Next I nominate
The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin, Georgia (& Russia), 1998,
Goodreads. This is a mystery & historical fiction novel and the first in a detective series. I found it in something discussing more literary spy novels (one interpretation I had of the 'international' theme because what's more international than spies?) though I'm not sure if this one in particular is actually a spy novel since it seems that in this series the author tackles a different mystery sub-genre in each book and this one is the 'conspiracy' mystery, not the 'spy' one. Still, this had an international feel to me as it starts in Moscow but travels across Europe, and we haven't had an author from Georgia yet, and it looks like it'd be an enjoyable read that would make for some good discussion. We have had books set in Russia before but not in over four years (Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad from May 2014, which just so happens to be a spy novel itself), and we haven't read a book originally written in Russian since exactly six years ago (We by Yevgeny Zamyatin in November 2012, though our first year we read a good percentage of Russian books including The Eternal Husband by Dostoyevsky and our very first selection, The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov).
Quote:
Moscow, May 1876: What would cause a talented young student from a wealthy family to shoot himself in front of a promenading public in the Alexander Gardens? Decadence and boredom, most likely, is what the commander of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Police thinks, but still he finds it curious enough to send the newest member of the division, Erast Fandorin, a young man of irresistible charm, to the Alexander Gardens precinct for more information.
Fandorin is not satisfied with the conclusion that this is an open-and-shut case, nor with the preliminary detective work the precinct has done—and for good reason: The bizarre and tragic suicide is soon connected to a clear case of murder, witnessed firsthand by Fandorin. There are many unresolved questions. Why, for instance, have both victims left their fortunes to an orphanage run by the English Lady Astair? And who is the beautiful "A.B.," whose signed photograph is found in the apparent suicide's apartment? Relying on his keen intuition, the eager sleuth plunges into an investigation that leads him across Europe, landing him at the deadly center of a terrorist conspiracy of worldwide proportions.
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