Sister Pelagia and the white bulldog : a novel / Boris Akunin ; translated by Andrew Bromfield

A trilogy.

"A Random House trade paperback original"--T.p. verso.

"In a remote Russian province in the late nineteenth century, Bishop Mitrofanii is entangled in a family crisis. After learning that one of his great aunt's beloved and rare white bulldogs has been poisoned, the Orthodox prelate knows there is only one detective clever enough to investigate the murder: Sister Pelagia." "The bespectacled, freckled nun is lively, curious, extraordinarily clumsy, and persistent. In search of a killer, Pelagia finds a whole host of suspects, any one of whom might have benefited if the old lady (who changes her will at whim) had expired of grief at the pooch's demise. There's Pyotr, the matron's grandson, a nihilist with a grudge who has fallen for the maid; Stepan, the penniless caretaker, who has sacrificed his youth to the care of the estate; Miss Wrigley, a mysterious Englishwoman who has recently been named sole heiress to the fortune; Poggio, an opportunistic and freeloading "artistic" photographer; and, most intriguing, Naina, the old lady's granddaughter, a girl so beautiful she could drive any man to do almost anything." "As Pelagia bumbles and intuits her way to the heart of a mystery among people with faith only in greed and desire, she must bear in mind the words of Saint Paul: "Beware of dogs - and beware of evil-doers.""--BOOK JACKET.