Punishment of a Hunter
A Leningrad Confidential
Published on 28. October 2021
Book
Hardback
400 pages
978-1-78227-677-7 (ISBN)
Description
1930s Leningrad. As a mood of fear cloaks the city, Investigator Vasily Zaitsev is called on to investigate a series of bizarre and seemingly motiveless murders. In each case, the victim is curiously dressed and posed in extravagantly arranged settings.
At the same time, one by one precious old master paintings are going missing from the Hermitage collection.
As Zaitsev sets about his investigations, he meets with suspicion at practically every turn, and potential witnesses are reluctant to provide information. Soon Zaitsev himself comes under suspicion from the Soviet secret police. The embittered detective must battle increasingly complex political machinations in his dogged quest to uncover the truth.
At the same time, one by one precious old master paintings are going missing from the Hermitage collection.
As Zaitsev sets about his investigations, he meets with suspicion at practically every turn, and potential witnesses are reluctant to provide information. Soon Zaitsev himself comes under suspicion from the Soviet secret police. The embittered detective must battle increasingly complex political machinations in his dogged quest to uncover the truth.
Reviews / Votes
A masterclass in historical crime fiction set against the vividly-painted backdrop of 1930s Leningrad. It will pull you in and leave you breathless -- Chris Lloyd, author of The Unwanted Dead Yulia Yakovleva's thrilling debut was a bestseller in her native Russia. It's not difficult to see why: her eye for detail, clear-eyed view of history and sardonic humour paint a picture of a pinched and paranoid state in which 'one minute you're fine, the next you're a goner' * The Times, Best New Crime Fiction * A serial killer is at work in 1930s Leningrad. Favourite line: "This is how we live, he thought. She's lying and so am I." * Sunday Times Crime Club, Pick of the Week * ...a fascinating story... Beautifully translated... Punishment of a Hunter establishes Yulia Yakovleva as a talent to watch * Irish Times * Set amidst great turmoil, corruption and oppression, Punishment of a Hunter is a dark and well-researched historical crime thriller * Culturefly * This is the most successful reload of the retro-detective genre in Russian fiction since Akunin. * literratura * Yakovleva writes with an expert and deep knowledge of the period, and she simply writes well. * Gorky * Yakovleva's unobtrusive art entertainment, which introduces paintings of Botticelli, Velazquez, Van Dyck, and Rubens, is one of the true pleasures this novel offers... For Yakovleva, it is more important to understand not how the crimes were performed, but why. The author is interested first and foremost in the mechanism of how the large state evil gives birth to a private, small evil. * Fontanka * Yulia Yakovleva leads the hero (as well as the reader) through every circle of Soviet hell, to a bright finale that offers both satisfaction from how the plot wraps up as well as the suggestion of an opening for a sequel. * Medusa.io * The novel's main hero is the time period, a time marked by Petersburg's impotency and beauty, steel and blood * chaskor.ru * Punishment of a Hunter is as bone-chilling as a freezing winter fog over Leningrad * EuroLit Network *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pushkin Press
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 135 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-78227-677-7 (9781782276777)
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Schweitzer Classification
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02/2022
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10/2021
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