A summary of "Jade Rosary" by Boris Akunin

This book is a collection of detective stories and novellas, published in 2006. Each work is skillfully stylized in the creative style of renowned world crime writers, from Agatha Christie to Arthur Conan Doyle, creating an elegant literary play with classic detective plots.

This collection continues the renowned "Adventures of Erast Fandorin" series. It is the eleventh book in the popular series. Other well-known works in this series include the novels "Azazel," "The Turkish Gambit," and "Coronation."

Sigumo

The events unfold in the Japanese city of Yokohama. Erast Fandorin, acting vice-consul, investigates the death of a former Russian diplomat. This man converted to Buddhism, changed his name to Meitan, and became a religious hermit. Locals firmly believe that the monk was killed by a demonic werespider, Shigumo, who mercilessly sucked all his blood. The detective carefully examines the crime scene, measuring distances and taking soil samples. He methodically disproves the mystical theory, proving a masterful staging. It turns out that the monk was murdered by his devoted Japanese wife, Satoko. She went to extreme measures to save her paralyzed daughter. Meitan planned to permanently send the disabled girl to a Hong Kong orphanage for his own spiritual purification. Fandorin conceals the truth from the authorities, allowing Satoko to escape harsh punishment for her actions.

Table-Talk of 1882

In Lydia Odintsova’s luxurious Moscow salon, guests are discussing the long-ago disappearance of the wealthy heiress Polina Karakina. The police have long been stumped, considering the case an utterly insoluble paradox. Fandorin, present at the party, brilliantly applies his analytical method. He remains in the living room, relying solely on the bare facts of Mustafin’s detailed eyewitness account. The detective proves that Polina cold-bloodedly murdered her twin sister, Anyuta, out of jealousy for the French architect Renard. The victim’s body was cut up in the bathroom and carried out in her lover’s traveling hatboxes. Polina drew a mole on her cheek, posed as her melancholy sister, and safely escaped abroad. A telegram sent by the detective from Brazil confirms the correctness of these logical conclusions.

From the life of chips

The action shifts to the Moscow office of a major railway company, the von Macks. The business owner is suddenly poisoned with arsenic, along with his personal secretary and night cleaner. Evidence from St. Petersburg investigator Vanyukhin mistakenly points to corporate rivalry. Fandorin infiltrates the office disguised as a student intern. He studies the behavior of the office workers and identifies the real poisoner. It turns out to be a bilious and hot-tempered typewriter operator named Landrinov. He slipped the poison out of jealousy toward his secretary, Stern, the fiancé of a pretty employee, Mavra. The company owner’s death was merely a cover for his true intentions. A terrified Landrinov attempts to slit the girl’s throat with a razor. Fandorin incapacitates the maniac with well-aimed throws of two inkwells.

Jade rosary beads

At Sukharevsky Market, the elderly antique dealer Pryakhin is brutally hacked to death with an axe. Moscow police suspect a simple robbery as the motive. Fandorin inspects the ransacked premises and finds ancient jade beads hidden in a stuffed crocodile. It turns out that the renowned orientalist Count Khrutsky had been obsessively hunting for the relic. The scholar fanatically believed in the legend of the Chinese sage Te Guangzi and sought the mystical secret of eternal life. Khrutsky lured Fandorin to an opium den, hoping to steal the artifact with the help of a Chinese henchman. Later, the Count attacked the detective in a dark alley. The mad orientalist acted with superhuman speed, employing ninja combat techniques. However, he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Japanese jujutsu. The criminal’s mind was completely clouded.

Scarpea Baskakovii

Mysterious deaths are occurring in the Pakhrinsky district, frightening the gullible peasants. Zemstvo chairman Blinov requests assistance from the provincial authorities. Fandorin’s assistant, Anisy Tyulpanov, arrives in the village and hears a folklore tale about a giant snake, Scarpea. The reptile supposedly seeks revenge on the last representatives of the ancient Baskakov family for long-ago sins. Tyulpanov encounters the enormous snake in the dark and narrowly escapes its venomous bite. Fandorin suddenly appears and saves his young subordinate. The detective proves that Blinov brought a huge Amur snake from the Far East. The zemstvo official intimidated and eliminated people in order to seize the Baskakovs’ valuable land before the construction of a railway line. Exposed, Blinov retreats into a swamp and shoots himself.

One tenth of a percent

During an elite hunt, the wealthy heir Afanasy Kulebyakin accidentally kills Prince Borovsky. A huntsman, a witness, claims the shot was cold-blooded and aimed. Fandorin travels to St. Petersburg and discovers that Kulebyakin’s uncle recently died of hydrocyanic acid poisoning. The motives for both crimes are completely unclear. Erast Petrovich recalls a fellow traveler on the train who bitterly complained about his unfaithful wife. The detective uncovers a perfect criminal scheme. Two strangers, Kulebyakin and the deceived husband, agreed to commit murders for each other. They secured themselves a reliable alibi, completely escaping the investigators’ suspicions. Both cunning villains nevertheless fall into the hands of a harsh justice system.

Tea Party in Bristol

Finding himself in English exile, the penniless Fandorin rents a cheap room from the spinster Miss Palmer. Neighbors are hotly discussing Lord Berkeley’s disappearance. Relatives are certain the senile old man ran off with the family diamond necklace. The local police are at their wits’ end, scouring the surrounding roads. Fandorin and the perceptive Miss Palmer uncover the truth. The diamond theft was cleverly orchestrated by the lord’s youngest son, retired captain Tobias. He hid the necklace in the collar of his pet leopard, Scalper. The criminal cunningly abandoned his ailing father in the family crypt in the cemetery. Thanks to the old woman’s analytical mind and the detective’s courage, the jewel is safely returned to its rightful owners.

Valley of Dreams

Fandorin arrives in the American state of Wyoming hired by millionaire Star. In the mountainous Dream Valley, a Russian commune suffers from constant raids by an elusive gang. Local cowboys blame the mysterious Headless Horseman. The detective enlists the help of African-American gunslinger Washington Reed. They infiltrate the robbers’ lair and discover a rich gold vein in an abandoned mine. Fandorin realizes that the bandit raids were cunningly staged by the landowner’s daughter, Ashlyn Culligan, and her lover. The criminals wanted to devalue the leased land as much as possible so they could buy it cheap. Ashlyn tries to seduce Fandorin, but the noble detective flatly refuses to participate in the dirty scheme.

Before the end of the world

The Russian Empire is preparing for its first general census. Fandorin travels north under an assumed name to observe the reactions of the local Old Believers. A veritable epidemic of mass suicides is raging in remote villages. Schismatics bury themselves alive in earth mines, fearing the imminent arrival of the Antichrist. The detective discovers encrypted suicide notes with identical content. Analysis of the text leads him to the fanatical preacher Kirilla. This woman voluntarily deprived herself of her sight and now persuades people to accept voluntary martyrdom. Fandorin catches up with her in the forested Starosvyatsky Skete, saving a group of trusting village children from a horrible death at the very last moment.

Prisoner of the Tower

It’s the eve of the new twentieth century. Fandorin meets with the British Sherlock Holmes at the French Château des Essarts, a man named Lupin. The lord of the castle, des Essarts, is being terrorized by the notorious thief Arsène Lupin. The criminal threatens to detonate a time bomb. A powerful explosion will occur unless the estate’s owners pay a huge sum. Des Essarts’s daughter is bedridden with a back injury; moving her is physically impossible. The detectives join forces, passionately competing in deduction and logic. They solve the castle’s musical cipher, but Lupin outsmarts them. It turns out the thief has skillfully disguised himself as des Essarts, while his brazen accomplice has posed as a doctor. The criminals manage to escape. However, Holmes manages to switch the stolen jewels.