 This is highly reminiscent of some of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels, such as "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Valley of Fear".The first half of "The Death of Achilles" is also the first Fandorin story since "The Winter Queen" to be told from Fandorin's point of view.The earlier career of the assassin Achimas Welde includes a confrontation with a rival assassin nicknamed "The Jackal", who intended to assassinate the King of Italy.