Dream over the Abyss

Oligarch Pyotr Shagarin, whose extradition is demanded by Russian authorities, suddenly died in Prague. Only his wife did not believe in Shagarin's death. She was right: before the eyes of Vadim Kravchenko and Sergey Meshchersky, who arrived in Prague to assist with the funeral, Shagarin comes back to life. A week-long lethargic sleep has not left this energetic man unscathed. For full rehabilitation, he is sent to Nivetsky Castle, located in the Carpathian wilderness. The grim reputation of the castle is confirmed: Shagarin's former lover falls into the abyss, and the son of his friends dies in an accident. These are murders — Kravchenko and Meshchersky are convinced. After all, Vadim, the husband of Kati Petrovskaya, an employee of the Internal Affairs Ministry, and his friend Sergey have often had to assist in investigating crimes. As if to prove their theory, a sinister ghost known as the Bird Butcher begins to flit through the corridors of the castle, as this ghoul is called in these parts...

The novels of hereditary investigator Tatiana Stepanova allow the reader to experience a literary "room of fear." Mysterious murders, an almost tangible atmosphere of crime, a lingering and anxious expectation of something unknown, frightening... All this Tatiana Stepanova manages to reproduce brilliantly. Chance encounters, daily affairs, and insignificant details are depicted in her detective stories in some special, dramatic light, as if a harmless spring meadow is overshadowed by an approaching storm.