I really love Boris Akunin’s series about Erast Fandorin. The last few books were less interesting, but I’ve reread the early novels in the series several times. However, I had always kept the trilogy about Sister Pelagia “on the back burner.” In fact, I read the first book, Pelagia and the White Bulldog, about 6-7 years ago, but back then I had no desire to continue with the series. Now, I’ve decided to correct this, so I reread the first book and then went on to read the other two.
The most interesting part is that you can’t really say that Sister Pelagia is the main character of the series. Yes, everything revolves around her, and she’s a sort of local detective. But I’d say there are several key characters, including Pelagia, the metropolitan, and a few other residents of the town of Zavolzhsk, where the events take place.
But all three books in the series are very different. The first is a sort of intimate detective story, with most of the action taking place either in a village near Zavolzhsk or in the town itself. It feels fairly standard for Akunin’s style. The second book is a detective story with a touch of mysticism, which dominates the plot. The characters, one after another, try to explain this mysticism rationally. The third book doesn’t resemble a detective story at all, with only a small detective element remaining. Mysticism reappears, although less overtly than in the second book, but this time it doesn’t fit into a rational framework at all.
It’s well-written, but for some reason, it didn’t feel as smooth as the Fandorin books. Towards the end of the series, I even felt a bit of disappointment, mostly because of the mysticism, which I think caused the heroine to get lost in the narrative. On the other hand, there’s a growing sense of sadness and, at times, even hopelessness.
In general, it’s worth reading once, but I definitely won’t be rereading it.
My rating: 3.5/5
 | Boris Akunin “Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog” | buy |
| Boris Akunin “Sister Pelagia and the Black Monk” | buy |
| Boris Akunin “Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel” | buy |
