The Black Carousel of the Cherepanov Brothers

«The Black Carousel of the Cherepanov Brothers» — a historical detective story about the investigation of a brutal murder in the provincial town of Tatayara, where every version leads to a new circle of suspicion. At the center of the plot — provincial Russia with its official rivalries, disturbing rumors, and the struggle to be the first to name the truth. This is the sixth book in the series about the investigations of Baron von Spinne, and here not only the search for the criminal is important, but also the clash of different approaches to detection. The case begins with a blow to the city order, and professional skill, political suspicions, and the cost of hasty conclusions come to the forefront.

In Tatayara, the police chief is murdered: his head is severed, and the murder weapon has disappeared. Several forces take on the case. Judicial investigator Sverchkov sees the murder as a criminal story, gendarmerie staff officer Zinkovsky insists on a political trail, while the detective police is led by Baron von Spinne, who is in no hurry to accept any version as truth. The tension rises not only because of the crime itself but also due to the rivalry among those who are supposed to solve it.

• Baron von Spinne — the head of the detective police and the central detective of the series. He conducts the investigation coolly and does not substitute facts with a convenient version, even when others are already rushing to conclusions.
• Judicial investigator Sverchkov — a representative of the official investigation. He views the murder as a criminal act and defends his line of inquiry.
• Gendarmerie staff officer Zinkovsky — a participant in the search for the murderer from the gendarmerie side. For him, this case is primarily connected with politics, and this exacerbates the dispute between the agencies.

The book is marked as the sixth case of Foma Fomich. This is a story with an independent investigation, but for the series, a constant hero and his work in the provincial detective police are important. For those who enjoy following the development of a detective from book to book, this order of reading is especially suitable.