{"product_id":"sister-pelagia-and-the-black-monk-9780812975147","title":"Sister Pelagia and the Black Monk","description":"\u003cb\u003eFans of \u003ci\u003eSister Pelagia and the White Bulldog\u003c\/i\u003e, the first book in Akunin's Pelagia trilogy, will be instantly mesmerized-and frightened-by this latest foray into Zavolzhsk' s spiritual underworld.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the middle of the night, a disheveled and badly frightened monk arrives at the doorstep of Bishop Mitrofanii of Zavolzhsk, crying: \"Something's wrong at the Hermitage \" The Hermitage is the centuries-old island monastery of New Ararat, known for its tradition of severely penitent monks, isolated environs, and a mental institution founded by a millionaire in self-imposed exile. Hearing the monk's eerie message, Mitrofanii's befuddled but sharp-witted ward Sister Pelagia begs to visit New Ararat and uncover the mystery. Traditions prevail-no women are allowed-and the bishop sends other wards to test their fates against the Black Monk that haunts the once serene locale. But as the Black Monk claims more victims-including Mitrofanii's envoys-Pelagia goes undercover to see exactly what person, or what spirit, is at the bottom of it all. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Praise for \u003ci\u003eSister Pelagia and the Black Monk\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"For all his status as a globe-circling bestseller, Akunin keeps faith in his sleekly engineered and allusive whodunnits with the classical virtues of Russian prose. . . . That polish lends his books a peculiar charm.\"\u003cb\u003e-\u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e (London)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"Readers can hear echoes of Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Anton Chekov in whodunits that, because of their literary overtones, can be guiltlessly consumed as entertainment.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBORIS AKUNIN is the pen name of Grigory Chkhartishvili, who was born in the Republic of Georgia in 1956. A philologist, critic, essayist, and translator of Japanese, Akunin published his first detective stories in 1998 and has already become one of the most widely read authors in Russia. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHe is the author of eleven Erast Fandorin novels, including The \u003ci\u003eWinter Queen\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Turkish Gambit\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMurder on the Leviathan\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Death of Achilles\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSpecial Assignments\u003c\/i\u003e, available from Random House Trade Paperbacks; and \u003ci\u003eSister Pelagia and the White Bulldog\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSister Pelagia and the Black Monk\u003c\/i\u003e, in the Sister Pelagia series. He lives in Moscow.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Random House Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50413247267090,"sku":"9780812975147","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_53c8dd7c-5306-404d-a7a8-e30bbe8d9963.jpg?v=1729350890","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/sister-pelagia-and-the-black-monk-9780812975147","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}