"Lush, and exceptionally compelling, but take your time - R.N. Morris's The Gentle Axe has a vast depth of Russian soul; mysterious, compassionate, and utterly irresistible." Alan Furst.
"RN Morris has brilliantly appropriated (Petrovich) from Dostoevsky’s novel. … Morris’ recreation of the seamy side of 19th-century St Petersbury is vivid and convincing … As to who did it, Morris keeps the reader guessing until the end. …Morris even includes the statutory holy monk on his deathbed, and he has certain advantages over Dostoevsky: A Gentle Axe is much shorter than Crime and Punishment, and much easier to read." Virginia Rounding, Independent.
"English writer R. N. Morris has produced perhaps the most audacious police-inspector novel of the season with "The Gentle Axe."....The tale hums along with controlled excitement, as if written by a Russian minimalist and rendered by a fine translator. The psychological and spiritual themes seem worthy of Dostoyevsky; there are traces of Gogol and Gorky, too. Such an accomplished book transcends pastiche." The Wall Street Journal.
"Admirably, Morris doesn’t over-handle the language. Unlike, say, Caleb Carr in “The Alienist†or Iain Pears in “An Instance of the Fingerpost,†he doesn’t hit false notes in tone or affect baroque accents. He reins in his style, letting his meticulously painted characters — women of easy virtue, paupers, a wife abuser, pedophiles, publishers, the whole Dickensian crop of malefactors — do his emoting for him. He makes each credibly distinct, so that every interaction becomes a tussle of temperaments...“The Gentle Axe†in many ways feels less like a modern tribute to Dostoyevsky than a translation of an overlooked novel by one of his contemporary imitators, transported into the present. It’s a satisfyingly grisly yarn... “CSI: St. Petersburg.â€" Liesl Schillinger, The New York Times Book Review.
"[A] smart, hypnotizing tale of crime and duplicity." The New York Sun.
"Morris has created an atmospheric St Petersburg, and a stylish set of intellectual problems, but what makes A Gentle Axe such an effective debut is its fascination with good and evil. It has earned its author the right to make use of the work of a greater writer." Roz Kaveney, Times Literary Supplement.
"Morris' sequel is firmly encamped in the mystery genre. Petrovich is the sleuth who must catch the killer. But Morris' use of a generic form does not dilute the idea of human suffering that Dostoyevsky wished to explore. Morris' twist is investigating the suffering of the investigator, not the criminal. In identifying with the killers he chases, Petrovich bears the terrible weight of suffering in the world. His profession forces him to perpetually wander the Siberia of his own soul. Morris' novel is a book not about the metaphysics of murder, but rather the metaphysics of the investigation of murders. As such, The Gentle Axe proves a worthy sequel." Edward Pettit, Philadelphia Inquirer.
"“The story is told ably in the classic whodunit twisty-arc style, reminiscent of the sleuthing of Nick Charles, Sherlock Holmes and Columbo, the mussed-up character based partly on Dostoevsky's trench-coat-clad Petrovich. Dirty Harry could easily be referenced, too… In addition to the splendid dust-off and resurrection of Petrovich, the strengths of "The Gentle Axe" are its characters and scene construction." San Francisco Chronicle.
"A Gentle Axe is tense, atmospheric and bristles with the kind of intelligence you'd read, well, Dostoevsky for... a piece of literary fun." The Independent on Sunday.
"The Gentle Axe" is closest to a contemporary crime novel -- more Dennis Lehane than Dostoevsky -- in its evocation of St. Petersburg as a hive of criminal activity, much of it catering to forbidden sexual urges." The Moscow Times.
"Morris has dug deep into the Russian soul in this book, and his dark, dank, dangerous St Petersburg, with its snowbound, windswept streets and stinking slums, is brilliantly recreated.
The hunt for the murderer is tense and atmospheric: the denouement brutally shocking and moving.
A worthy sequel to one of the greatest novels ever written: and a cracking thriller in its own right." The York Press.
"[A] pretty impressive achievement which succeeds on its own terms as a well written literary thriller with loads of chilly Russian atmosphere and even plays fair as a murder mystery." Shotsmag.
"...fantastically confident... the historical detail always enhances the story and never overpowers it, which is a great skill if you can pull it off and Morris does." Mike Ripley's Crime file.
"... a classic whodunnit where layer upon layer is opened for inspection in accordance with the timeline of Porfiry Petrovich's detection, much like investigating the substance of a Russian doll." It's a Crime... website.
"Morris has all the grace notes right for a fine historical mystery... " The Agony Report.
""The Gentle Axe" is a deftly plotted, enjoyable literary thriller. It's not another "Crime and Punishment," but it's a novel that, once begun, you're likely to read all the way through." The Washington Post.
"Cleverly plotted and adroitly written with a fine narrative flair, The Gentle Axe is a rock-solid success (and, in its own way, a commendatory stylistic homage to Dostoevsky's great novel). Full of atmospheric settings, intriguing characters, and spell-binding suspense (just like Crime and Punishment), R. N. Morris's exciting mystery is an absolute winner. Enjoy!." BookLoons.
"[I]t easily captures the odd half-tones of 19th century Russian literature while injecting a healthy dose of the zeitgeist of modern criminal storytelling. It’s a worthy companion to a long pour of Russian Standard on a wintery evening to come." Bookslut.
"In a wonderfully atmospheric novel, Morris has created a world-weary protagonist in Porfiry, a man still exhausted from his last case, joined by a collection of absolutely believable characters to flesh out the novel. Mysteries abound and multiply in layers of characterization and narrative. Porfiry's investigation goes on, despite repeated attempts to take him off the case, and it leads him from the dregs of society to its most genteel heights. He follows clues, hunches, people, and stories to get to the bottom of the mystery--and when he does, it comes as a complete surprise, but one that makes perfect sense. This carefully written and entertaining novel will satisfy lovers of mystery, historical crime, and just plain good novels. " Valerie Ryan, amazon.com
"What a fun and fantastic book!! Admittedly, I was skeptical at first. Dostoevsky is one of my favorite authors and this guy decides to write a novel using Porfiry Petrovich (the ultimate investigator from Crime & Punishment) as the protagonist. Well, it turned out great. The writing style is terrific - it’s not Dostoevsky - but Mr. Morris certainly has skills. One of the things I like best is that he captures the drama of those old time Russian novels and some of the humor." Mysterious Bookshop, New York (staff recommendation)
"Police detective Porfiry Petrovich, last seen in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, investigates a new murder in R.N. Morris’ well-researched and atmospheric The Gentle Axe (Penguin, $24.95). A murder-suicide just before Christmas 1866 in Petrovsky Park soon begins to seem a double murder as Petrovich delves more deeply into the case in an investigation that takes him on an exploration of Russian life and character. A dense and satisfying novel." Mystery Lovers Bookshop News
"... the narrative is direct and effective, the place and people well drawn, with, presumably, a series to follow." The Literary Review.
"The St. Petersburg of 1867 is brought vividly to life as investigator Porfiry Petrovich tries to unravel the dark mystery of a disturbing double murder case. Morris draws the reader through a world of squalor and corruption, skillfully capturing it with great spirit and empathy."Longitude.
"...he delivers a lively plot, well written, with some unusual characters." The Times.
"[A]n excellent first novel that bodes well for the future." Bookgasm
"R.N. Morris is an exciting new talent with a very promising future. Regardless of whether or not you are familiar with Dostoevsky's work, it would be a crime not to read this highly entertaining novel." I Love A Mystery Newsletter
"It is an audacious undertaking to write a novel that begins where Dostoyevsky leaves off in Crime and Punishment ($13.00, Penguin Classic, softcover), but that is what R.N. Morris does in The Gentle Axe ($24.95, The Penguin Press) that debuted in March. It begins with the discovery in Petrovsky Park, in 1867, of a burly peasant hanging from a tree with a rope around his neck and a bloody axe tucked into his belt. Nearby, in a suitcase, is the body of a dwarf, a deep axe wound splitting his skill in two. From this to its shocking climax, Morris has crafted a spellbinding historical crime novel as police investigator, Porfiry Petrovich, in his first murder case since the one made famous in Dostoyevsky’s novel, suspects that the murder may be more complex than the crime scene suggests. Return to St. Petersburg, Russia, and enjoy a real page-turner."Book Views
"Morris has written, it’s undeniable, a very fine mystery. It offers a painstaking evocation of time and place -- the Russian imperial capital in 1866. It provides clues that are delightfully literary, ranging from classical allusions to hints in translations into the Russsian of, among others, Proudhon.." Mail and Guardian (South Africa)
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UK edition (Faber and Faber) out Feb 1, 2007.
St. Petersburg, Winter, 1866 - Two frozen bodies are found in an isolated corner of Petrovsky Park. The first - that of a dwarf - has been packed neatly in a suitcase, a deep wound splitting his skull in two. The second body, of a burly peasant, is hanging from a nearby tree, a bloody axe tucked into his belt. The detective Porfiry Petrovich, in his first major murder case since Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment", suspects the truth may be more complex than others wish him to believe. 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. Atmospheric and tense from its dramatic opening to its shocking climax.
Out in America (The Penguin Press) March 22.
Click on the cover to buy
The Dutch edition, published by Cargo:
The Italian edition, published by Rizzoli:
The Hungarian edition, published by Partvonal:
The Polish edition, published by Wydawnictwo Literackie:
The Portuguese (Brazilian) edition, published by Planeta:
The Greek edition, published by Psycholios:
