The Stolen Heart - Kyiv Mysteries by Andrey Kurkov

About the Book

"Samson Kolechko and his colleague have been dispatched to investigate the illegal sale of meat. How selling cuts of one's own livestock qualifies as a crime eludes the young investigator, but an order is an order, and, at the insistence of the secret police officer assigned to "reinforce" the Lybid police station, Samson vows to do his very best. But just as Samson is beginning to dig into the very meat of this case, his live-in fiancâee Nadezhda is abducted by striking railway workers who object to the census she's carrying out. Complicating matters, the police station has been infiltrated by a mysterious thief, a deadly tram accident--which may have been premeditated--disrupts the city, and, to top it all, the culprit from Samson's "silver bone" investigation may have resurfaced. Against this backdrop, it's no wonder the "meat case" takes a backseat. Yet, despite the rising danger, the detective cannot let himself be distracted from his dogged pursuit of the seemingly mundane matter of the meat sellers, for ultimately his fate, and Nadezhda's too, rests on it."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

"[An] extraordinary sequel . . . Distinguished by its humor, heart, and subtle political urgency, this series deserves a long life." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[The Kyiv Mysteries] provide timely lessons for anyone living under an oppressive regime." --The Atlantic

"Andrey Kurkov is often called Ukraine's greatest living writer, and it is a gift for crime fiction fans that he writes in this genre."--New York Times Book Review

In the follow-up to The Silver Bone, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2024, Samson Kolechko must rescue his kidnapped fiancée while investigating the illegal sale of meat in lawless 1920s Kyiv-- based on a real-life case.

Samson Kolechko and his colleague have been dispatched to investigate the illegal sale of meat. How selling cuts of one's own livestock qualifies as a crime eludes the young investigator, but an order is an order, and, at the insistence of the secret police officer assigned to "reinforce" the Lybid police station, Samson vows to do his very best.

But just as Samson is beginning to dig into the very meat of this case, his live-in fiancée Nadezhda is abducted by striking railway workers who object to the census she's carrying out. Complicating matters, the police station has been infiltrated by a mysterious thief, a deadly tram accident--which may have been premeditated--disrupts the city, and, to top it all, the culprit from Samson's "silver bone" investigation may have resurfaced.

Against this backdrop, it's no wonder the "meat case" takes a backseat. Yet, despite the rising danger, the detective cannot let himself be distracted from his dogged pursuit of the seemingly mundane matter of the meat sellers, for ultimately his fate, and Nadezhda's too, rests on it.

Translated from the Russian by Boris Dralyuk

Review Quotes

[An] extraordinary sequel . . . Kurkov captures the atmosphere of 1920s Kyiv with terse, poetic prose, and punctuates his crackerjack plot with gorgeous Proustian reflections . . . Distinguished by its humor, heart, and subtle political urgency, this series deserves a long life. - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
[The Kyiv Mysteries] provide timely lessons for anyone living under an oppressive regime. . . . These novels are more than detective thrillers: They are studies in the surprising ambivalence that people living under occupation may feel, even when those in power go to extraordinary lengths to cement their rule through violence, manipulation, and terror. And they are important today not just for their insight into the past but also as a guide for surviving the present. - The Atlantic
"Ukraine's most famous novelist returns with his second book about a detective in revolutionary Kyiv. . . . [The Stolen Heart is a] highly satisfying sequel. One-eared Samson is an endearing guide to the vividly recreated Kyiv. The novel's surreal, black humour is an ideal lens through which to view the absurdities of living in a Bolshevik paradise." - The Times (UK)
"[The Stolen Heart marks] a welcome return to post-revolutionary Kyiv." - Kirkus Reviews
Good news: the celebrated Ukrainian novelist Andrey Kurkov has delivered a second outing for Samson Kolechko . . . As paranoid and blackly comic as anything in Kafka - The Financial Times
"A historical mystery with some elements of heightened melodrama, Kurkov writes with humor and compassion about the pure-hearted Samson. . . . [The Stolen Heart is] a Kafkaesque investigation." - Asymptote
"[The Silver Bone is a] fascinating series launch . . . the finely drawn characters and harrowing descriptions of daily life in 1919 Kyiv leave a far more lasting impression than clever genre tricks ever could. With its earthy prose and stunning attention to detail, this stands apart." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Silver Bone
"Rich and compulsive, a modern classic in the making." - Anna Bailey, author of Where the Truth Lies, on The Silver Bone
"Original and intriguing. Relocates the historical crime novel somewhere between Kafka and The Twilight Zone." - Frank Tallis, Author of Death in Vienna and Vienna Blood, on The Silver Bone
"A gripping whodunnit with surrealist flourishes . . . Kurkov brings to life an overlooked and much-contested episode in Ukrainian history, capturing the brutality with which Soviet forces first attempted to establish control over the city." - Washington Post on The Silver Bone
"In the tradition of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther . . . Kurkov sets crime-solving against the chaos of a turbulent era -- for his Samson Kolechko, the upheaval of Ukraine in 1919, when Cossacks, the Red Army and their White opponents, and even Chinese Communists battled in streets of a Kiev darkened by power failure ... [The Silver Bone] poses haunting moral questions about defending order in perilous days, questions that reverberate a century later in Ukraine and around the world." - David O. Stewart, Award-winning historian and author of The Lincoln Deception, on The Silver Bone
"An atmospheric police procedural whose protagonist battles personal tragedy and a tangled system to solve his first case." - Kirkus Reviews on The Silver Bone
"Mix[ing] elements of grim humor and surrealism . . . [The Silver Bone is] a winning offbeat crime novel that begs for a sequel." - Library Journal on The Silver Bone