This is another of Boris Akunin's books under his pen name Anatoliy Brusnikin - and he is again true to himself: with a complete change of manner of narration - to show a different author - but with as appealing a plot and incredibly engaging writing style as ever. Set in 1855 during the Crimean war, it's a great history lesson as well. I never thought that I would be so intent on reading a war based novel, but here I was - engrossed in it. The book consists of two, at first seemingly unrelated novellas, but the plots come together in the end. Enjoyed it thoroughly! ( )