26 The Silver Bone (Hard)

From the Ukrainian Andrey Kurkov, a perplexing mystery from a world-renowned literary master that introduces a rookie detective, Samson Kolechko, in Kiev tackling his first case, set against real life details of the tumultuous early twentieth century. Kyiv, 1919. World War I has ended in Western Europe, but to the East, six factions vie for control of Ukraine. Amidst the instability, young Samson Kolechko places his engineering career on hold. But in the city of Kyiv ­where competing patrols, black-market enterprise, and mayhem prevail­ everything remains up for grabs and new opportunity lurks just around the corner . . . 

When two Red Army soldiers commandeer his home, Samson plays the reluctant host. As Samson juggles his personal life ­a budding romance with the ingenious Nadezhda, a statistician helping run the city’s census­ with the soldiers’ imposition, he winds up overhearing their secret plans. Deciding to report them, Samson instead finds himself unwittingly recruited as an investigator for the city’s new police force. His first case is a perplexing mystery involving two murders, a long bone made of pure silver, and a decidedly unusual suit tailored from fine English cloth. With the odds stacked against him, Samson turns to Nadezhda, who proves to be more than a match. Inflected with Kurkov’s signature humor and magical realism, The Silver Bone takes inspiration from the real life archives of crime enforcement agencies in Kyiv, crafting a propulsive narrative that bursts to life with rich historical detail.

Translated from the Russian by Boris Dralyuk