A summary of "Death’s Mistress" by Boris Akunin

"Death’s Mistress" by Boris Akunin is a detective novel published in 2001. The plot revolves around a secret Moscow suicide society, whose members write decadent poetry and take turns committing suicide. The dark atmosphere of the literary underground permeates the events, creating a compelling backdrop for the criminal investigation.

This book is part of the popular "Adventures of Erast Fandorin" series, number nine. The series also includes such well-known novels as "Azazel," "The Turkish Gambit," and "The Death of Achilles."

The Arrival of Columbine

A young woman, Maria Mironova, runs away from her parents in Irkutsk, Siberia, to Moscow. She leaves her boring fiancé, Kostya. Dreaming of an unusual, poetic life, she takes on a new theatrical name: Columbine. In the capital, the provincial girl settles into a cramped sixth-floor apartment. She buys a grass snake at the market, names it Lucifer, and paints it with mascara to resemble a venomous Egyptian cobra. Soon, Maria meets an old acquaintance, student Petya Lileiko, who goes by the nickname Pierrot. The young man brings his extravagantly dressed friend to a secret meeting. Columbine joins the exclusive society of "Lovers of Death."

Moscow newspapers are already full of reports of strange deaths. Journalist Lavr Zhemailo regularly publishes sensational articles. Photographer Sviridov jumped out of a window. Teacher Soymonov poisoned himself and his guests with arsenic-laced port wine. Students Shutov and Lamm shot themselves with two pistols. All of them left behind poems. It turns out that a secret club is behind these tragedies. It’s a kind of society of dead poets.

The society is led by a charismatic leader, reverently referred to as Doge or Prospero. The club’s members, the so-called aspirants, deeply believe in the superiority of nonexistence over life. They view earthly existence as a harsh, penal punishment. They await a special Sign from the Eternal Bride (for men) or the Eternal Bridegroom (for women). Upon receiving the Sign, the aspirant is required to compose a dying poem, known as an epithalamium, and commit suicide. Prominent among the aspirants are the dissector Horace, the witty Cyrano, the twin brothers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the grim giant Caliban.

Prince Genji

Soon, a new member appears at the club. An elegant man with graying temples and a slight stutter tells those present, "Call me Prince Genji." In reality, behind this romantic facade lies the famous detective Erast Petrovich Fandorin. Together with his faithful servant Masa, the detective sets out to stop a series of senseless tragedies. Erast Petrovich quickly attracts the attention of those gathered with his composure and impeccable logic. He proves his fearlessness by pulling the trigger of his revolver twice in a game reminiscent of Russian roulette.

The Doge cancels the spiritualistic séances held by the gentle clairvoyant Ophelia. He invents a new sinister game: "The Wheel of Death." It’s a roulette wheel with a skull on one of the wheels. Fandorin decides to accept the challenge. He throws the golden ball, and it lands on the death’s head symbol. The detective calmly drinks the poisoned glass offered by Prospero. He survives. He is saved by chance and the timely pumping of his stomach at the hospital, where he is taken by a pre-arranged ambulance.

Meanwhile, tragedies follow one after another at the club. Suicides abandon poetry and bid farewell to the world. The poor student Nikifor Sipyaga, nicknamed Abaddon, dies. The unfortunate youth hears the eerie howl of the Beast and hangs himself in his room. Then the fragile Ophelia drowns in the Yauza River. The renowned poetess Lorelei Rubinstein, hiding under the name Lioness of Ecstasy, poisons herself with morphine after the mystical appearance of three withering black roses. The talented young poet Gdlevsky, who believed in the magic of Friday rhymes and the cries of a random organ grinder, is found dead with a fractured skull.

Hidden mechanisms

Genji begins a secret investigation. He methodically examines the death scenes and thoroughly interviews witnesses. The detective discovers hidden lead tubes in the window frame of Abaddon’s room. These aerodynamic devices emitted a terrifying howl in the draft. Genji removes a window pane in Ophelia’s house and discovers traces of a glowing phosphorus inscription with the German word "Die." The detective uses fingerprinting, an advanced forensic method of fingerprint identification, to record the criminal’s skin patterns. It turns out that all the mystical Signs and otherworldly messages are purely mechanical or chemical in nature.

At the same time, the identity of the police informant is revealed. Prosector Horace is Dr. Weltman. He secretly writes reports to Gendarme Colonel Besikov. Horace considers himself an ideological fighter against nihilism. However, he gradually falls under the mesmeric influence of Prospero.

Journalist Lavr Zhemailo, the author of sensational articles, was hiding behind the mask of Cyrano. An embittered member of the club, Caliban, accidentally reveals Cyrano’s identity. He overhears a telephone conversation between the reporter and the editors. Caliban’s real name is Savely Papushin, a former ship’s accountant. Caliban’s terrifying past is revealed. After a shipwreck, he survived on a desert island. He was forced to eat his own comrades. Having lost his mind, the accountant became a murderer. He hangs the journalist Zhemailo from an aspen tree, like Judas. Earlier, Caliban killed the high school student Gdlevsky out of fanatical jealousy for the Eternal Bride.

Columbine also receives mystical instructions from Death. These are fireproof notes in German. The deranged maniac Caliban attacks the girl in the dark hallway of her apartment. He wants to kill Death’s favorite. Fandorin manages to save Masha. He kills the attacker with a well-aimed revolver shot.

The denouement in the office

The detective and Dr. Veltman arrive at Prospero’s home. The Doge’s real name is Sergei Irinarkhovich Blagovolsky. He was a former chemical engineer and a prisoner of the Shlisselburg Fortress. In prison, he attempted suicide three times. Each time, he cowardly retreated. Genji directly accuses his master of cynical manipulation and deliberately driving people to their deaths. Blagovolsky used chemical tricks, acoustic effects, and hypnotic suggestion. Prospero manipulated the lives of others to satisfy his own god complex. He bought off his fear of death with the lives of his students.

Blagovolsky discreetly turns a secret lever shaped like a bronze warrior on the table. A trapdoor opens under Genji’s chair. The detective falls into a deep stone well. Doge hypnotizes the weak-willed Dr. Veltman. He offers to drink vodka for the repose of Fandorin. Suddenly, shots ring out from below. Genji punches through the wooden hatch cover with his bare hands. He climbs out, clinging to an oak chair stuck in the shaft. The sudden jolt causes Prospero to knock over the roulette wheel. The glasses on the polished table shift. Doge mistakenly drinks aqua regia (a mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acids). It was prepared for Veltman. Prospero dies in terrible agony from burns to his esophagus.

The end of the story

Columbine remains deceived by yet another of Blagovolsky’s chemical tricks. He used hidden lead ink and a solution of liver of sulfur. The girl writes a farewell poem. Soon, she quietly says to herself, "It’s time for me to go." She takes a running start and leaps from a cast-iron balcony on the sixth floor. She has incredible luck. Her super-strong dress, made of shiny fabric, clings tightly to the outstretched arm of a tin angel on an insurance company advertising sign. The girl hangs upside down in the air for a long time and survives.

Having experienced the chilling horror of falling, Masha Mironova is completely cured of her pernicious addiction to nothingness. Illusions dissipate, replaced by a true love of life. Detective Fandorin and the Japanese man Masa leave Moscow. They set off for Paris in a three-wheeled motorized carriage. The detective plans to set a new speed and distance record. Columbine’s notes remain as a testimony to this terrifying detective story.