) would have solved this.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed the story. While I wait for the subsequent Fandorin mystery to be translated, I can certainly entertain myself with this trilogy. A recommended read for mystery lovers.
Rated by buyers 
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This is a great translation by Bromfield, if you can laugh reading this book you know you are in good hands. It is bit slow to take off but then quickly gathers steam leaving you quite breathless.
Rated by buyers -
I bought this book because Akunin was compared James Goodwin. It was quite difficult to keep track of those long and complicated Russian names and you would constantly need to refer to the "Dramatis Personae". Also, there are lines in the book where you would find the same character addressed twice, very first by the surname and then by the middle name and so forth. I would rather stick to Goodwin and buy Bellini Card despite it being bit expensive. Either the translation went awry or Akunin is not what some reviewers make him to be.
Rated by buyers -
Four and a half stars. Boris Akunin has set off a new path with 'Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog'. (It appears that Erast Fandorin is a creature of the past. Akunin states that Fandorin had grown tired for him.) It is essential to start reading this series with this, the very first book, as it introduces characters you will meet again in the Sister Pelagia and the Black Monk: A Novel (Mortalis).
The eponymous Pelagia is a nun in a late 19th century provincial Russian capital, but it is her detective work on behalf of Bishop Mitrofanii that interest Akunin's fans. Akunin weave a good mystery while introducing fascinating characters. Someone appears to be bumping off the beloved white bulldogs owned by the bishop's widowed and elderly and rich aunt - in an effort to push her into an early grave?
Pelagia is dispatched to get to the bottom of things. There's no shortage of suspects: the nihilist grandson, the devoted caretaker, an Englishwoman (recently named sole heiress), an "artistic" photographer, and the beautiful granddaughter. The imperial prosecutor is a nasty piece of work as well.
No mere mystery, Akunin delivers psychological profiles and a study of life in the Russian countryside in the tradition of Anton Chekov. Akunin also apparently includes references to contemporary Russian society that may make the book even more enjoyable to others more versed in the topic.
Highly recommended.
Rated by buyers 
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Not one of his best. No character grabs one's interest, and trying to keep track of the many players with their multiple, many-syllabled, sound-alike names takes one right out of the plot. Much better to wait for the subsequent Erast Fandorin novel. Take a pass 'til then.
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