Selection: the best Soviet detectives * Articles

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Detectives are a very vulnerable genre in literature, since the line between a frankly poor fiction and a really worthwhile book with a complex plot is very thin, and often it is practically absent. The authors, who managed to tell the reader about the high quality of their work from the very first lines, are almost equal to geniuses, as they could cope with such an ambiguous genre.

England is considered the birthplace of detectives with its eternal heroes Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and the great writer Agatha Christie. But do not detract from the contribution to the detective literature of domestic writers, including Soviet ones, whose works can truly be ranked among the best. Despite the fact that in Soviet times such literature was not very favored, these authors were able to impress readers.

"Inspector Losev." Arkady Adamov is known for his action-packed detective stories about police officers and other law enforcement services. This book is about a series of thefts of the same type in a Moscow hotel, investigating which, criminal investigators expose a gang of criminals. The author also has other stories about Inspector Losev, and in 1982 and 1983 there were already two screen versions under the names of the same name “Inspector Losev” and “Loop”.
"Police Inspector." Anatoly Bezuglov in his detective story reveals in such a new way a difficult and sometimes unjustly underestimated profession as a police officer. The main character falls into a completely unfamiliar environment with a specific local flavor, in the Don village. This is not quite a detective in his usual sense, rather, this is a story about a police officer, about his fate, life, love, his professional ups and downs.
"Investigator of the prosecutor's office". The work of Stanislav Rodionov can really be called human, even if this story is somewhere naive, somewhere childishly carefree, but the lively Russian language, the richness of the scenes and the absence of the “Chernukha” so often found in books of this genre create a very pleasant impression , and the action makes you plunge into reading with your head. This is a collection of five novels dedicated to investigator Ryabinin and the history of the affairs for which he undertakes.
"A duel in the mountains." This is the story of Victor Smirnov about friendship, a human life full of troubles, about conscience and principles. The main character of the story Vasily is investigating the murder of his friend, who, under strange circumstances, fell into the abyss. The touching and attractive syllable of the work, the good ending and the colorful narrative will not make even the most picky reader bored. This story can be safely attributed to the classics of the Soviet detective story.
"Testament of Columbus". The duet of Arkady and George Vaynerov revealed in full force in this work. The main character is confused in his understanding of reality and dreaming, he acknowledges his imperfection, depravity, depravity, and readers understand this with him. They will have to go the hard way with him, find out a lot, and maybe forget something at all.
"Predators". The already familiar writer Anatoly Bezuglov in his detective story talks about the mysterious murder of a Moscow scientist in the Far Eastern taiga. In addition, the author raises a number of moral and legal problems. It may seem to some that the moral standards, values and principles preached by the Soviet author are now outdated. Perhaps this is even true, but some things remain unchanged to this day: friendship, love, conscience, truth.
"The Way to the Deer Spoon." The work of Konstantin Kislov tells the story of captain Shaterkin, who, investigating the murder case, understands that it is somehow connected with his past. The mystery of the way to the Deer spoon, where they found the body of the deceased, is not as simple as it seems at first glance, and the captain will have to reveal it.
“The case goes to court.” The work of N. Borisov, without changing the traditions of the Soviet detective story, tells the story of police officers. Somewhere, perhaps the stories are too idealized, implausible, but the author’s thought is very noble: any case, no matter how confusing and complicated it will be, will be revealed and will be brought to court thanks to honest and conscientious employees.
"In an arc of a large circle." This work of Stanislav Gagarin is removed from the list of detectives listed above, since it is not about the valiant police officers, prosecutors and others, but about the captain of a sea ship. The novel is saturated with the urgency created by the exciting story of sea adventures. Captain Igor Volkov shows courage and remarkable courage during the trials that fell to the crew.
“Ghosts of the Hollywood Hotel. This detective author Anatol Imermanis suitable lovers of mysticism. The novel is based on real events that took place in Spain in 1969, when an American nuclear bomber with nuclear installations on board crashed and entailed a chain of tragic events. Some of them do not lend themselves to a sound and scientific explanation, and then only an irrational explanation comes to mind.