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Olga Pushkin #1
Death on the Trans-Siberian Express
Welcome to Roslazny - a sleepy Russian town where intrigue and murder combine to disturb the icy silence...
Olga Pushkin, Railway Engineer (Third Class) and would-be bestselling author, spends her days in a little rail-side hut with only Dmitri the hedgehog for company. While tourists and travellers clatter by on the Trans-Siberian Express, Olga dreams of studying literature at Tomsk State University - the Oxford of West Siberia - and escaping the sleepy, snow-clad village of Roslazny.
But Roslazny doesn't stay sleepy for long. Poison-pen letters, a small-town crime wave, and persistent rumours of a Baba Yaga - a murderous witch hiding in the frozen depths of the Russian taiga - combine to disturb the icy silence. And one day Olga arrives at her hut only to be knocked unconscious by a man falling from the Trans-Siberian, an American tourist with his throat cut from ear to ear and his mouth stuffed with 10-ruble coins. Another death soon follows, and Sergeant Vassily Marushkin, the brooding, enigmatic policeman who takes on the case, finds himself falsely imprisoned by his Machiavellian superior, Chief-Inspector Babikov.
Olga resolves to help Vassily by proving his innocence. But with no leads to follow and time running out, has Olga bitten off more than she can chew?
Olga Pushkin, Railway Engineer (Third Class) and would-be bestselling author, spends her days in a little rail-side hut with only Dmitri the hedgehog for company. While tourists and travellers clatter by on the Trans-Siberian Express, Olga dreams of studying literature at Tomsk State University - the Oxford of West Siberia - and escaping the sleepy, snow-clad village of Roslazny.
But Roslazny doesn't stay sleepy for long. Poison-pen letters, a small-town crime wave, and persistent rumours of a Baba Yaga - a murderous witch hiding in the frozen depths of the Russian taiga - combine to disturb the icy silence. And one day Olga arrives at her hut only to be knocked unconscious by a man falling from the Trans-Siberian, an American tourist with his throat cut from ear to ear and his mouth stuffed with 10-ruble coins. Another death soon follows, and Sergeant Vassily Marushkin, the brooding, enigmatic policeman who takes on the case, finds himself falsely imprisoned by his Machiavellian superior, Chief-Inspector Babikov.
Olga resolves to help Vassily by proving his innocence. But with no leads to follow and time running out, has Olga bitten off more than she can chew?
Hardcover
First published November 25, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
November 5, 2021
CJ Farrington’s debut crime novel immerses the reader in the community and the atmospheric frozen Siberian location, the small town of Roslazny where nothing much happens, nothing that is until a dead body falls off the Trans-Siberian Express, hitting Olga Pushkin, Railway Engineer (Third Class). The victim is a young American, Nathan Bryce, a trainee lawyer who has had his throat slashed and 10 rouble coins stuffed in his mouth. Olga is an aspiring author, currently writing 'Find Your Rail Self: 100 Life Lessons from the Trans-Siberian Railway', dreaming of studying at Tomask University, spending her days in the small hut by the rails, with Dmitri, the hedgehog she rescued from a fox. We are plunged into the community life, there is the Cafe Astana run by Igor Odrosov, with his bad vodka, aka rocket fuel, and suspect food, the central hub for gossip and political discussions, that include the hotly contested imminent mayoral elections that Lieutenant Colonel Grigor Babikov is determined to win by hook or by crook.
Olga is a hard to resist character, still mourning the death of her mother, Tatiana, driven to an early grave by the waste of space that is her father, Mikhail. Mikhail drinks, is constantly criticising an Olga who runs around taking care of him as he drains her finances. The put upon Olga prioritises her family and friends, running errands for her ungrateful Aunt Zia, supporting best friend Anna, who is married to the good for nothing Bogdan, putting others before herself. A spiteful and vicious poison pen letter upsets Olga, as she realises it has to be from someone close to her. When Sergeant Vassily Mamushkin, the recently arrived police officer to the town, is falsely arrested for murder, Olga refuses to accept this lying down, summoning her dormant fighting spirit to take on the terror and corruption that is accepted as the norm in the region. She is aided in her investigations by her beloved brother, Pasha, who returns home after being dishonourably discharged from the army.
Farrington writes a novel that is embedded in the vivid details and rich descriptions of the icy location, and a community, with its diverse, larger than life and colourful characters that inhabit Roslazny, such as 'the dreamer' Fyodor Katin, a place where everybody knows everyone, and where most of the men leave a lot to be desired. This is not a book that you are going to be able to race through, so settle down and prepare to be drawn into a Siberian crime story that takes in corruption, Russian folklore, with the rumours of Baba Yaga, a murderous forest witch, and the uncovering of a surprising number of deaths, murders and disappearances. This is a wonderful read, with many twists and turns, set in Putin's Russia, and with a central protagonist that you cannot help but adore and root for. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
Olga is a hard to resist character, still mourning the death of her mother, Tatiana, driven to an early grave by the waste of space that is her father, Mikhail. Mikhail drinks, is constantly criticising an Olga who runs around taking care of him as he drains her finances. The put upon Olga prioritises her family and friends, running errands for her ungrateful Aunt Zia, supporting best friend Anna, who is married to the good for nothing Bogdan, putting others before herself. A spiteful and vicious poison pen letter upsets Olga, as she realises it has to be from someone close to her. When Sergeant Vassily Mamushkin, the recently arrived police officer to the town, is falsely arrested for murder, Olga refuses to accept this lying down, summoning her dormant fighting spirit to take on the terror and corruption that is accepted as the norm in the region. She is aided in her investigations by her beloved brother, Pasha, who returns home after being dishonourably discharged from the army.
Farrington writes a novel that is embedded in the vivid details and rich descriptions of the icy location, and a community, with its diverse, larger than life and colourful characters that inhabit Roslazny, such as 'the dreamer' Fyodor Katin, a place where everybody knows everyone, and where most of the men leave a lot to be desired. This is not a book that you are going to be able to race through, so settle down and prepare to be drawn into a Siberian crime story that takes in corruption, Russian folklore, with the rumours of Baba Yaga, a murderous forest witch, and the uncovering of a surprising number of deaths, murders and disappearances. This is a wonderful read, with many twists and turns, set in Putin's Russia, and with a central protagonist that you cannot help but adore and root for. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
June 26, 2023
CJ Farmington writes an atmospheric well written novel set in Siberia Russia a quiet town of Roslanzy Russia 🇷🇺 the characters were eclectic Olga was very easy to like she worked at Taygo train station as a 3rd class worker, by night she looked after her father Mikhail who took her money for cheap vodka, then had to look after her aunt by shopping for her & tending to do other errands for her relatives this took a toll on her.
While working.at the station she rescued a hedgehog white berated that lived near her hut from a fox’s mouth two summers ago.
But one day a tragic accident happened on the Trans Siberian Express Nathan Bryce a trainee Lawyer who had his throat cut& 10 rubie coins stuffed in his mouth Olga is an aspiring author she is an engineer, while this sounded good I found it too slow I just could not get the investment I had hoped for this just wasn’t for me.
While working.at the station she rescued a hedgehog white berated that lived near her hut from a fox’s mouth two summers ago.
But one day a tragic accident happened on the Trans Siberian Express Nathan Bryce a trainee Lawyer who had his throat cut& 10 rubie coins stuffed in his mouth Olga is an aspiring author she is an engineer, while this sounded good I found it too slow I just could not get the investment I had hoped for this just wasn’t for me.
April 1, 2022
Z jednej strony, niekończące się połacie śniegu, rozciągające się po horyzont lasy, zjawiskowe krajobrazy tajgi w środku syberyjskiej zimy. A z drugiej strony, obłędne zimno, błoto i nuda panoszące się na co dzień. To idealne miejsce na kryminał obyczajowy z lekkim przymrużeniem oka. C.J. Farrington ma zresztą oko i ucho do szczegółów. Z pewnością podczas swojej własnej transsyberyjskiej wyprawy miał szansę dostrzec moc charakterystycznych obrazków, które stały się kanwą właśnie dla jego debiutanckiej powieści. W„Śmierci w transsyberyjskim ekspresie” ten szkocki pisarz umieścił nie tylko zbrodniczą intrygę, ale też moc obyczajowo-społecznych spostrzeżeń dotyczących tamtego, odciętego od świata rejonu współczesnej Rosji. Małe miasteczko w dzikim sercu Syberii,a w nim mieszkańcy, którzy wierzą w ustrój, wierzą w przywódcę, wierzą, że coś znaczą na tej wielkiej mapie pełnej białych plam. Bywa przygnębiająco, w obliczu obecnych wydarzeń. Komentarz nasuwa się tutaj sam.
Ko kryminał dobry, wciągający, niespieszny. Spostrzegawczy czytelnik odnajdzie nawiązania literackie, wychwyci aluzje, będzie bawił się smakowicie. To literatura rozrywkowa z twistem społeczno-obyczajowym, a jednocześnie świetna zabawa dla tych, którzy lubią tajemnice zbrodni podane z pomysłem. Miejscami rozbawi, miejscami zmusi do refleksji.
Ko kryminał dobry, wciągający, niespieszny. Spostrzegawczy czytelnik odnajdzie nawiązania literackie, wychwyci aluzje, będzie bawił się smakowicie. To literatura rozrywkowa z twistem społeczno-obyczajowym, a jednocześnie świetna zabawa dla tych, którzy lubią tajemnice zbrodni podane z pomysłem. Miejscami rozbawi, miejscami zmusi do refleksji.
February 23, 2022
It had such a promising start. Yet half way through it felt like a different author rushing to cram way too much into the second part of the book.
January 26, 2022
This book isn’t very good. It is not terrible either. Average is the word I’m looking for, yes that’s the one. Read it if you want, however I recommend you read something better. 🤷♂️
December 28, 2021
There was a real sense of place and space in this murder mystery which initially made me think that it was a Russian book in translation. Part of that is a slightly over-written air in the first chapter, slightly off turns of phrases and of course heavy use of the patronymic. For some reason I have drifted into reading a lot of books based in Russia in the last year or so, and whilst the prose style here settled down that slightly odd opening chapter actually worked for the novel. Because this is basically a medium cosy mystery set in Siberia. We have a spunky and uinlucky in love protagonist, an attractive but unobtainable cop and a murder which is only one of many problems our lead Olga Pushkin is dealing with (her terrible father, a poison pen letter and her brothers dishonourable discharge from the Army being of equal worth). When we finally get to the murder / murders it is perhaps not as cosy as all that, but this is Russia, everything goes big.
Olga is a terrific creation, and it is clear Farrington wants to do more with her. A lively railway worker with pretensions to be a writer (the repeated gag of her self help book "Find Your Rail Self: 100 Life Lessons From The TransSiberian Railway" is most welcome). It also does a good job to showing Putin's Russia as another slab in the history of bad deals for Siberia, and of course one the locals broadly celebrate. The mystery itself could have been snappier, and as solved remarkably early in the book, admittedly there were ongoing more soap like problems that I thought my drift on to a later book but all gets wrapped up here. And perhaps there are one too many quirky cutesy touches - her pet hedgehog causing a rift between her and the attractive cop because he has a pet ferret being a step too far.
Well written, fun and with an excess of Siberian bad vodka flavour, Death On The Trans-Siberian Express was a quick refreshing read and a reminder that cosy mysteries can do more than just be cosy. I'll be looking out for the promised trip to Mongolia with Olga promised at the end, and hopefully to Tomsk University - the Oxford of West Siberia. further along.
Olga is a terrific creation, and it is clear Farrington wants to do more with her. A lively railway worker with pretensions to be a writer (the repeated gag of her self help book "Find Your Rail Self: 100 Life Lessons From The TransSiberian Railway" is most welcome). It also does a good job to showing Putin's Russia as another slab in the history of bad deals for Siberia, and of course one the locals broadly celebrate. The mystery itself could have been snappier, and as solved remarkably early in the book, admittedly there were ongoing more soap like problems that I thought my drift on to a later book but all gets wrapped up here. And perhaps there are one too many quirky cutesy touches - her pet hedgehog causing a rift between her and the attractive cop because he has a pet ferret being a step too far.
Well written, fun and with an excess of Siberian bad vodka flavour, Death On The Trans-Siberian Express was a quick refreshing read and a reminder that cosy mysteries can do more than just be cosy. I'll be looking out for the promised trip to Mongolia with Olga promised at the end, and hopefully to Tomsk University - the Oxford of West Siberia. further along.
July 11, 2022
Oh my little babushkas! I am so very sad to not have fallen in love with this book. Something about it captivated me for a whole year until I finally broke down and ordered it from the UK. I should have suspected something was amiss when it didn’t make a quick sale for publication in the USA, but still the thrill of a snowbound mystery in a town populated with quirky characters and a non traditional detective who also has a hedgehog as a friend.! How could it miss?
Sadly, it’s bleak, like Russian winter bleak. Our main character has a dreadful life and a very sad big dream that she’s mostly inept at trying to fulfill. There are no quirky characters, just bland, sad, drunken Russians with miserable lives and personalities to match. There wasn’t anything charming, or whimsical or even a little small joy to keep me reading. I didn’t want to spend time in the village, with these people, and much like the main character I wanted out on the next train.
If the book inside this perfect cover were the one described on its flaps, we’d have a lovely read, the author is a pretty good writer, but it needs a lot less Russian darkness.
Sadly, it’s bleak, like Russian winter bleak. Our main character has a dreadful life and a very sad big dream that she’s mostly inept at trying to fulfill. There are no quirky characters, just bland, sad, drunken Russians with miserable lives and personalities to match. There wasn’t anything charming, or whimsical or even a little small joy to keep me reading. I didn’t want to spend time in the village, with these people, and much like the main character I wanted out on the next train.
If the book inside this perfect cover were the one described on its flaps, we’d have a lovely read, the author is a pretty good writer, but it needs a lot less Russian darkness.
April 4, 2022
Dzisiaj będzie krótko, zwięźle i na temat!
Jeśli:
🚂 lubisz kryminały
🚂 chętnie wcielasz się w rolę detektywa
🚂 masz nosa do intryg
🚂 przepadasz za humorem w powieściach kryminalnych
🚂 oczekujesz ciekawej fabuły
🚂 lubisz dobrych bohaterów, choć nie pozbawionych wad, a czasem i odrobinę irytujących
🚂 nie przeszkadzają Ci schematy w tego typu literaturze
🚂 chcesz po prostu spędzić miłe chwile przy lekturze książki
🚂 nie masz za dużo czasu na czytanie grubych tomiszczy
🚂 oczekujesz dobrej zabawy
🚂 słyszysz "Baba Jaga" to już zacierasz rączki
✅ To "Śmierć w transsyberyjskim ekspresie" jest zdecydowanie dla Ciebie 😊
Powiem tak - ja bardzo dobrze bawiłam się czytając tą książkę. Czy można przyrównać ją do Agaty Christie? No aż tak bym nie przesadzała, jednak lektura powieści autorstwa C.J. Farrington miała w sobie to coś, co przyciągało i sprawiało, że chętnie pochłaniałam kolejne strony 😁
Naszą główną bohaterką jest tutaj Olga Puszkin, dróżniczka, urzędująca w budce przy torach. Jak każdy ma swoje marzenia - kobieta marzy o tym, aby studiować literaturę w Tomsku. Kiedy przez przypadek Olga obrywa zwłokami, które wypadły z przejeżdżającego pociągu postanawia wziąć los w swoje ręce i angażuje się w śledztwo.
Ja ze swojej strony daję polecajkę i serdecznie zachęcam do lektury! 🥰
Jeśli:
🚂 lubisz kryminały
🚂 chętnie wcielasz się w rolę detektywa
🚂 masz nosa do intryg
🚂 przepadasz za humorem w powieściach kryminalnych
🚂 oczekujesz ciekawej fabuły
🚂 lubisz dobrych bohaterów, choć nie pozbawionych wad, a czasem i odrobinę irytujących
🚂 nie przeszkadzają Ci schematy w tego typu literaturze
🚂 chcesz po prostu spędzić miłe chwile przy lekturze książki
🚂 nie masz za dużo czasu na czytanie grubych tomiszczy
🚂 oczekujesz dobrej zabawy
🚂 słyszysz "Baba Jaga" to już zacierasz rączki
✅ To "Śmierć w transsyberyjskim ekspresie" jest zdecydowanie dla Ciebie 😊
Powiem tak - ja bardzo dobrze bawiłam się czytając tą książkę. Czy można przyrównać ją do Agaty Christie? No aż tak bym nie przesadzała, jednak lektura powieści autorstwa C.J. Farrington miała w sobie to coś, co przyciągało i sprawiało, że chętnie pochłaniałam kolejne strony 😁
Naszą główną bohaterką jest tutaj Olga Puszkin, dróżniczka, urzędująca w budce przy torach. Jak każdy ma swoje marzenia - kobieta marzy o tym, aby studiować literaturę w Tomsku. Kiedy przez przypadek Olga obrywa zwłokami, które wypadły z przejeżdżającego pociągu postanawia wziąć los w swoje ręce i angażuje się w śledztwo.
Ja ze swojej strony daję polecajkę i serdecznie zachęcam do lektury! 🥰
December 11, 2023
Ta książka jest jak fretka imieniem Rasputin.
Olga Puszkina pracuje jako dróżniczka, ale jej marzeniem jest zostanie wielką pisarką. Na co dzień mieszka z leniwym ojcem, którego głównym zajęciem jest narzekanie i picie alkoholu, kolejność dowolna. I tak Oldze mija dzień za dniem, ekspres transsyberyjski za ekspresem, aż tu nagle z jednego z nich wypadają na nią zwłoki. Ofiarą okazuje się być amerykański turysta, a do rozwiązania śledztwa oddelegowany zostaje dawny znajomy Olgi, sierżant Maruszkin. Takiej okazji młoda pisarka przegapić nie może! Kto jak nie Olga Puszkina będzie w stanie rozwiązać sprawę tego morderstwa, szczególnie, że sierżant Maruszkin ląduje w areszcie podejrzany o właśnie tę zbrodnię?
Agatha Christie w okowach zaśnieżonej tajgi? Ci ludzie od blurbów to czasami wstydu nie mają :) Książka Farringtona jest przede wszystkim przaśna i pełna stereotypów, co momentami aż bolało przy słuchaniu. Facet z setek imion, jakie można nadać zwierzęciu, wybrał Rasputina - śmiechom nie było końca! Intryga kryminalna też nieciekawa i przewidywalna. Ogólnie – meh.
5/10
Olga Puszkina pracuje jako dróżniczka, ale jej marzeniem jest zostanie wielką pisarką. Na co dzień mieszka z leniwym ojcem, którego głównym zajęciem jest narzekanie i picie alkoholu, kolejność dowolna. I tak Oldze mija dzień za dniem, ekspres transsyberyjski za ekspresem, aż tu nagle z jednego z nich wypadają na nią zwłoki. Ofiarą okazuje się być amerykański turysta, a do rozwiązania śledztwa oddelegowany zostaje dawny znajomy Olgi, sierżant Maruszkin. Takiej okazji młoda pisarka przegapić nie może! Kto jak nie Olga Puszkina będzie w stanie rozwiązać sprawę tego morderstwa, szczególnie, że sierżant Maruszkin ląduje w areszcie podejrzany o właśnie tę zbrodnię?
Agatha Christie w okowach zaśnieżonej tajgi? Ci ludzie od blurbów to czasami wstydu nie mają :) Książka Farringtona jest przede wszystkim przaśna i pełna stereotypów, co momentami aż bolało przy słuchaniu. Facet z setek imion, jakie można nadać zwierzęciu, wybrał Rasputina - śmiechom nie było końca! Intryga kryminalna też nieciekawa i przewidywalna. Ogólnie – meh.
5/10
November 6, 2023
It isn't a particularly fascinating crime story. The background is very long and the plot mainly focuses on a daily life in a small town in Siberia. It describes family problems and difficult climate. As we can guess, one of the main problems is drinking. It would be better if the murder got along with the daily life but instead, it disrupts the life and the murder is solved pretty quickly. It turned out there were a lot of bodies and somehow nobody noticed the missing people earlier. I don't think it is possible nowadays. It was interesting that the murder had deeper roots and more people were involved but it didn't save the plot. I'm glad I had an audiobook, otherwise I don't think I would even get to the murder.
March 8, 2025
Lecture décevante
Pas mal de choses prévisibles, une personnage principale quelque fois... Désagréable
Pas vraiment d'enquête sur le Trans-siberien
Pas mal de choses prévisibles, une personnage principale quelque fois... Désagréable
Pas vraiment d'enquête sur le Trans-siberien
March 8, 2023
Such a great murder mystery! Cosy characters and a snowy setting, can't go wrong!
December 4, 2021
A delightful mystery set in contemporary Russia or more specifically in a small place lost in the middle of the frozen and desolate Siberian boondocks where criminal shenanigans are a dime a dozen and gruesome murders not uncommon....
Brilliantly plotted and blessed with a large cast of delicious misfits and numerous snowbound dumheads, this very entertaining and wittily crafted whodunit kept me often in stitches and offered me a rather compelling and fascinating look at Siberian society today.
Highly recommended and to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever... and maybe a shot of good vodka by the end😉👍
Many thanks to Netgalley & Little Brown/Constable for this terrific ARC
Brilliantly plotted and blessed with a large cast of delicious misfits and numerous snowbound dumheads, this very entertaining and wittily crafted whodunit kept me often in stitches and offered me a rather compelling and fascinating look at Siberian society today.
Highly recommended and to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever... and maybe a shot of good vodka by the end😉👍
Many thanks to Netgalley & Little Brown/Constable for this terrific ARC
April 19, 2022
I struggled to finish this one. The story was just not intriguing at all and the writing didn't help. It's supposed to be contemporary but it read like it took place in the 70s-80s.
I also think this is somehow misleadingly marketed as Agatha Christie - esque, when it's nothing like that. I thought it would be like a train murder-mystery, when it doesn't even take place on a train...
I also think this is somehow misleadingly marketed as Agatha Christie - esque, when it's nothing like that. I thought it would be like a train murder-mystery, when it doesn't even take place on a train...
December 10, 2021
Almost there stars, it was a pleasant read and the setting in Siberia was interesting but overall a bit on the light side.
January 3, 2024
3.5 stars
Olga Pushkin is a railway worker, living in a small Siberian village of Roslazny. She lives with her ungrateful and alcoholic father, Mikhail, who hasn’t worked for a number of years and whose main idea of fun is to moan about his daughter.
Olga has a bigger dream: to become a published writer. In her spare time at work, in between the trains, she is busy crafting her magnum opus.
One day, a body of a young man (a foreigner, Olga reckons because of his good set of teeth) is thrown out of the moving Trans-Siberian Express.
Vassily Marushkin is a police officer recently transferred to Roslazny to help dealing with the crime in the area: three couples have gone missing in the past year, then six different bodies were found, still unidentified. There are also rumours circulating about a female serial killer in the area.
Olga begins to assist Vassily to help him find who was responsible for pushing the young man to his death.
However, the duo will soon uncover that conspiracy and corruption run deep in Roslazny…
This was a very unusual story with a different writing style. Olga is a typical woman who is trying to please everyone else first before looking after herself. She undergoes a transformation in the book: from the meek and self-conscious to a more self-assured woman standing her own ground.
However, at times, I felt that some of the descriptions were a bit long winded and could have been condensed a little bit.
Olga Pushkin is a railway worker, living in a small Siberian village of Roslazny. She lives with her ungrateful and alcoholic father, Mikhail, who hasn’t worked for a number of years and whose main idea of fun is to moan about his daughter.
Olga has a bigger dream: to become a published writer. In her spare time at work, in between the trains, she is busy crafting her magnum opus.
One day, a body of a young man (a foreigner, Olga reckons because of his good set of teeth) is thrown out of the moving Trans-Siberian Express.
Vassily Marushkin is a police officer recently transferred to Roslazny to help dealing with the crime in the area: three couples have gone missing in the past year, then six different bodies were found, still unidentified. There are also rumours circulating about a female serial killer in the area.
Olga begins to assist Vassily to help him find who was responsible for pushing the young man to his death.
However, the duo will soon uncover that conspiracy and corruption run deep in Roslazny…
This was a very unusual story with a different writing style. Olga is a typical woman who is trying to please everyone else first before looking after herself. She undergoes a transformation in the book: from the meek and self-conscious to a more self-assured woman standing her own ground.
However, at times, I felt that some of the descriptions were a bit long winded and could have been condensed a little bit.
December 13, 2022
An enjoyable cosy read.
I initially had problems listening to this because of all the Russian names, so it took awhile to work out who was who, and where was where, but I had worked out most by a third of the way through.
The motive for the murder was a little bit complicated in that
I did enjoy the Russian life described in this story and loved the characters (mostly), feeling that the murders themselves were almost incidental to the rest of the book, in the sense that they just aided the development of the people. I didn’t really care who or why or how it was done, I just enjoyed the other bits.
I initially had problems listening to this because of all the Russian names, so it took awhile to work out who was who, and where was where, but I had worked out most by a third of the way through.
The motive for the murder was a little bit complicated in that
I did enjoy the Russian life described in this story and loved the characters (mostly), feeling that the murders themselves were almost incidental to the rest of the book, in the sense that they just aided the development of the people. I didn’t really care who or why or how it was done, I just enjoyed the other bits.
December 27, 2022
Throughly enjoyable. Farrington takes you to the heart of Siberia, with colourful characters and goings on of Rozlensky.
I enjoyed the change in writing style, for me, and the author also brought forward some common issues in Russia, such as poverty, attitudes towards women, police & political corruption. There are one or two points which became a little confusing, and I think this is reflected in one of the main characters having to summarise what has happened at one point (hence 4, rather than 5 stars). That being said, I enjoyed it and it kept me reading. I’d definitely want to read the next instalment to she what happens next for Olga Pushkin & Co.
I enjoyed the change in writing style, for me, and the author also brought forward some common issues in Russia, such as poverty, attitudes towards women, police & political corruption. There are one or two points which became a little confusing, and I think this is reflected in one of the main characters having to summarise what has happened at one point (hence 4, rather than 5 stars). That being said, I enjoyed it and it kept me reading. I’d definitely want to read the next instalment to she what happens next for Olga Pushkin & Co.
December 5, 2024
Some good parts, some parts that just seemed all mixed up. The way it read it seemed like it was a translation of a Russian novel, but don't think it was. Got confused on all those characters! At the end I think she leaves but what happens with the hedgehog she feeds? I suppose you would call it "cosy crime". I think some of the last 50-100 pages were big really needed. Won't be reading any more of this author!
May 17, 2022
A good read
I enjoyed this book in the end but didn’t really get going until 50% though. I would have liked some of the characters to be more developed, especially Vassilly. However I’m looking forward to the next Olga Pushkin adventure.
I enjoyed this book in the end but didn’t really get going until 50% though. I would have liked some of the characters to be more developed, especially Vassilly. However I’m looking forward to the next Olga Pushkin adventure.
December 28, 2022
CAWPILE 7.00
Strong Russian female lead character, Olga hasn't had a perfect life thus far but her aspirations despite her desperate circumstances is so inspiring. I really enjoyed the rural Russian setting, the small town where everyone knows everyone.
I enjoyed the conclusion and have immediately gone straight into the sequel which is a very recent release.
Strong Russian female lead character, Olga hasn't had a perfect life thus far but her aspirations despite her desperate circumstances is so inspiring. I really enjoyed the rural Russian setting, the small town where everyone knows everyone.
I enjoyed the conclusion and have immediately gone straight into the sequel which is a very recent release.
February 7, 2024
I admit I struggled with this book a little at the beginning. It's very slow-paced and takes a more show plot via long explanatory monologues rather than tell. That being said, the style grew on me along with the setting and the characters. By about 100 pages in I was fully invested.
August 6, 2022
Loved this one
January 26, 2023
I wanted to like this. But it was so twee :(
September 27, 2024
A thoroughly enjoyable and well-written introduction to the Olga Pushkin mystery novels. The Russia that is invoked is endearing as well as believable, and I can't wait to immerse myself in the next one in the series.
February 19, 2022
I immediately fell under the spell of Conor Farrington’s prose. This may well be ‘only’ a cosy-ish crime novel set in the sleepy back-water town of Roxiazny in Russia, but the language elevates it well above expectations. It feels like a book translated from Russian, but in fact the author grew up in Scotland!
Olga Pushkin is a put-upon single woman in her mid-thirties, working as a low ranking railway engineer and living with her good-for-nothing father. She spends her time helping her best friend Anna, shopping for her thankless aunt and cooking for her drunken father. She mourns the loss of her beloved mother, ‘…she was gone, and with her the magical grace that dissolved difficulties into laughter’. She dreams of studying literature and writing The Great Russian Novel.
Then the body of a young man is flung from the moving Trans-Siberian Express, knocking Olga unconscious in the snow. His throat is cut and his mouth is stuffed with coins. Enter Sergeant Vassily Marushkin, newly posted to Rosiazny. How can Olga resist helping him in his investigation? Another murder occurs, Marushkin is wrongfully imprisoned and there is enough political shenanigans and general mayhem to keep Olga very busy indeed. Will she be able to clear Marushkin of the trumped-up murder charge? Will her awful father get his comeuppance?
The sense of place created by Farrington is another appealing feature of this book. The cold is palpable:
If you love The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency or The Thursday Murder Club, then I’m sure that you’ll enjoy spending time in Russia with the feisty Olga Pushkin. I look forward to the second instalment in the series, Blood on the Siberian Snow.
Olga Pushkin is a put-upon single woman in her mid-thirties, working as a low ranking railway engineer and living with her good-for-nothing father. She spends her time helping her best friend Anna, shopping for her thankless aunt and cooking for her drunken father. She mourns the loss of her beloved mother, ‘…she was gone, and with her the magical grace that dissolved difficulties into laughter’. She dreams of studying literature and writing The Great Russian Novel.
‘But not today. Today she had to go to work. That was what Russian women did, day in, day out, regardless of drunken fathers or chauvinist foremen… The tracks lay always before them, the horizon forever receding. Maybe one day they would reach it. Maybe one day.’
Then the body of a young man is flung from the moving Trans-Siberian Express, knocking Olga unconscious in the snow. His throat is cut and his mouth is stuffed with coins. Enter Sergeant Vassily Marushkin, newly posted to Rosiazny. How can Olga resist helping him in his investigation? Another murder occurs, Marushkin is wrongfully imprisoned and there is enough political shenanigans and general mayhem to keep Olga very busy indeed. Will she be able to clear Marushkin of the trumped-up murder charge? Will her awful father get his comeuppance?
The sense of place created by Farrington is another appealing feature of this book. The cold is palpable:
‘The trailside plants were fragile with frost, and snapped like dried twigs at the slightest touch. Her breath crackled in the air like jet exhaust, and she felt the microscopic build-up of ice at the end of her eyelashes…At times like this Olga thought that cold was more than just an absence of heat. It felt like a malevolent force of its own, a withering, hostile spirit suspended in the lifeless air…’
If you love The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency or The Thursday Murder Club, then I’m sure that you’ll enjoy spending time in Russia with the feisty Olga Pushkin. I look forward to the second instalment in the series, Blood on the Siberian Snow.
November 8, 2021
Olga Pouchkine est garde-barrière dans le village de Roslazny en Sibérie occidentale, où elle veille quotidiennement au passage du fameux Transsibérien. A 35 ans, elle vit encore avec son père et son hérisson en rêvant de rejoindre l’université de Tomsk pour étudier car férue de littérature elle souhaite devenir écrivain. Elle économise chaque rouble pour ce projet, espérant quitter au plus vite ce village où rien ne se passe. Mais deux évènements viennent perturber ses habitudes : elle reçoit une lettre anonyme calomnieuse en dépit de la bonté notoire dont elle fait preuve envers ses proches. Que lui reproche t-on et qui peut lui en vouloir ?
Lorsqu’un touriste américain est éjecté du train, la gorge tranchée et des pièces de monnaies enfouies dans la bouche, l’inspecteur en charge de l’enquête, le séduisant Vassily, enfant du pays, est suspecté et emprisonné par son supérieur, le lieutenant colonel Babikov. Celui-ci est un manipulateur prêt à tout, à quinze jours des élections, pour devenir le maire de Roslazny… Pour disculper son ami d’enfance, Olga mène elle-même l’enquête pour confondre le criminel, qui se trouvait à bord du Transsibérien…
J’aime lorsqu’un roman me transporte en pays étranger, vers d’autres lieux et coutumes, j’ai ressenti ce dépaysement avec Mort sur le Transsibérien: le grand froid sibérien, les habitants plutôt alcoolisés, les hommes de pouvoir très corrompus, les problématiques politiques et l’opposition aux Etats-Unis qui se ressent jusque dans les petits villages… Les personnages de ce roman m’ont en tout cas fait aimé ce voyage. Notamment Olga Pouchkine dont le caractère opiniâtre m’a beaucoup plu. Malheureusement, et en dépit d’un bon démarrage, l’intrigue s’enlise dans des explications répétitives au détriment de l’action, tout de même nécessaire pour maintenir le suspense du récit. L’impression de lenteur est accentuée par des chapitres extrêmement longs. De plus, les enquêteurs émettent très vite des hypothèses sur le meurtrier qui se révèlent par la suite exactes, il y a donc peu d’effet de surprise. Le final est pourtant intéressant et original. Je ne suis donc pas entièrement convaincue par cette lecture, même si j’ai apprécié l’atmosphère particulière et les personnages charismatiques de ce roman.
Je remercie les Editions Hugo et Compagnie et Netgalley pour la découverte de ce titre.
Lorsqu’un touriste américain est éjecté du train, la gorge tranchée et des pièces de monnaies enfouies dans la bouche, l’inspecteur en charge de l’enquête, le séduisant Vassily, enfant du pays, est suspecté et emprisonné par son supérieur, le lieutenant colonel Babikov. Celui-ci est un manipulateur prêt à tout, à quinze jours des élections, pour devenir le maire de Roslazny… Pour disculper son ami d’enfance, Olga mène elle-même l’enquête pour confondre le criminel, qui se trouvait à bord du Transsibérien…
J’aime lorsqu’un roman me transporte en pays étranger, vers d’autres lieux et coutumes, j’ai ressenti ce dépaysement avec Mort sur le Transsibérien: le grand froid sibérien, les habitants plutôt alcoolisés, les hommes de pouvoir très corrompus, les problématiques politiques et l’opposition aux Etats-Unis qui se ressent jusque dans les petits villages… Les personnages de ce roman m’ont en tout cas fait aimé ce voyage. Notamment Olga Pouchkine dont le caractère opiniâtre m’a beaucoup plu. Malheureusement, et en dépit d’un bon démarrage, l’intrigue s’enlise dans des explications répétitives au détriment de l’action, tout de même nécessaire pour maintenir le suspense du récit. L’impression de lenteur est accentuée par des chapitres extrêmement longs. De plus, les enquêteurs émettent très vite des hypothèses sur le meurtrier qui se révèlent par la suite exactes, il y a donc peu d’effet de surprise. Le final est pourtant intéressant et original. Je ne suis donc pas entièrement convaincue par cette lecture, même si j’ai apprécié l’atmosphère particulière et les personnages charismatiques de ce roman.
Je remercie les Editions Hugo et Compagnie et Netgalley pour la découverte de ce titre.
April 8, 2022
Set in contemporary Russia where Olga Pushkin lives the lonely life of a railway worker in a disintegrating Siberian village. There’s a danger that such a scenario, written by an outsider, could be cliched and corny. It may be to the native, but it’s a beguiling insight into village life in the Russian outback for the armchair traveller. Pushkin soon falls into a mystery. More precisely, the mystery falls on top of her. An American tourist has been murdered and thrown from the Express. The narrative evolves slowly, intertwined with the eccentric characters of the village. Pushkin’s character makes for a beguiling centre to the novel and she carries us for a good three quarters of the book. Then everything goes pear shaped. I was beginning to wonder how the mystery was going to be resolved in the diminishing remains of the book when an unlikely denouement is pulled like a rabbit from the hat. The climax is risible, and worse still the book doesn’t even end there, limping on through a tedious sequence of tying up the subplots. I am reminded of those films where everything is going fine and suddenly, it seems, the original director and scriptwriters are sacked and an unmatching ending tacked on. It’s a pity, because I was really enjoying this book and the character of Olga is particularly good. But this is one of the worst endings I have ever come across and I have to mark down accordingly.
January 18, 2022
La historia está ambientada en un pequeño pueblo Roslazny en Siberia occidental. Olga trabaja en las vías del tren, como agente de mantenimiento, su sueño es ser escritora, vive con su padre y su mascota un erizo al que le habla como si fuera una persona, un día particularmente frío, tiene que deshielan las vías del tren, es cuando desde en tren Trans sibérien le cae prácticamente encima un cuerpo de un turista acecinado en el tren con el cuello degollado y la boca llena de monedas, es entonces cuando inicia el misterio y una investigación policial. La historia se parecen mucho por no decir igual a los cozy mystery de Agatha Raisin. Punto positivo la intriga fue placentera y engancha. Punto negativo, llegamos muy rápido a la hipótesis del culpable y se mezclan otras historias secundarias que hacen perderse un poco de la historia principal. Es una historia traducida del inglés y aún no está disponible en español. El nivel de francés es medio y cuenta con expresiones rusas que son explicadas.
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