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    The Gentle Axe: A Novel
    The Gentle Axe: A Novel
    The Gentle Axe: A Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Gentle Axe: A Novel

    Written by R. N. Morris

    Narrated by Simon Vance

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Stumbling through Petrovsky Park one cold morning in search of firewood, an elderly woman makes a horrifying discovery. A burly peasant twirls in the wind, hanging from a bowed tree by a rope about his neck, a bloody axe tucked into his belt. Nearby, packed neatly into a suitcase, is the body of a dwarf, a deep axe wound splitting his skull in two.

    It does not take long for the noted police investigator Porfiry Petrovich, still drained from his work on the case involving the deranged student Raskolnikov, to suspect that the truth of the matter is more complex that the crime scene might suggest. Why do so many roads lead to the same house of prostitution and the same ring or pornographers? Why do so many powerful interests seem intent on blocking his efforts? His investigation leads him from the squalid tenements, brothels, and drinking dens of the city's Haymarket district to an altogether more genteel stratum of society. As he gets deeper and deeper in, and the connections between the two spheres begin to multiply, both his anger and his terror mount.

    Atmospheric and tense from its dramatic opening to its shocking climax, The Gentle Axe is a spellbinding historical crime novel, a book that explores the darkest places of the human heart with tremendous energy, empathy, and wit. As lucky as St. Petersburg residents are to have Porfiry Petrovich in public service, we are equally fortunate to have R.N. Morris on hand to chronicle his most challenging case to date.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateApr 1, 2007
    ISBN9781400173334
    The Gentle Axe: A Novel
    Author

    R. N. Morris

    R.N. Morris is the author of five previous Silas Quinn mysteries as well as the acclaimed St Petersburg historical crime series featuring detective Porfiry Petrovich from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. He lives in north London with his wife and two children.

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    Reviews for The Gentle Axe

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      This book follows the detective Porfiry Petrovich as he trys to find who killed the dwarf and the peasant found hanging and with an axe wound in St. Petersburg.The year is 1866 and is the time when Russian policing is trying to become more "for the people". A case is not an official case until the Prokurer says so. And an autopsy is frowned upon as unnecessary - so much so that the doctor needs to bring his tools to the body on a trolley.So when two bodies are found in the middle of the city it is not just a matter to find the murderer but also to prove there is a crime to investigate. All of which leads Petrovich to learn a darker side of himself he is not comfortable with as he tries to find clues and the murderer in the lower classes of the city. As well as learn that being the smartest person is not always what is needed to show he is right.A good book and well worth the read. Though there were times in this where you could have cut out a large part of text and still get to the same point as was reached. And with a lot less discomfort.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I will read any book set in Russian. That is just a straight up fact. However, that doesn't mean I will like every book set in Russian. This one is just fabulous, though. A gem.

      Set in tsarist St. Petersburg, this is the story of an odd murder mystery committed during the weeks leading up to Christmas. Porfiry Petrovich is the investigating magistrate who takes on the case. Alerted by an anonymous letter, the police find the body of a large man hanging from a tree. In a suitcase nearby is the body of a dwarf whose head has been caved in by an axe. The hanged man has the axe in his possession. It seems like an open and shut case of murder-suicide, but Porfiry has a hunch that something more is going on.

      Beautifully written, expertly executed. A perfect read for the holiday season!
    • 5/5
      For readers that have been yearning for a book that speaks with an older, wiser voice, written in a long forgotten style, with a classic fluidity that can only be penned by a select few…Here ya’ go! R. N. Morris has delivered a novel that embraces the historic elements of a true masterpiece, indulges the nostalgic desires of the quintessential reader and satisfies even the most discerning contemporary suspense-thriller lover!Fyodor Dostoevsky first introduced readers to criminal investigator Porfiry Petrovich, in the 1866 novel Crime & Punishment. The book is centered around the murder of a pawnbroker and her half-sister by a deranged, impoverished student, named Raskolnikov. It is a year after this mind-numbing case that Morris picks up the story and takes the reader deep into the investigator’s life and of course, a brand new murder mystery.Searching for firewood in St. Petersburg’s Petrovsky Park, a woman stumbles upon a dead body hanging from a tree. Nearby, a second body, that of a dwarf, is found in a suitcase. A laundry list of items were initially left at the scene, however, by the time investigator Petrovich is alerted, via an anonymous tip, anything of value is missing, thus complicating an already difficult case.The search for answers will take the rotund detective through many facets of Russian society, from the dark, dank squalid apartments of the slums to the elegant, sprawling homes of the sophisticated elite. As the Park investigation continues, other, seemingly unrelated murders occur, forcing the investigation in a surprisingly new direction. To solve the Park case, Petrovich will have to think outside the box…connecting the dots of this disturbing case will prove to be even more difficult than the case that had defined him.Morris unravels the layers of St. Petersburg and its residents, slowly, like a delicious, blooming onion, allowing the reader to savor the flavor and enjoy each and every bite. There are strong, no-non-sense characters and those that bring a lighter, at times, humorous element to the story, thus eliciting a myriad of emotions from the reader. Gentle Axe is not littered with red herrings and preemptive spoilers, instead it is based on a clever plot, written with artistic flair. The characters are drawn with the kind of intimate detail one ascertains from a photograph and the settings are constructed with the artistic eye of a painter. The author took a significant, yet calculated risk- borrowing the lead character, setting and back story from the famous work of a beloved writer, which could easily garner a host of negativity. However, creating a sequel that feels Dostoevsky-like, that reads like a Morris novel is a note-worthy accomplishment, indeed!A spell-binding novel that will definitely keep you up late…reading! And you’ll want to share this one with friends and coworkers –it’s really that good!
    • 3/5
      Not a bad first novel although the killer was to obvious, I prefer a mystery that keeps me guessing as to who the bad guy is.
    • 3/5
      This is the first in a series of detective novels set in 19th century St Petersburg featuring investigative magistrate Porfiry Petrovich, who is the detective in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment who investigates the murders committed by the student Raskolnikov. This novel also features some of the minor characters from the classic novel, some different but very similar ones such as the student Virginsky, and some of the same features (e.g. axes, pawnbrokers), though I had to check to confirm the names as it is many years since I read it at university. The plot of this spin off is okay, a little convoluted and unclear until all is revealed in the final chapter. The descriptions of the city and its inhabitants are good and evocative, though I can't say I like any of the characters really. Not sure if I will bother with any of the sequels.
    • 5/5
      So well written. And I now figured out that I can read historical mysteries without feeling doomed.
    • 3/5
      I listened to this book which I downloaded from my library's electronic book site. The main reason I chose this book was because it was read by Simon Vance and I know several people who like his narration. Vance is an excellent narrator but unfortunately that wasn't enough to carry the book for me.Porfiry Petrovich was the detective from Crime and Punishment. Morris has conceived this series to show more of Petrovich. In this book Petrovich is called to the scene of a possible murder-suicide. A dwarf's body has been found inside a suitcase in a park and nearby another man is found hanging from a tree. Petrovich has a feeling that there is more to this than meets the eye and he continues to investigate.Like other Russian novels there are lots of characters with lots of names and as I find this confusing in print it was doubly challenging in audio. Maybe for this reason I couldn't completely follow the thread of the book.
    • 4/5
      "If I may make one further suggestion, your excellency. I fully accept the disciplinary action that you have initiated against me. However, I would propose that you postpone my suspension." "That's out of the question. I do not go back on my decisions." "Do you ever gamble, Yaroslav Nikolaevich?" The prokuror regarded Porfiry with as much affront as if he had spat in his face. "I propose a wager--that's all," pressed Profiry. "Delay my suspension for two days. If I have not solved the case, you may suspend me, indefinitely--without pay. If I have solved the case, I ask you to take no action against me. My success will rebound to your credit. My failure will give you a scapegoat." Prokuror Liputin pinched his lower lip pensively. "I am Russian, Porfiry Petrovich. Of course I gamble."The Gentle Axe by is set in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg and features an investigator adept at working the arcane rules and hierarchy of the Russian justice system to see the proper culprits arrested. By working for justice, however, Porfiry Petrovich will never be able to work his way up the career ladder, stepping, as he does, on the toes of his betters. He's still a little haunted by a case he solved a few years ago, that of the student Raskolnikov, and it affects how he deals with some of the people he comes into contact with. When a body is found hanged from a tree in Petrovsky Park, and a suitcase containing the corpse of a second man, it looks like an easy case to solve. Clearly, the hanged man murdered the other man and then hanged himself in a fit of remorse. But Porfiry demands all sorts of unreasonable things; autopsies for both of the murdered men, for example, the results of which cloud the easy solution. His investigation takes him everywhere from the rooms of a young prostitute to publishing house specializing in philosophic translations. This book is both an intricately plotted detective novel and an homage to Dostoevsky. It was fun finding references throughout the book to Dostoevsky's novels, although I'm sure I missed most of them.
    • 5/5
      For readers that have been yearning for a book that speaks with an older, wiser voice, written in a long forgotten style, with a classic fluidity that can only be penned by a select few…Here ya’ go! R. N. Morris has delivered a novel that embraces the historic elements of a true masterpiece, indulges the nostalgic desires of the quintessential reader and satisfies even the most discerning contemporary suspense-thriller lover!Fyodor Dostoevsky first introduced readers to criminal investigator Porfiry Petrovich, in the 1866 novel Crime & Punishment. The book is centered around the murder of a pawnbroker and her half-sister by a deranged, impoverished student, named Raskolnikov. It is a year after this mind-numbing case that Morris picks up the story and takes the reader deep into the investigator’s life and of course, a brand new murder mystery.Searching for firewood in St. Petersburg’s Petrovsky Park, a woman stumbles upon a dead body hanging from a tree. Nearby, a second body, that of a dwarf, is found in a suitcase. A laundry list of items were initially left at the scene, however, by the time investigator Petrovich is alerted, via an anonymous tip, anything of value is missing, thus complicating an already difficult case.The search for answers will take the rotund detective through many facets of Russian society, from the dark, dank squalid apartments of the slums to the elegant, sprawling homes of the sophisticated elite. As the Park investigation continues, other, seemingly unrelated murders occur, forcing the investigation in a surprisingly new direction. To solve the Park case, Petrovich will have to think outside the box…connecting the dots of this disturbing case will prove to be even more difficult than the case that had defined him.Morris unravels the layers of St. Petersburg and its residents, slowly, like a delicious, blooming onion, allowing the reader to savor the flavor and enjoy each and every bite. There are strong, no-non-sense characters and those that bring a lighter, at times, humorous element to the story, thus eliciting a myriad of emotions from the reader. Gentle Axe is not littered with red herrings and preemptive spoilers, instead it is based on a clever plot, written with artistic flair. The characters are drawn with the kind of intimate detail one ascertains from a photograph and the settings are constructed with the artistic eye of a painter. The author took a significant, yet calculated risk- borrowing the lead character, setting and back story from the famous work of a beloved writer, which could easily garner a host of negativity. However, creating a sequel that feels Dostoevsky-like, that reads like a Morris novel is a note-worthy accomplishment, indeed!A spell-binding novel that will definitely keep you up late…reading! And you’ll want to share this one with friends and coworkers –it’s really that good!
    • 3/5
      Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Porfiry Petrovich, fills out his character and sets him loose on another crime. Petrovich is a sympathetic and complex character. He gets emotionally caught up in this mystery, but he’s also got a sly sense of humor. The mystery begins when the body of a dwarf is found in a suitcase next to the hanged body of a local yard-keeper. The book is rich with historic atmosphere of 1866 St. Petersburg and with appropriate turns of phrase. Book publishers may be pornographers, prostitutes may be wealthy, princes may go missing, and monks might evade the truth. Porfiry Petrovich does a wonderful job of slinking through the inefficient maze of the local department of ministry to solve this most puzzling crime.
    • 5/5
      St. Petersburg December 1866. An old woman foraging for whatever she can find discovers two frozen bodies in Petrovsky Park. One swings from the branch of a tree. In a large leather suitcase at his feet she finds the curled up body of a dwarf, his head split open as if with an axe. In his pockets she finds a pack of pornographic cards, a small key, and a bulging envelope of bank notes. Russia in 1866 is transforming itself into an industrial society, and the creation of a specialist department to investigate serious crimes is part of the transformation. Enter Porfiry Petrovich, newly appointed investigating magistrate for the Department of the Investigation of Criminal Causes. Author R. N. Morris has attempted to write not only a richly textured and authentic crime novel, but to do it in a style seen in writers like Dostoevsky, and more recently in the success of Boris Akunin. This is a world dominated by squalor, crowded tenements, poverty stricken students, and people who need to make a living however they can.
    • 4/5
      First Sentence: It was well into the morning when the darkness began to fade.Porfiry Petrovich Virginsky is an investigating magistrate from the Department of the Investigation of Criminal Causes. In Petrovsky Park in the middle of winter two bodies are found; a dwarf who has been killed by an axe and stuffed in a suitcase, and a man hanging from a tree with the axe in his belt. But Porfiry Petrovich doesn’t believe the picture being presented and is determined to find the killer in spite of his superiors ordering him to close the case.It’s been many years since I’ve read Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the book that inspired this series with the protagonist taken from the classic novel. This book does a very good job of taking us to that time and locale. I liked the story and the way Morris takes us along on the investigation and uncovering of clues. I even found I could keep track of the characters. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it.