“Outstanding... Yakovleva perfectly balances evoking the terror of living in a police state with her whodunit plotline. Fans will hope to see much more of Zaitsev.”  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)The debut of the ultimate noir detective series: set in Stalinist Russia, riddled with corruption, informers, and purges that takes paranoia to the next levelPerfect for readers of John Banville, Philip Kerr, and Lara Prescott's The Secrets We Kept, and for fans of the international Netflix sensation Babylon Berlin“Leads the hero (as well as the reader) through every circle of soviet hell, to a bright finale.” —Medusa1930s 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...

THE FIRST IN A THRILLING NEW SERIES OF HISTORICAL MYSTERIES SET IN STALINIST RUSSIA, PERFECT FOR FANS OF BORIS AKUNINA SUNDAY TIMES CRIME CLUB PICK OF THE WEEKA masterclass in historical crime fiction' 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' The Times, Best New Crime FictionMURDER1930s Leningrad. Stalin is tightening his grip on the Soviet Union, and a mood of fear cloaks the city. Detective Vasily Zaitsev is tasked with investigating a series of bizarre and seemingly motiveless homicides. MAYHEMAs the curious deaths continue, precious Old Master paintings start to disappear from the Hermitage collection. Could the crimes be connected? MISTRUSTWhen Zaitsev sets about his investigations, he meets with obstruction at every turn. Soon even he...

Praise for Punishment of A Hunter:'The most successful retro-detective since Akunin' Literratura'Gritty and gripping' Will Ryan'It will pull you in and leave you breathless' Chris Lloyd'Yulia Yokovleva's thrilling debut was a bestseller in her native Russia. It's not difficult to see why' The Times, Best New Crime Fiction________________On the eve of Stalin's deadly great purge, a rider and his horse mysteriously collapse in the middle of a race in Leningrad.Weary detective Zaitsev, still reeling from his last brush with the Party, is dispatched to the soviet state cavalry school near Ukraine to investigate.There he witnesses the horror of the man-made Holodomor Famine as he struggles to penetrate the murky, secretive world of the school.Why has this murder attracted so much attention from Soviet officials? Zaitsev needs to answer this question and solve the case before the increasingly paranoid authorities turn their attention to him...

Russia in 1938 is a place of great terror. Joseph Stalin is in charge. His Secret Police are everywhere, searching for anyone who might be his enemy. People have no idea who they can trust.Seven-year-old Shura doesn't know about any of this. He's happy in his little home in Leningrad going to school in the mornings, playing with his best friend in the afternoon, fighting with his big sister, spending time with his Mama, Papa and baby brother Bobka.Until one day everything changes.Mama and Papa and Bobka disappear without a trace. The whispers of their neighbours are that Mama and Papa were spies, enemies of Stalin and so they have now been taken by something mysterious called The Raven. Desperate to reunite his family, Shura decides to hunt down The Raven, finding help in the most unexpected places but facing more danger than he has ever known . . .