The Death of Achilles by Borin Akunin

The Blurb On The Back:

Erast Fandorin returns to Moscow after an absence of six years, only to find himself instantly embroiled in court politics and scandal. His old friend General Sobolev - the famous 'Russian Achilles' - has been found dead in a hotel room, and Fandorin suspects foul play. Using his now-famous powers of detection, Fandorin embarks on an investigation, during which the political and the personal may become dangerously blurred. With the assistance of some formidable martial arts skills, acquired while Fandorin was in Japan, our eccentric and ingenious hero must endeavour to discover not so much whodunnit, as why.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The final third of the book lets it down (IMHO), but it's still an enjoyable read and it's nice to see Akunin get some humour and humanity into Erast Fandorin through the use of his Japanese sidekick. Definitely worth a read if you're familiar with the series, but the publishers are doing readers a disservice by translating them out of order.

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

The Blurb On The Back:

For Penelope, wife of Odysseus, maintaining a kingdom while her husband was off fighting the Trojan war was not a simple business. Already aggrieved that he had been lured away due to the shocking behaviour of her beautiful cousin Helen, Penelope must bring up her wayward son, face down scandalous rumours and keep over a hundred lustful, greedy and bloodthirsty suitors at bay ...

And then, when Odysseus finally returns and slaughters the murderous suitors, he brutally hangs Penelope's twelve beloved maids. What were his motives? And what was Penelope herself really up to? Margaret Atwood has given Penelope a realistic and witty voice to tell her own story and set the record straight for good.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Don't pay the cover price of £7.99 for this book because it isn't worth it. This is essentially Atwood's Greek mythology fanfic and whilst it is at times very funny, there's none of the depth of character that we'd expect from a writer of her calibre and the plot is superficial at best. It's diverting enough to read on a commute, but I'd recommend getting it out of the library or only having it as the free book in a 3 for 2 offer.