Murder at the Dacha
I purchased this book for a gift for Christmas.
I purchased this book for a gift for Christmas.
Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Then there is the KGB colonel who seems a bit too interested in the course of Matyushkin's investigation... and Pavel's womanizing office mate, who gets involved with a subject of the case... and a series of petty burglaries that defy resolution... and of course Pavel's complicated love interest, who is as prickly as she is perceptive...
In his debut Russian crime novel set in 1960s Moscow, Alexei Bayer peels back the layers of late Soviet life to offer a vivid, gripping tale of deception, greed, murder, and a simple detective just trying to do his job.
The other two books in the series:
"Bayer tells a taut, gritty tale that gives a fresh and revealing insight into the Soviet Union of the Khrushchev years. Not only that, but in Pavel Matyushkin, his tough and self-confident hero, he has developed a great detective that leaves readers wanting more. Now."
– William Ryan, author of The Holy Thief,
The Darkening Field, and The Twelfth Department.
"A terrific read, capturing the atmospherics of Moscow half a century ago."
– Andrew Nagorski, award-winning journalist and Vice President
and Director of Public Policy at the EastWest Institute
"...It's not often you find an entertaining book that will keep you glued for the duration -- all the while telling the story gently, softly, without malice. It is a great achievement for Bayer's first book."
– Emmet Hoops {Amazon review}
"A wonderful read. Gentle, human story but in the context of a pretty hideous environment, being the Soviet Union in the mid sixties. First person narrative endears the protagonist to the reader pretty quickly, and the plot was superb, jinking about and avoiding cliché beautifully. An excellent writer who speaks 'Russia'. If he is not really a Russian, he fooled me."
– Steve Johnson {Amazon review}
About the Author: Alexei Bayer is a New York-based author, translator and, by economic necessity, an economist. He writes in English and in Russian, his native tongue, and translates into both languages. His short stories have been published in New England Review, Kenyon Review, and Chtenia. Murder at the Dacha is his first novel.
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