The Russian Detective

An intricate reworking of the long-lost crime bestseller that outsold Tolstoy and Dostoevsky

In this stunning reimagining of a nineteenth-century Russian crime thriller, Carol Adlam presents Charlie Fox, stunt journalist, magician, liar and thief, who reluctantly returns to her hometown of Nowheregrad to investigate the murder of Elena Ruslanova, daughter of a fabulously wealthy glass manufacturer.

In Nowheregrad Charlie finds herself caught up in a multi-layered story that is told through the richly varied visual devices of the time. With the unwitting assistance of her lover, Netochka, Charlie unravels the mystery of the Bobrov family, only to face the truth about herself.

Adlam's complex, elegant narrative brings to life the lost legacies of early crime fiction and the first women journalists and detectives. Exquisitely drawn and compellingly told, The Russian Detective is the work of a graphic novelist at the height of her powers.