Leisure reading

'The Turkish Gambit'

By Boris Akunin, translated by Andrew Bromfield

Random House, $22.95.

Boris Akunin, who lives in Moscow, is the pen name of Grigory Chkhartishvili, a Russian novelist who has become one of the most widely read writers in Russia.

So far, he has written 11 Erast Fandorin detective novels, and this book is the third to be published in the United States. (The first two are "The Winter Queen" and "Murder on the Leviathan.")

The scene is 1877 during the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, probably the last true horse- and-cannon conflict. Erast Fandorin, an eccentric but brilliant young detective, has found his most difficult case and a very beautiful woman, Varya Suvorova, who fascinates him. In fact, he saves her life on several occasions.

The style of this novel is often tongue-in-cheek and very much old school. Although it is ostensibly a serious story, the author has an uncommon amount of fun in the telling. There is much satire along the way, and the writing style is exaggerated as it would have been in the 19th century. — Dennis Lythgoe

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'Reporting from Washington'

By Donald Ritchie

Oxford, $30.

This book, subtitled "The History of the Washington Press Corps," is a lively discussion of the process of reporting from the nation's capital, from the early days of radio and print to the new world of the Internet.

Ritchie was associate historian of the U.S. Senate for almost 30 years. He discusses legendary columnists Walter Lippmann, Joseph Alsop and Drew Pearson and great investigative reporters Paul Y. Anderson and Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

Ritchie also treats the rise of radio news, considering the pioneering efforts of Edward R. Murrow, H.V. Kaltenborn and Elmer Davis. He summarizes the history of television news, from "Meet the Press" to Huntley-Brinkley and Walter Cronkite.

Ritchie also treats the accelerating role of black and women reporters, including Sarah McClendon and Helen Thomas. It is an interesting account filled with colorful personalities. — Dennis Lythgoe

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'Nightcrawlers'

By Bill Pronzini

Forge, $24.95.

Bill Pronzini, a veteran crime writer, has written 60 private-investigator novels in a 30-year career, culminating with "Nightcrawlers," a fresh addition to the "nameless detective" series.

The "Nameless" detective series is based in San Francisco and operated by Nameless and his assistants Jack and Tamara. In "Nightcrawlers," gay lovers are being stalked and attacked, and a young girl has been kidnapped. When Jake's son, Joshua, calls, they learn that his lover is the latest victim of a gang of "Nightcrawlers."

The writing style borrows from Dashiell Hammett — simple, catchy, punchy, denoting the hard-boiled style first enunciated in the 1930s. — Dennis Lythgoe