An Artifact with a Dark Past

Another book from the legendary duo Leonov—Maksеyev.

A valuable statuette has been stolen—found during excavations in the Urals. The guard who tried to stop the theft was killed. Major Gurov and Kryachko of the Ministry of Internal Affairs interrogate the interested parties, including world-famous archeologists. Each of them has their own version of what happened: from a blasphemous theft of a unique artifact to an original falsification of the very discovery. As independent consultants, the investigators bring in an experienced specialist from the old school. The confession of an elderly professor shocks the operatives for real…

Nikolay Leonov, in the past an investigator for the MUR, knew firsthand how the most tangled criminal cases are solved. That’s why each of his books is a truthful, gripping story with an unpredictable intrigue and an unexpected ending. The main hero of these books—Colonel Lev Gurov—is a top-class detective, with a wealth of positive human qualities. Friends respect him, enemies fear him, and women love him. He’s a real homegrown superhero.

For forty years, the novels about Lev Gurov have consistently attracted fans of Russian detective fiction. The classic series “Black Cat” includes more than 200 books, published in tens of millions of copies.