Andrey Kurkov – författare

“[An] extraordinary sequel . . . Distinguished by its humor, heart, and subtle political urgency, this series deserves a long life.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[The Kyiv Mysteries] provide timely lessons for anyone living under an oppressive regime.” —The Atlantic

“Andrey Kurkov is often called Ukraine's greatest living writer, and it is a gift for crime fiction fans that he writes in this genre.”—New York Times Book Review

In the follow-up to The Silver Bone, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2024, Samson Kolechko must rescue his kidnapped fiancée while investigating the illegal sale of meat in lawless 1920s Kyiv— based on a real-life case.

Samson Kolechko and his colleague have been dispatched to investigate the illegal sale of meat. How selling cuts of one’s own livestock qualifies as a crime eludes the young investigator, but an order is an order, and, at the insistence of the secret police officer assigned to “reinforce” the Lybid police station, Samson vows to do his very best.

But just as Samson is beginning to dig into the very meat of this case, his live-in fiancée Nadezhda is abducted by striking railway workers who object to the census she's carrying out. Complicating matters, the police station has been infiltrated by a mysterious thief, a deadly tram accident—which may have been premeditated—disrupts the city, and, to top it all, the culprit from Samson’s “silver bone” investigation may have resurfaced.

Against this backdrop, it’s no wonder the “meat case” takes a backseat. Yet, despite the rising danger, the detective cannot let himself be distracted from his dogged pursuit of the seemingly mundane matter of the meat sellers, for ultimately his fate, and Nadezhda's too, rests on it.

Translated from the Russian by Boris Dralyuk

“The Kyiv Mysteries provide timely lessons for anyone living under an oppressive regime.” —The Atlantic

“Though [The Lost Soldiers] is set more than a century ago, its parallels to conditions today are clear. A darkly comic mystery with deep roots in history.” —Kirkus (starred review)

“[The Lost Soldiers is] excellent . . . Kurkov excels at capturing the profound political instability of war-torn Kyiv . . . This series continues to impress.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

In this riveting installment in the Kyiv Mysteries series, detective Samson investigates the sudden disappearance of a troop of Red Army soldiers from a bathhouse.

Fresh from the case of the stolen heart, one that shattered his belief in the regime he works for, Samson Kolechko is confronted by a new mystery that borders on the impossible. A troop of Red Army soldiers has disappeared without a trace while visiting a banya, a traditional Ukrainian bathhouse, in the heart of Kyiv. Their abandoned boots and uniforms are the only proof that they ever existed.

Faced with such a fantastical conundrum, Samson must resort to a fantastical investigation method: stitching his operative severed ear into a bathhouse worker's jacket, he is able to eavesdrop on his every move. But he discovers far more than he bargained for, further complicating matters when he uncovers human remains in the stoves and the presence of a sinister religious cult in the city.

With his quick-witted new wife Nadezhda at his side, Samson must not only solve the case but navigate the political turmoil that still grips Kyiv as civil war looms and trust between neighbors and comrades is eroded day by day. In this third volume, Andrey Kurkov, Ukraine's greatest living novelist, and a true master of absurd storytelling, vividly depicts a city filled with political turbulence and eccentric characters—and draws playful parallels with the present day.

Translated from the Ukrainian by Boris Dralyuk