Russian crime writer Boris Akunin is so popular, apparently, that the Ukrainian mafia are hiring writers to ghost-write entirely new novels in his name, then put them on the streets for sale.
A couple of weeks ago the Ukrainian mafia, broadly defined, paid Boris Akunin an elaborate compliment. It produced a book bearing his name. He didn’t write a word of it, but someone did, by all accounts extremely badly. It has sold a few thousand copies and put Akunin in illustrious company: the Kievan mob is also doing a brisk trade in something called The Last Merovingian, “by” Dan (da Vinci) Brown.
Boris Akunin is massively popular in Russia, and his late 19th century crime novels featuring a Moscow detective are becoming increasingly popular in the United Kingdom, too. They’re lightweight, fast paced, and entertaining. Which, really, is pretty much all you can ask for in a crime novel. Well worth taking to the beach as your holiday reading this year.
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