Boris Akunin Books in Order

Boris Akunin has written 30 books, published between 1998 and 2023. The first book is The Winter Queen (1998) and the newest is Pit (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
30
Published
1998–2023
Pages on record
3,603 in 11 of 30 books
Photo of Boris Akunin, author
Андрей Струнин / CC BY-SA 4.0

Boris Akunin is the pen name of Grigori Chkhartishvili, a Georgian and Russian writer resident in the United Kingdom. Historical fiction is the ground, and the Erast Fandorin detective novels are the best known part of it, with Nicholas Fandorin and Sister Pelagia heading further series. Thirty books are catalogued between 1998 and 2023, four of them in 1998 alone, The Winter Queen, The Turkish Gambit, The Death of Achilles and Murder on the Leviathan, and several appear under their Russian titles. Pit (2023) is the newest. Moscow, Russia and private investigators recur as subjects.

Source: Wikidata

How many Boris Akunin books are there?

Boris Akunin has 30 books, released between 1998 and 2023. They include 4 separate series.

Boris Akunin Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 30 Boris Akunin books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of October 2026.

  1. 1
    The Winter QueenErast Fandorin Mysteries #11998 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998256
  2. 2
    The Turkish GambitErast Fandorin Mysteries #21998 · 240 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998240
  3. 3
    Murder on the Leviathan / LeviathanErast Fandorin Mysteries #31998 · 240 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998240
  4. 4
    The Death of AchillesErast Fandorin Mysteries #41998 · confirmed 2/4
    1998–
  5. 5
    Алтын-толобасAdventures of the Masters #12001 · confirmed 2/4
    2001–
  6. 6
    Внеклассное чтениеAdventures of the Masters #22002 · confirmed 2/4
    2002–
  7. 7
    Алмазная колесницаGenres #12003 · confirmed 2/4
    2003–
  8. 8
    Детская книгаGenres #22005 · confirmed 2/4
    2005–
  9. 9
    Sister Pelagia and the White BulldogSister Pelagia Mysteries #12006 · 273 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006273
  10. 10
    Yin and YangStandalone Plays #12006 · confirmed 2/4
    2006–
  11. 11
    Ф.М.Adventures of the Masters #32006 · confirmed 2/4
    2006–
  12. 12
    Sister Pelagia and the Black Monk / Pelagia and the Black MonkSister Pelagia Mysteries #22007 · 368 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007368
  13. 13
    Сказки для идиотовGenres #32007 · confirmed 2/4
    2007–
  14. 14
    The Jack of SpadesErast Fandorin Mysteries #52007 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007352
  15. 15
    Pelagia and the Red Rooster / Sister Pelagia and the Red CockerelSister Pelagia Mysteries #32008 · confirmed 2/4
    2008–
  16. 16
    КвестGenres #42008 · confirmed 2/4
    2008–
  17. 17
    The State CounsellorErast Fandorin Mysteries #72008 · confirmed 2/4
    2008–
  18. 18
    Сокол и ЛасточкаAdventures of the Masters #42009 · confirmed 2/4
    2009–
  19. 19
    The CoronationErast Fandorin Mysteries #82009 · confirmed 2/4
    2009–
  20. 20
    She Lover of DeathErast Fandorin Mysteries #92009 · confirmed 2/4
    2009–
  21. 21
    ФантастикаGenres #52010 · confirmed 2/4
    2010–
  22. 22
    He Lover of DeathErast Fandorin Mysteries #102010 · confirmed 2/4
    2010–
  23. 23
    The Diamond ChariotErast Fandorin Mysteries #112011 · 514 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2011514
  24. 24
    АристономияGenres #62012 · confirmed 2/4
    2012–
  25. 25
    All The World's a StageErast Fandorin Mysteries #122017 · 432 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017432
  26. 26
    To Kill a Serpent in the ShellStandalone Plays #22018 · 128 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2018128
  27. 27
    Black CityErast Fandorin Mysteries #132018 · 368 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2018368
  28. 28
    Not Saying GoodbyeErast Fandorin Mysteries #142019 · 432 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2019432
  29. 29
    Just MasaErast Fandorin Mysteries #152020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
  30. 30
    PitErast Fandorin Mysteries #162023 · confirmed 2/4
    2023–

Boris Akunin characters in order

The character linked below has its own reading-order page.

Boris Akunin books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Do you have to read Boris Akunin books in order?

You only need to read Boris Akunin books in order within each series: the books listed here span 4 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Boris Akunin

Start with The Winter Queen (1998), the first Erast Fandorin book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.

What is the newest Boris Akunin book?

Pit (2023) is the newest Boris Akunin book released so far.

Is there a new Boris Akunin book coming?

No next Boris Akunin book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Boris Akunin has won

Wikidata records 1 award for Boris Akunin. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given. Award data is sourced from Wikidata.

Boris Akunin at a glance

Paused
No new Boris Akunin title has appeared for 3 years. The last was published in 2023.
Release pace
Boris Akunin books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
3,603 pages across the 11 of 30 books with a recorded length, a median of 352 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Boris Akunin books, 16 of 30, were published in the 2000s.

When Boris Akunin books were published

Publication distribution by decade, showing when Boris Akunin titles appeared. 2000s was the most productive decade with 16 titles.

1990s
4
2000s
16
2010s
8
2020s
2

30 books total across 4 decades. Decade reflects the year each title was first catalogued.

What the Boris Akunin books are about

17 of the 30 Boris Akunin books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: private investigators is tagged on 11 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.